The Brooklyn Nets shocked the NBA world Wednesday night when they traded All-Star forward Kevin Durant to the Phoenix Suns. How does this move affect the Brooklyn Nets Futures odds market?
Nets receive a Haul for Durant
Brooklyn made Phoenix pay a heavy price for Durant–the Suns sent forwards Mikal Bridges and Cam Johnson, plus four first-round unprotected draft picks. The Nets sent forward TJ Warren along to sweeten the deal, but Brooklyn is now a newly constructed team under head coach Jaques Vaughn.
Bridges is averaging 17.2 points with 4.3 caroms and just over three assists for the Suns and is expected to make an immediate impact for Brooklyn. Bridges is durable, a better-than-average three-point shooter, and a better-than-average perimeter defender.
Johnson has been in and out of the Suns’ lineup due to injury, but Johnson is also expected to make an impact and is projected to start at the shooting guard spot. Johnson averaged 13.9 points per game, is a capable rebounder, and is exceptional from beyond the arc. Johnson is a talented defender but did miss several games this season.
Brooklyn also added Spencer Dinwiddie and Dorian Finney-Smith in the Kyrie Irving trade, and what the Nets have is a young team filled with solid three-point shooters and better-than-average defenders.
How the Durant Trade Affected the Nets Futures Odds
Below is a walkthrough of futures odds (on DraftKings NJ) that may have been affected by the Durant trade:
To Participate in the NBA Play-In +320
This is an intriguing bet because the Nets are 5th seed in the Eastern Conference and 7.5 games ahead of the 10th seed Toronto Raptors.
The Nets will likely have some growing pains due to the new lineup, but Vaughn is terrific at developing young players, and these young guys all defend exceptionally well. It would take a long losing streak to keep Brooklyn out of the playoffs, and this is a good bet for New Jersey sports bettors to make.
To win the NBA Atlantic Division +15000
The Nets probably weren’t winning the Atlantic Division with Durant and Irving in the fold.
Boston is starting to heat up and has a six-game lead over Brooklyn in the division table, and the Philadelphia 76ers will also have something to say about this if the Celtics fall off.
To Win the Eastern Conference +3500
The odds of winning the East are lower than winning the Atlantic Division. The reason is Brooklyn doesn’t have to win their division to make the playoffs or win the Eastern Conference banner.
Brooklyn won’t win the conference, but it will be interesting to see how they fare in the playoffs if they do indeed reach the playoffs.
To Win the NBA Championship +8000
The Brooklyn Nets won’t win the NBA title this season. They will be fun to watch, likely reach at least the play-in game, and maybe, with a bit of luck, finds their way into the playoffs.
That’s as much as New Jersey bettors and Nets fans can hope for, and we expect Brooklyn to have a much better 2023-2024 season.
