Oklahoma State Professional Athletes

Oklahoma State's NBA Alumni Face Crossroads Offseason

Two Oklahoma State alumni closed out the 2026 offseason with significant moves in opposite directions — one landing a new NBA contract, the other departing the league entirely.

Marcus Smart Finds a New Home in Houston

Marcus Smart's one-year stint with the Los Angeles Lakers ended quietly this summer, but the veteran guard didn't stay on the market long. Smart agreed to a two-year, $13 million deal with the Houston Rockets, as first reported by ESPN's Shams Charania. It's a fresh start for a player who never quite found his footing in Los Angeles.

Lakers insider Jovan Buha, appearing on Third Apron, noted that Smart himself was ready to move on — suggesting the departure was mutual rather than a forced exit. The specifics of his role within the Lakers system remain unclear, but the narrative coming out of the offseason is one of a veteran guard seeking a situation that fits better.

In Houston, Smart joins a young Rockets roster that has been building steadily. At 31, he profiles as exactly the kind of experienced, defensive-minded guard a developing team might covet. For Cowboys fans, it's a familiar script: Smart betting on himself and landing somewhere with a clear role.

Lindy Waters III Leaves the NBA for the CBA

The more striking move belongs to Lindy Waters III. After five seasons in the NBA — most recently with the San Antonio Spurs — Waters is taking his game to China, signing with the Beijing Ducks of the Chinese Basketball Association. The move was first reported by Brett Siegel of ClutchPoints.

The Spurs did not offer Waters a new contract this offseason, effectively closing the door on his NBA tenure. Waters spent time with both the Golden State Warriors and the Spurs during his professional career, carving out a niche as a wing who could contribute without demanding a starring role. Now 27, he'll look to extend his playing career overseas — a path increasingly common for fringe NBA players seeking steady minutes and competitive basketball.

The Beijing Ducks provide a legitimate platform. The CBA has attracted a number of former NBA players in recent years, and Waters' shooting ability and size at the wing position translate well internationally.

Cunningham Watches from Detroit

The crown jewel of Oklahoma State's NBA contingent, Cade Cunningham, isn't making offseason headlines for his own moves — the Pistons point guard remains anchored in Detroit heading into the new season. With Smart and Waters both in transition, Cunningham stands alone as the program's unambiguous current-star presence in the league.

For OSU alumni tracking the program's NBA footprint, this week underscored just how thin the margin is between staying and leaving. Smart threaded the needle. Waters found a different path. And Cunningham, for now, remains the face of Cowboys basketball at the professional level.

Cade Cunningham Is the Franchise. The Question Is Who Surrounds Him.

Cade Cunningham just earned his first All-NBA First Team selection. He helped push the Detroit Pistons to 60 wins. And now, weeks before training camp, the Oklahoma State product is watching his franchise navigate one of the messier offseasons in recent memory — with the Jalen Duren situation sitting at the center of it all.

The Duren Rift Is Real

According to reporting from The Athletic's Sam Amick and Hunter Patterson, Duren has been distancing himself from Pistons teammates — Cunningham included. Duren skipped the team's voluntary minicamp in San Diego, an event Cunningham and others attended, and his contract extension saga with Detroit has dragged long enough that it appears to have strained relationships inside the locker room.

It's a notable development for a franchise that spent the better part of three years building around the Cunningham-Duren pairing as its foundational core. Whatever the professional relationship looked like during the Pistons' breakout 60-win campaign, the current offseason posture suggests something has shifted.

The Trade Speculation Machine Is Running Hot

With Duren's future in Detroit increasingly murky, multiple trade scenarios have emerged — and all of them keep Cunningham as the untouchable centerpiece.

One three-team proposal floated by Heavy Sports would net Detroit a nine-time All-Star alongside a young center, essentially flipping the Duren situation into a high-ceiling co-star for Cunningham. A separate pitch would pair Cunningham with Jalen Green — currently with the Phoenix Suns — to give Detroit the secondary offensive engine it has lacked since Tobias Harris departed in free agency.

The Pistons did add John Collins and Isaiah Joe this offseason, but neither move signals a commitment to a true second star. Detroit still needs someone who can share lead-creator duties with Cunningham as the team attempts to build on last season's success and push deeper into the playoffs in 2026-27.

The Pressure Is Real, and Cunningham Knows It

Cunningham broke his offseason silence with a single-word social media post — minimal, but telling of a player who understands the stakes. A 60-win season that ended with a painful first-round exit to Cleveland put a fine point on what's expected going forward: not just regular-season excellence, but playoff results.

His All-NBA First Team status now puts him formally in the conversation with the league's best, and Sports Illustrated notes the 2026-27 schedule will give Cunningham repeated early opportunities to measure himself against those peers.

The Rest of the Cowboys' NBA Class

While Cunningham commands most of the spotlight, two other Oklahoma State alumni remain active in the league. Marcus Smart is entering the season with the Houston Rockets, and Lindy Waters III holds a roster spot with the San Antonio Spurs. Neither generated significant news during this period, but both represent the continued pipeline of Cowboys talent at the professional level.

For OSU fans, though, the story this week — and likely all offseason — runs through Detroit. Cunningham has done everything asked of him. The organization now has to answer whether it can build something worthy of him.

Oklahoma State Alumni Report | NBA Offseason | Aug. 30–Sep. 5

Two Oklahoma State alumni are turning heads this offseason — and neither of them is waiting for training camp to get to work.

Cade Cunningham Is Running the Show in Detroit

Cade Cunningham's ascent from franchise cornerstone to genuine NBA superstar is no longer a projection — it's a fait accompli. The Pistons point guard finished fifth in MVP voting this past season after averaging 23.9 points, 5.5 rebounds, 9.9 assists, and 1.4 steals per game, even drawing two first-place votes. Detroit won 60 games and reached the Eastern Conference semifinals for the first time since 2008, and Cunningham's fingerprints were all over it.

Now he's extending that leadership into the offseason. Cunningham recently organized and hosted a mini-camp for his Pistons teammates — an informal but telling signal about the culture he's building in Detroit. Among those working with him is Ausar Thompson, who's developing as a secondary playmaker alongside Cunningham heading into next season.

The Pistons' front office, meanwhile, is actively hunting for a true second scorer to take pressure off their star. With Tobias Harris gone in free agency and Jalen Duren's offensive limitations exposed in the playoffs, Detroit has been linked to options like Trey Murphy III via trade. The franchise knows what it has in Cunningham — the question now is what surrounds him.

Myles Turner Brings the Same Energy to Milwaukee

Across the league, another Cowboy is quietly making his mark. Myles Turner, now with the Milwaukee Bucks, followed Cunningham's lead by organizing his own offseason mini-camp for Bucks teammates. It's the kind of initiative that doesn't show up in a box score but speaks volumes about how Turner is positioning himself as a leader in his new environment.

Turner's move signals a player invested in accelerating team chemistry before the regular season grind begins — a particularly valuable trait for a Bucks squad still recalibrating its identity.

The Bigger Picture

Two OSU alumni, two different teams, one shared instinct: don't wait for the season to start being a leader. Cunningham is doing it from the penthouse of NBA stardom, with MVP votes on his résumé and a city energized around him. Turner is doing it as a veteran presence trying to help a franchise find its footing.

Marcus Smart (Rockets) and Lindy Waters III (Spurs) round out the active Oklahoma State contingent in the NBA, though neither generated notable offseason news this week.

For Cowboy fans, the Cunningham era in Detroit isn't just unfolding — it's accelerating. And Turner's leadership in Milwaukee is a quiet reminder that Stillwater keeps producing pros who get it.