NBA title odds drop for Philadelphia, Brooklyn after trade

The Nets and 76ers both saw their 2022 NBA title odds drop after Thursday’s trade that swapped disgruntled stars.

Brooklyn sent James Harden and Paul Millsap to Philadelphia for Ben Simmons, Seth Curry, Andre Drummond and two first-round draft picks.

The Westgate SuperBook lowered the Sixers from 14-1 to 7-1 after the deal and dropped the Nets from 10-1 to 7-1, though that move was more in response to the rest of the betting market.

“We already had Brooklyn higher than the market,” SuperBook vice president of risk Jeff Sherman said. “There are still a lot of question marks in regard to the Nets. I have more faith in them next year when they’re not coming off the changes they are now.

“I wouldn’t expect there to be a (vaccine) mandate next year, so (Kyrie) Irving will be a full-time player next year. And Simmons will not be coming fresh off a hiatus.”

Philadelphia was sitting between 20-1 and 25-1 to win it all before Sherman dropped it to 14-1 the last two weeks in anticipation of a trade.

“I thought they did well not giving up (Matisse) Thybulle and (Tyrese) Maxey, two young pieces for the future,” he said. “They have to take take advantage this year with the way (Joel) Embiid is playing. They got a player in Harden alongside Embiid who can help get the title and that’s reflected in their odds.

“A trade with other teams and they would have been 16-1 at best.”

The Nets and Sixers are tied at 7-1 with the defending NBA champion Milwaukee Bucks.

The Golden State Warriors and Phoenix Suns are +450 co-favorites to win it all.

“There are a lot of good teams in the East. It’s going to be tough to come out of there,” Sherman said. “You look at the West and it’s not nearly as wide open. The Suns and Warriors are heads and shoulders above everyone.”

Contact reporter Todd Dewey at tdewey@reviewjournal.com. Follow @tdewey33 on Twitter.