The 2021 NBA Trade Deadline has passed and some of the moves impacted the betting market.
The crown jewel of this year’s deadline was supposed to be Toronto guard Kyle Lowry, but he ended the day staying with Toronto.
However, the Raptors -- +6000 to win the NBA title at DraftKings Sportsbook -- were busy elsewhere.
Toronto traded guard Norman Powell to the Portland Trail Blazers for Gary Trent, Jr. and Rodney Hood. Powell is set to be a free agent this season and Toronto likely wouldn’t be able to meet his contract demands this summer.
The other big moves of the day were centered around the Orlando Magic.
The Magic, four-and-a-half games out of the play-in game, began their rebuild on Thursday, trading three of their core players.
First, All-Star center Nikola Vucevic was traded to the Chicago Bulls -- +180 to make the playoffs at DK -- with Al Farouq Aminu for Wendell Carter, Otto Porter Jr. and two first round picks.
The Bulls title odds shortened from 500-1 to 250-1 at the Borgata Sportsbook. Chicago is looking to make the postseason and build around All-Star guard Zach LaVine.
"Vucevic is averaging career highs in points and rebounds and will be a nice addition to Zach LaVine," Tom Gable, Sportsbook Director at the Borgata in Atlantic City, said. "They look like they are committed to trying to win now by making the deal."
Evan Fournier was sent to Boston -- +1200 to win the Eastern Conference -- for two second round picks. Fournier should give some necessary depth to the Celtics and take some pressure off of Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown.
The final move for Orlando was trading Aaron Gordon to Denver for a package of Gary Harris, R.J. Hampton and a protected 2025 first round pick.
The Nuggets odds shortened from 30-1 to 22-1 to win the title this season after acquiring Gordon at the Borgata.
"The Nuggets will certainly be a threat in the playoffs," Gable said. "They have the leading MVP candidate in Nikola Jokic and adding Gordon will be big, especially on the defensive end."
On the surface, it looks like Gordon could be a nice fit for them. I think this addition was really more than any other playoff contender did to improve today.
Meanwhile, the Lakers were hunting for reinforcements around injured LeBron James and Anthony Davis, but were unable to acquire Lowry. It was a quiet day for the defending champions.
The Heat were unable to reach Toronto’s high demands for Lowry, but pivoted at the deadline and acquired Victor Oladipo from the Houston Rockets.
Miami traded Avery Bradley, Kelly Olynyk and a pick swap for the Houston guard. While on the surface Miami turned marginal role players into a former All-Star in Oladipo, the Borgata kept their odds at 30-1 to win the NBA title this season.
Not to mention, Oladipo is going to be an unrestricted free agent this summer and Miami will get a close look to see if he is a fit with this organization.
Lastly, Lowry’s hometown team, the Philadelphia 76ers, moved off of the Lowry pursuit and acquired George Hill from the Oklahoma City Thunder. Hill will be a backup guard to try and give some added playmaking in the backcourt as Philly gears up for a deep playoff run.
Ultimately, it was an active trade deadline with double digit trades completed, but nothing shook up the betting market other than Denver's addition.
The Nets and Lakers remain the favorites to win the 2021 NBA Championship, both at +285 to win it all at DK.
The next step will be the likes of Andre Drummond hitting the buyout market to also potentially shake up the title picture.
Reed is a native of New Jersey and graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He is a die-hard Brooklyn Nets fan and always believes the spread has a chance of covering. You can follow Reed on Twitter @ReedWallach for more commentary.