Suns, Nets Head in Opposite Directions after Durant Trade

The NBA Championship odds landscape was flipped on its head after the Brooklyn Nets dealt superstar Kevin Durant to the Phoenix Suns. In a star-driven league, there’s always the potential for a seismic shift at any given moment, which is precisely what happened at this year’s trade deadline. BetMGM Sportsbook Insights

• Suns Line Movement after Durant trade: +1800 –> +450
• Nets Line Movement after Durant trade: +2200 –> +10000

Only a handful of players in the NBA can substantially alter a basketball team’s direction, and Durant is one of those players. The future Hall of Fame forward is averaging just shy of 30 points per game on 55.9% shooting, which has him in a class by himself.

Durant had this league-altering movement when he signed with the Golden State Warriors in 2016 and won a pair of NBA titles. The same outcome is undoubtedly on the table after he was moved to the Suns, who saw significant line movement in the futures market because of it.

The Suns went into the day of the trade at +1800 to win the NBA Championship but saw their odds rise substantially to +450. They’re now listed as the Western Conference favorites and boast the second-shortest odds to win the title behind only the Boston Celtics (+325). 

With the departure of Durant and Kyrie Irving ahead of the trade deadline, the Nets saw a severe drop in their odds of winning the NBA Championship. Brooklyn fell from +2200 after Irving was dealt to +10000 after the Durant trade. In this star-driven league, immense talents sometimes mix poorly, which was part of the downfall in Brooklyn.

Since the trade, the Suns have seen significant backing in the futures department. Over the last week, Phoenix has generated the highest ticket and handle percentages to win the NBA title.

Durant and company have compiled 34.5% of tickets for 43.9% of the handle, indicating some bigger bets coming in toward the star-studded Suns. Throughout that same span, the opposite can be said for the Nets, who’ve seen just 1.54% of tickets in addition to 0.76% of the handle.