With the news of Kawhi Leonard and Paul George heading to California, the Los Angeles Clippers are now the +275 favourites to win the NBA Championship.
The NBA off season continues to be just as exciting as the regular season; late Friday night was just another example. As Kawhi-mania continued to rock the city of Toronto the previous day, it came to an abrupt halt as the league’s most prized free agent made the decision to sign a four-year deal with the Los Angeles Clippers.
Leonard was the Finals MVP leading the Raptors to the franchises first NBA Championship just over three weeks ago, but now the team will have to look in another direction. The Clippers weren’t finished with just the Leonard signing as they orchestrated a massive deal with the Oklahoma City Thunder to bring in All-Star Paul George.
2019/20 NBA Championship
The futures numbers have changed at Sports Interaction as the Raptors have now slid to +1500 to win next year’s championship, while the Clippers now come in as the +275 favourites to capture the Larry O’Brien trophy. Just days ago, the Clippers were on the board at +1400.There was been plenty of movement in the first days of NBA free agency. The Brooklyn Nets made a huge splash agreeing to terms with Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving and DeAndre Jordan. Durant is expected to miss most of, if not all, of the 2019-20 season, but the Nets gained ground on the futures board at Sports Interaction, paying +750 to win the Eastern conference, and +2200 to win the NBA Championship.
The Celtics were quick to replace Irving, signing former Charlotte Bobcats point guard Kemba Walker to a deal. The Celtics come in at +550 to win the East. Staying the in the East, Tobias Harris agreed to stay in Philadelphia and will be joined by Al Horford. However, Jimmy Butler will take his talents to Miami to join the Heat. The 76ers come in at +260 while the Heat are +2800 to come out of the East.
In the West, it’s all about LeBron James and recently acquired Anthony Davis. The two have propelled the Lakers to the odds on favourite to win the West paying +240 and +375 to win the NBA Championship.
Don’t look now, but the Utah Jazz might be knocking on the Lakers front door. After trading for Grizzlies guard Mike Conley, the Jazz signed Bojan Bogdanovic, Ed Davis, Jeff Green and Emmanuel Mudiay, gaining some depth at multiple positions. The Jazz are paying +900 at Sports Interaction to win the West.
Also, the Golden State Warriors hope to be back in the picture as they signed Klay Thompson to max money and acquired D’Angelo Russell from the Nets. They also lost Kevin Durant (Nets), and Andre Iguodala (Grizzlies) in a trade. The Warriors have a futures ticket price of +1100 to win the NBA Championship.
