Kevin Durant may be pushing us to the brink of total NBA anarchy, and oddsmakers are here for the chaos.
Online sportsbook SportsBetting.ag released odds this week for the former MVP Durant’s next team if he decides to pursue a trade from the Brooklyn Nets. The Miami Heat, Memphis Grizzlies and Atlanta Hawks are listed as the three betting favorites. Two of Durant’s former teams (the Oklahoma City Thunder and Golden State Warriors) are also included in the top ten.
Here is the full list:
Miami Heat +250
Memphis Grizzlies +400
Atlanta Hawks +450
Phoenix Suns +500
Los Angeles Clippers +550
New York Knicks +600
Portland Trail Blazers +750
Oklahoma City Thunder +800
Los Angeles Lakers +1200
Golden State Warriors +1400
In addition to Miami’s picturesque location and status as a top contender in the East, Durant has played with Heat stars Jimmy Butler, Bam Adebayo, and Kyle Lowry on Team USA’s Olympic gold medal teams. The Grizzlies, meanwhile, are a rapidly rising team of youngsters who have Durant’s ex-Thunder teammate Steven Adams on the roster and Taylor Jenkins (who, like Durant, has ties to the state of Texas) as their head coach. The Hawks are also an exciting, young squad led by coach Nate McMillan, a franchise great of the team that drafted Durant, the Seattle SuperSonics.
It is still unknown if Durant, who is under contract for the next four seasons and owed nearly $200M, actually wants out of Brooklyn. But it looks like a definite possibility right now, and opposing teams will be ready to bombard the phone lines for Durant if he does request a move.
More must-reads: