Dallas’ bold move to acquire star guard Kyrie Irving did more than slash the Mavericks’ NBA title odds in half. It completed a 72-hour of whirlwind action in the NBA futures markets.
Before news broke on Friday of Irving’s request to be traded by Brooklyn, the Nets were still considered legitimate NBA title contenders at +700 by BetMGM. The sportsbook told Field Level Media that those odds lengthened to +1400 after the trade request, and again to +2200 after reports of the trade surfaced on Sunday.
The Nets dropping in the eyes of oddsmakers without Irving comes as no surprise. But who they ultimately dealt the mercurial star guard to could have a ripple effect for at least the rest of the season.
A reunion with LeBron James with the Los Angeles Lakers seemed like a real possibility, and they were installed as the favorites to land Irving by at least one sportsbook. The Lakers went from +4000 to win it all to +2000 on Friday, but those odds rebounded heavily in the other direction to +5000 with Irving going to Dallas. Of course, there is still time for the Lakers to make moves before Thursday’s deadline, and any additional trades could have a significant impact on the title odds. But other teams who were considered to be potential landing spots for Irving were also impacted.
The cross-town Clippers returned to +1200 after briefly moving to +1000 following Irving’s trade request. The Warriors’ were impacted by the Mavericks landing a complementary star to Luka Doncic while also losing Steph Curry to an injury that will reportedly keep him out weeks. Golden State’s title odds shifted from +1000 at BetMGM on Friday to +1200.
The Warriors also went from +375 to win the Western Conference to +500, while the Mavericks’ odds shifted from +1200 to +700. Dallas also jumped from +2500 on Friday to win the NBA title to +1200 after news of the trade broke Sunday.
The Irving deal also had a tangible impact on the Eastern Conference. Not only did the Nets’ conference title odds lengthen from +400 to +1000, the Milwaukee Bucks saw theirs shorten from +300 to +250.
The Nets are now +2200 to win the NBA title, while the Bucks moved from +550 to +500. Ironically, the deal also improved the odds for one of Irving’s previous stops, with the Boston Celtics now the +350 favorites ahead of the Bucks and Denver Nuggets (+700).
–Field Level Media
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