NBA Trade Recap: What Changed With Raptors Odds After Jakob Poeltl Trade
There’s little movement to report on NBA futures odds, after Wednesday’s trade deadline, according to a spokesperson from BetMGM.
Odds Moves Came at the Top
The one real impactful trade that sent Kevin Durant to the Phoenix Suns. After that, the Suns' title odds went from 19.0 to 5.5.
The Dallas Mavericks' title odds went from 26.0 to 17.0 after Kyrie Irving was traded there. The L.A. Lakers' title odds went from 51.0 to 29.0 after they acquired D’Angelo Russell.
The Raptors, after they acquired C Jakob Poeltl from the San Antonio Spurs?
“Bupkus,” said a spokesperson from the BetRivers team, when asked if the Poeltl trade moved the lines on the Raptors at all.
Raptors president Masai Ujiri and general manager Bobby Webster elected to stick with the team’s current core, rather than blow up a roster that’s been average at best this NBA season. The Raptors are 26-30, 10th in the Eastern Conference, currently in a play-in tournament position, 4.5 games out of a Top 6 spot, which would guarantee them a playoff spot.
How will Moves or No Moves Help Going Forward?
Toronto plays the Raptors today and Poeltl will make his debut. According to DraftKings, tonight’s spread is Raptors -8, Jazz +8, and the moneyline is Raptors 1.31, Jazz 3.7.
Yes, the Raptors needed a rim protector and rebounder, and Poeltl answers that.
You almost have to admire Ujiri’s and Webster’s loyalty to the current core, which includes players like SG Fred VanVleet and PF Pascal Siakam, players that were nurtured through the Raptors’ system. So was SF O.G. Anunoby, a player reported to be unsatisfied with how he is being utilized.
There was a lot of interest around the league in Anunoby, a player who would undoubtedly have brought back a basket load of draft picks. The team’s brain trust decided to tweak and stay the course. But VanVleet, Poeltl, and SG Gary Trent Jr. are free agents this summer, and the Raptors will have egg on their face if any one or all three of these players head for green pastures. If they elect to sign them, those three will each get big pay boosts and throw the Raptors over the luxury tax threshold.
According to BetRivers, the Raptors are 151.0 to win the NBA championship. The Boston Celtics have the shortest odds, at 4.4.
Will Ujiri and Webster be rewarded for their loyalty? We'll soon see.
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