Kevin Durant Staying Equals Huge Jump In Nets’ Title Odds
The Brooklyn Nets announced Tuesday that Kevin Durant is chill with playing for them again. For now. It doesn't feel like Durant's 'Wolf of Wall Street,' "I'm not f****** leaving moment." This feels like a married couple calling a family meeting and lying to their children by saying: "It's all good."
Things change fast in the NBA. For example, KD and the Nets could've buried the hatchet today. But, would you be shocked if Durant torched Brooklyn's front office on LeBron James' 'The Shop" or Draymond Green's podcast?
NBA bettors are hammering Brooklyn's NBA championship odds now that Durant has agreed to play with the team he pretty much assembled.
Caesars Sportsbook lowered the Nets' odds to win the NBA title from +1800 to +750 after KD and Brooklyn reconciled. ESPN's David Purdum is reporting Caesers booked six four-figure bets on BK to win the championship within 90 minutes of the Durant news.
PointsBet Sportsbook is listing Brooklyn at +800 to win the NBA championship and DraftKings Sportsbook has the Nets at +700. Either way, all love for Brooklyn in the betting market is lunacy. I'd have to be held hostage to wager on a Nets future.
Handicapping Brooklyn's Immediate Future
Brooklyn Nets Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant during Round 1 Game 4 of the 2022 NBA Playoffs on April 25, 2022 at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York (Getty Images).
Brooklyn's Big 3 consists of two awful NBA professionals and a temperamental Durant. Don't get me wrong, KD is one of the world's five best basketball players. But, Durant is on the wrong side of 30, has mounting injuries and gets caught up in his feelings.
Kyrie Irving is a basketball-cancer with an extensive injury history. Irving's Wikipedia page reads like the character arc of a Will Ferrell sports film villain. Kyrie can get his shot vs. anyone but he is a defensive liability and doesn't make teammates better. Also, Ben Simmons can tell Kyrie to "Hold my beer" before demonstrating worse professionalism.
The Philadelphia 76ers-Simmons settlement earlier this month after Simmons deserted Philly last season epitomizes the NBA player empowerment era. Simmons never developed his offensive game and it cost the Sixers a shot at the title. Instead of being accountable, Simmons played the victim.
All of this is hot take-y but it's part of my season-long handicap for the Nets. Basketball is about continuity and Brooklyn doesn't have any. When KD and Kyrie play, the Nets are great. Brooklyn had a +13.2 adjusted net rating when both KD and Kyrie were on the floor, per CleaningTheGlass.com.
However, who knows how many games KD and Kyrie will be active for? And will Simmons be the defensive difference-maker the Nets need? Sure, Brooklyn's ceiling is an NBA title but its floor is a team-wide temper tantrum leading to a lost season for an aging Durant.
There are just too many questions surrounding the Nets. Brooklyn has the fourth-best odds to win a title per DraftKings when it should be at least seventh. Let's see how, or if, the Nets come together during the regular season before placing a wager.
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