NBA odds: Brooklyn Nets' title odds moving in a surprising direction
The NBA title futures odds of the Brooklyn Nets have quietly shortened in the last 24 hours.
General Hospital and All My Children have nothing on the drama that is coming out of New York's second-favorite borough. In previous episodes we saw Kyrie Irving refusing to get the Covid-19 vaccination; James Harden bolting with Ben Simmons arriving; Kyrie getting permission to play home games; a play-in game; the losing end of a first-round sweep; general manager Sean Marks saying he wanted a commitment from "everyone"; Kyrie threatening to opt-out only to opt-in and Kevin Durant demanding a trade which led to an NBA Twitter frenzy that has yet to stop.
Sheesh. Ok, before we go to commercial break, let’s revisit the moves of the sports books after the Durant trade demand.
"The first thing I did was immediately move the Nets out to 25-1," Westgate SuperBook Vice President of Risk Management Jeff Sherman told FOX Sports. "If Durant is gone, Kyrie is likely gone, too, as an expiring contract.
"We had Brooklyn at 8-1 before the report, went to 25-1, and we’re all the way out to 50-1 right now. And we’re open for business."
That was on Friday, an eternity in today's age. And as we always say around these parts, things change fast in the Association.
Since then, the Brooklyn Nets have been gaining momentum when it comes to their championship odds. At many sports books those odds have shortened all the way down from +5000 to +2000 in the last 24 hours. What gives?
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Chris Broussard makes a prediction as we continue into the NBA offseason: Both Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant will start the season with the Brooklyn Nets, despite being surrounded by trade rumors. Based on the sources he's heard from, the Nets have realized they have all the leverage in these trades, and he explains to Nick Wright and Kevin Wildes why that leads him to believe the two star players will remain in Brooklyn for the start of the season.
The most obvious explanation is that Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving will not be going anywhere. Yes, Kyrie is upset that he was not offered the max contract extension. And yes, KD appears to be upset that his running mate suffered such an indignity. However, there are a lot of complications involved in moving these two stars.
For starters, how big is the market for Kyrie Irving? Do teams really want to risk it all on a mercurial free thinker that is great at handling the ball, but not so great at handling the daily grind of the NBA?
As for Kevin Durant, the best scoring force on the planet, would the self-proclaimed basketball junkie really sit out the season if his demand was ignored? Or is it possible that the Big 3 will actually share the court together?
"The Nets are planning their season to have both KD and Kyrie Irving playing for them, and with this possibility the odds have shortened," FOX Bet sports trader Daniel Montanari shared.
At the end of the day, KD is locked in for four more years. Furthermore, the Brooklyn Nets do not have an incentive to trade KD at this point. If Rudy Gobert just got traded for five players and four picks, what would Kevin Durant return in this market? There is absolutely no reason for Brooklyn to make any immediate, rash decisions. Meaning, time is on their side. Yes, it is.
"With the reports of the Nets wanting star players plus picks in return for Durant, the odds have dropped back to 20-1 at FOX Bet," Montanari explained. "Any haul the Nets get will include star players, they’re not in rebuild mode and will be a playoff contender even after KD gets traded."
So what do you think? Is this all conjecture from the sharps trying to get a good number? Or another case of someone possibly knowing something like the Paolo Banchero NBA Draft incident? Or could Durant, Simmons and Kyrie actually share the floor together?
And in case you missed it, the Nets added Royce O’Neale and TJ Warren in free agency— two solid players that would fit in nicely with a committed Big 3. Can all of this drama lead to these title odds falling down to the original +600 they were at a month ago?
Let's see if the Nets can bring home a fairytale championship at the end of this contentious love story.
If you are sprinkling some money on the Nets' title futures, head over to FOX Bet to get in on the actions now!
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