NBA Odds Make Toronto Raptors Championship Contenders

The Toronto Raptors had the greatest season in franchise history in the 2015-16 NBA campaign. 

They won a team-best 56 regular-season games and reached the Eastern Conference Finals for the first time, losing to the eventual NBA champion Cleveland Cavaliers in six games. So one could make an argument that the Raptors were the third-best team in the league last season. However, on Sports Interaction NBA odds to win next year’s title, the Raptors are just eighth on the list at +2500.

NBA Championship Odds

Keep in mind that those betting odds are likely to change once NBA free agency shakes out beginning Friday. Toronto has two key unrestricted free agents in All-Star shooting guard DeMar DeRozan and centre Bismack Biyombo. The salary cap is going way up this offseason due to the new TV deal kicking in, but it’s not expected that the Raptors will be able to re-sign both of those guys. DeRozan is the clear priority after he averaged a career-high 23.5 points this past season. He and fellow All-Star Kyle Lowry might form the best backcourt in the Eastern Conference.

DeRozan has said he doesn’t plan on meeting with any other teams and is focused on getting a deal done with the Raptors, but they are going to have to give him a maximum contract. Toronto can offer him a five-year contract worth $153 million with the salary cap at a projected $94 million. Other teams would be able to offer him a maximum deal of $114 million over four years. So it makes financial sense for DeRozan to stay with the only franchise he has known. Toronto’s top competition for him, if talks do break down, is likely to be the Los Angeles Lakers. DeRozan is from L.A. and played his college ball at USC.

As for Biyombo, some team is going to overpay him with so much money out there to spend. Biyombo had a coming out party in the playoffs when Jonas Valanciunas was injured. Biyombo is a ferocious rebounder and good shot-blocker but very limited offensively. He only averaged 22.0 minutes per game in the regular season.

The Raptors seem resigned to losing him as they drafted Utah center Jakob Poeltl with the No. 9 overall pick in last week’s NBA Draft. Poeltl was named Pac-12 Player of the Year and received second team All-America honors this past season with  the Utes. The Austrian 7-footer scored 27 points on Valanciunas in a friendly versus Lithuania last summer. The Raptors have called him “an insurance policy at the centre and forward positions.” The team also drafted a power forward at No. 27 overall in New Mexico State’s Pascal Siakam. He was one of the nation’s leading rebounders in 2015-16.

Kevin Durant Decision May Change Odds

The runner-up Golden State Warriors, the first team to blow a 3-1 series lead and lose the NBA Finals, are the +240 favorites on NBA futures to win a second title in three years next season. As long as two-time NBA MVP Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green stay healthy, the Warriors, who set an NBA record with 73 regular-season wins, are going to be a top contender.

The Warriors could lose two key players in free agency this offseason in Harrison Barnes and Festus Ezeli. The team also could trade either Andre Iguodala or Andrew Bogut to open up enough salary-cap space to chase Oklahoma City Thunder free-agent superstar Kevin Durant. There have been rumours that if  Durant doesn’t re-sign with the Thunder, the Warriors are his top choice. Can you imagine how good that offense would be in adding Durant?

The Cavaliers are +280 to repeat as NBA champions — it’s rare these days to repeat in the NFL, NHL or Major League Baseball but it’s rather common in the NBA where one player can  make such a big difference. As long as LeBron James is healthy and in his prime, the Cavs will likely be the team to beat in the East. The big offseason question for the Cavaliers is whether or not to trade Kevin Love, who doesn’t seem like a good fit.

The San Antonio Spurs (+550) and Thunder (+850) round out the favorites. Needless to say, the Thunder’s basketball odds are going to get much, much longer if Durant leaves. The Spurs also are going to pursue him.

The New York Knicks are +5000 following last week’s big acquisition of point guard Derrick Rose from the Chicago Bulls. The Knicks will be very active in free agency. They want Durant too but no one seems to think he will go there. Most believe Durant will re-sign on a short deal with OKC. The Bulls are now +4000 following the Rose trade.

The long shots to win the 2017 NBA title are the Philadelphia 76ers and Brooklyn Nets, each at +35000. The Nets pretty clearly have the worst talent base in the NBA. The Boston Celtics got their first-round pick in last week’s draft, have the right to swap first-round picks with the Nets next year (and they will do that) and then get Brooklyn’s first-round pick without any restriction again in 2018. Those are all payment for the Paul Pierce/Kevin Garnett trade. The Nets aren’t going to be good for a long time.