It seems like we can’t go six months without Kyrie Irving singlehandedly turning the NBA upside down.
Whether it was his trade demand from the Cavaliers in 2017, followed by a controversial departure from the Boston Celtics in 2019, and even his recent problems with anti-semitism, Irving has been embroiled in controversy for most of his career.
And his decision to request a trade from the Brooklyn Nets is just another distraction that will derail their once-promising season.
One that sportsbooks believed could have been an NBA Finals-worthy team.
The Nets opened the day on BetMGM at +700 to win the NBA Finals, tied with the Nuggets for the third-best odds. Since then, their odds have doubled to +1400, the eighth-best odds in the NBA.
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Irving is far from guaranteed to be traded ahead of Thursday’s deadline, but if he is dealt, expect those odds to drop to nearly +5000.
The trade demand did interest bettors in other, more speculative, ways.
The Lakers’ NBA Finals odds also saw movement. At the time of writing, LeBron James’ team comes in at +3000 (13th-best) to win the NBA title. But those odds started at +4000 (14th-best) just minutes before the trade demand. ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported that the Lakers are expected to explore a trade for Irving. NBA insider Marc Stein also reported that the Dallas Mavericks could get involved in Irving trade talks as well.
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It will be an extremely entertaining next few days in the NBA as teams put their offers in for Irving. But it is unclear who would be willing to take a flyer on the embattled star.
We do know that the Lakers already took a long look at a James-Irving reunion last season.
