Is This the Craziest NBA Offseason Ever? 10 Things Nobody Saw Coming

The NBA season is now just a few weeks away, and the craziest summer in basketball history is coming to a close. While reflecting on this offseason, it dawned on me just how insane these past few months have been.

It didn’t matter if it was on the court, in front offices, on social media, or with the FBI, something was always generating news in the NBA world. These are ten things that made this the wildest offseason in basketball history.

1. Player Movement

You can’t recap the summer without talking about the trades, free agency, and draft which make the offseason what it is. We saw nearly 200 players sign or get traded this summer, and among them were an insane 28 All Stars and two former MVPs.

Stars like Jaylen Brown, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Lamelo Ball, and Kawhi Leonard got dealt, while LeBron James and James Harden were just two of the many stars who signed in free agency.

The NBA also introduced a draft class that has the potential to be one of the greatest ever. The amount of player movement during this offseason was something we’ve never seen before, and there’s no telling how this year will play out as a result.  

2. Say Goodbye to Tanking

Speaking of the draft, Adam Silver unveiled a new draft lottery system in response to this year’s tanking obsession. While it’s only a 3 year trial, the new 3-2-1 lottery system completely changes how teams will look to improve moving forward.

The teams with the worst records will fall into the "relegation zone,” meaning they are no longer given the best odds and will likely have to find another way to get out of the basement. Small market teams with poor records will basically be trapped in no man's land unless they manage to improve internally.

It also alters the value of every first round pick included in trades over the past few years. Unprotected picks are worth a lot more because of how unpredictable their outcome is, and picks coming from bad teams will be relocated to a higher spot. Tanking was definitely an issue this year, but this new system might send some teams reeling for the foreseeable future.  

3. The Lakers Flash Sale

The Los Angeles Lakers became the most expensive sports team in the world last year when they were bought by businessman Mark Walters for an unbelievable $10 Billion. That record was short-lived though, after the Lakers were sold again, this time for $12 Billion. Walters only flipped the team after becoming the target of a federal investigation, but regardless, the timeline for the Lakers ownership is wild.

After being bought by the Buss family in 1979, the Lakers hadn’t changed hands until 46 years later, when they were flipped twice within two years for a sum of 22 billion dollars. To add to the drama, Jeanie Buss is fighting the recent sale and is taking her siblings to court over the transaction. One of the biggest franchises in all of sports spent this summer in the news for all of the wrong reasons. 

4. LA Got Clipped

While the Kawhi investigation began in 2025, it dominated NBA news this offseason. What made this story odd beyond the investigation itself was how many times it died down and resurfaced, along with all of its potential trade implications.

The NBA shut down the idea that Kawhi received 28 million dollars from the Clippers illegally as recently as mid-August. That was before Pablo Torre, and eventually the FBI, resurrected the case once again, and the Clippers got slapped with a 30 million dollar penalty. Brandon Ingram and Gradey Dick also got caught up in the controversy as innocent bystanders. The pair had been traded from Toronto at the end of June, but the trade didn’t go through until mid September, leaving their fate in limbo as well.

Unfortunately, we’ve seen investigations in basketball before. But between the amount of money involved, the time it took to get sorted, and the fact that it happened in the middle of Kawhi himself getting traded, this was one of the weirdest sports scandals we have ever seen.

5. Enes Kanter VS the WNBA

Enes Kanter made his comeback to the professional basketball scene this summer, but not in the way you would expect. Through the extreme vagueness of the WNBA’s draft protocol, Kanter, along with former pro Royce White, exploited a technicality and declared himself eligible for the upcoming WNBA draft.

Kanter did this to make a political point, speaking out against transgender women playing in women's sports. This sparked a political feud between basketball fans everywhere and eventually an altercation involving Kanter himself and WNBA player Natasha Cloud. This incident resulted in Kanter being banned from all Chicago Sky home games, and in response, Kanter is suing the team. He is contesting his denied entry into the W’s draft as well because the rules technically permit it.

Commissioner Cathy Engelbert announced that she will be retiring after this season during the height of this episode, claiming that it had nothing to do with the criticism of how she handled this situation. Regardless of her reasoning, this is when Kanter took to social media to announce his desire to take over as commissioner of the league.

This was by far one of the wackiest events in the basketball world, and in their current state, the WNBA has some things to figure out.

6. Russ Retired

This isn’t as chaotic as the others, but it definitely hit just as hard. Russell Westbrook was in the mix of free agents looking for a new home during the offseason. It was rumored that Russ was considering rejoining the Kings, or bringing his talent to a team like the Pistons or Celtics. Then just like that, all the talk was over. Russell Westbrook retired from the game of basketball.

Many fans, including myself, don’t even know an NBA without Russ, considering he was drafted eighteen years ago. His MVP season in 2017 was one of the most memorable individual seasons we’ve ever witnessed, and the heart that he played with was unparalleled.

Even though he was no longer the player he once was, he was the first of his generation of superstars to hang it up, and it hit the NBA world hard. 

7. Ben Simmons' Shocking Return

Either the Ben Simmons three point shooting videos are real this time or the Kings just got scammed. Knowing the history of the two parties, it was probably the second option.

Ben Simmons quickly went from one of the most promising NBA prospects to out of the league, and he only had himself to blame. After a short stint with the Clippers, Simmons was left unsigned and stepped away from the game of basketball. He became a professional fisherman, winning the SFC title with the South Florida Sails.

It seemed like Simmons had given up on his NBA career before he announced that he wanted to return to professional basketball, naming the Sixers as one of his preferred destinations. This request seemed unrealistic, considering how his NBA stock plummeted and the way his relationship ended with the Sixers particularly. Somehow though, the Kings agreed to sign him to a one year deal, completing Ben Simmons’ ridiculous journey back to the NBA. His rapid fall-off, fishing career, and sudden comeback combine for quite a unique story.

8. Malik Beasley Officially Indicted

Malik Beasley finished the 2024-25 season as the second leading three point shooter and was poised for a big free agency. That was until the NBA began a gambling investigation surrounding the 28 year old shooting guard.

The Pistons rescinded the three year 42 million dollar deal they were prepared to give Beasley in fear of his punishment. He was later declared innocent by the NBA, but only after all free agency money was given out and Beasley was left unsigned for the next season. It looked like the NBA had sabotaged Beasley’s big payday.

Then, during this offseason, evidence emerged that proved Beasley’s involvement in an illegal gambling ring. He bet on his own stats and the proof was undeniable. The NBA world was in shock watching Beasley clearly fix his stats, chasing the ball relentlessly in order to hit his over.

A few players have been caught up in gambling controversies recently, but this was more extreme. When Johntay Porter was indicted he was in and out of the rotation. Beasley was coming off of the best season of his career and was set for a big payday. Porter also doctored his stats by faking an injury, but Beasley did it all while playing in crunchtime of meaningful games. Malik Beasley could have been one of the premier shooters in the league, now we're just left with a what-if and some viral videos on social media. 

9. The Most Disrespectful Coaching Hire Ever

We’ve seen something similar to most of the other events on this list, but the Blazers’ coaching hire this offseason was a first. Portland’s owner Tom Dundon has earned a reputation for being notoriously cheap. He showed us why when they hired former Timberwolves assistant Micah Nori with the weirdest contract of any coach in sports.

The contract was a three year agreement, but with a catch: Portland has back-to-back team options in years two and three. Basically, no money is guaranteed to Nori beyond this year.

J.B. Bickerstaff called the hire “a slap in the face” reasoning that it sets a negative precedent and undermines the hard work a coach puts in. Nori is highly praised by coaches around the league and he can definitely earn the extra years on his contract, but the Blazers have put him in a peculiar situation

Dennis Schroder Did it Again

The NBA must be playing some kind of practical joke on Dennis Schroder. After getting traded to the Cavs at the midseason deadline last year, Schroder was dealt to the Hornets during the summer following Cleveland’s playoff exit.

While that isn’t really noteworthy by itself, it makes it the tenth team that he’ll play for in six years. He spent a few hours on the Jazz and Heat as well, bringing the total to twelve, but he never suited up for either squad. In total, Schroder has been traded nine times in his career, and Charlotte will be his twelfth team overall, meaning he will be tied with five other players for the second most teams played for in a career.

He’s been involved in midseason swaps five times in the last five seasons, so if he follows that trend, catching Ish Smith’s record thirteen is just a matter of time.