How Dodgers’, Lakers’ Blockbuster Trades Swung MLB, NBA Title Odds

Thursday was a tough one for sports fans in the District of Columbia.

Washington, D.C., sports fans were delivered a pair of simultaneous gut punches. The Nationals’ firesale became really real when they reportedly sent Max Scherzer and Trea Turner to the Los Angeles Dodgers. Perhaps they can share a plane out West with Russell Westbrook, as the Wizards star is part of a blockbuster trade that reportedly will send him to the Lakers.

In both cases, especially the Dodgers, it’s a case of the rich getting richer. But if you want to make money on either the Dodgers or the Lakers, you might have missed your chance. Unsurprisingly, news of the blockbuster deals quickly changed the championship odds in both MLB and the NBA for the LA teams.

Here’s how those odds shifted at the Westgate SuperBook in Las Vegas.

SuperBook VP of risk management Jeff Sherman provided an update on the full post-trade, post-draft odds Friday afternoon.

According to NBA Bet, an arm of the Action Network, there’s plenty of money on the Lakers from bettors.

Ticket percentage
Lakers: 21 percent
Bucks: 11.3 percent
Warriors: 9.6 percent

Handle
Lakers: 39.7 percent
Bucks: 14.8 percent
Warriors: 9.2 percent

On the baseball side of things, the defending champion Dodgers were already short money when it came to World Series numbers. Adding a former Cy Young Award winner and an All-Star infielder unsurprisingly prompted a bullish reaction.

Here’s an updated look at the World Series favorites, per DraftKings Sportsbook:

Dodgers +300
Astros +625
White Sox +650
Mets +850
Padres +900
Red Sox +1000