Kevin Durant Odds: Bookmakers Still Guessing Where Star Ends Up Next
Durant is favored to stay in Brooklyn
The Kevin Durant offseason Tilt-a-Whirl just keeps on spinning.
Durant initially requested a trade from the Brooklyn Nets back on June 30 and there has basically been a new rumor every week revolving around where he'll play next season. The latest drama featured a zany report Monday that the 33-year-old superstar would retire if the Nets didn't ship him out of town. He quickly dismissed those rumors with a tweet.
Imagine trying to book NBA title futures with Durant basically holding the league hostage.
The Nets (+1800) have the ninth-best odds at the Westgate SuperBook in Las Vegas behind the Boston Celtics (+500), Golden State Warriors (+600), Los Angeles Clippers (+700), Milwaukee Bucks (+800), Miami Heat (+1000), Phoenix Suns (+1000), Philadelphia 76ers (+1200) and Los Angeles Lakers (+1600).
But that 18-1 price is a halfway number. It'll be slashed if Durant stays and boosted way up if he goes.
"It's a mid-range number (on Brooklyn futures) so we're not too high if he were to stay," SuperBook vice president of risk management Jeff Sherman told NESN. "We don't want extra liability to build due to high prices, but we can't be so egregiously low that no Nets bets come across.
"It's still weighted toward an unsuccessful season. Even if all the players return to Brooklyn, there are obvious issues that can cause on-the-court problems. And they just got swept out of the gym by Boston.
"We also have to be lower on potential trade destinations so we don't get too overwhelmed. It's a gamble trying to figure out where he could possibly land, but a team like the Toronto Raptors would never be 30-1 to win the title if Durant wasn't on the market. Their odds would be way higher."
Meanwhile, DraftKings Sportsbook is taking bets on where Durant will play his next game.
Kevin Durant's next team odds:
Nets -170 ($170 wins $100)
Suns +225
Celtics +225
Raptors +600
Heat +800
Warriors +1500
Sixers +2000
Pelicans +2500 ($100 wins $2,500)
DraftKings is obviously bullish that the Nets' asking price is too high in trade talks and they're making you lay -170 to bet on Durant staying in Flatbush. But as we've learned throughout this six-week saga, you almost have to expect the unexpected when it comes to mapping out Durant's next stop.
And you'll be rewarded if you bet a team down the sheet and it comes to fruition.
"If I had to guess, it would be Miami," Sherman guesstimated. "You can't count out Pat Riley. He'll stay aggressive and try to pull the trigger like he did back in the day with the Shaq trade."
