The offshore sports book Bovada recently published odds on certain players to be traded at any moment this season, which has created a bit of a buzz in the NBA sports betting industry because of its intrigue.
Some offshore sports books have offered these type of proposition bets in previous years, but with the early intrigue and excitement of this upcoming season I believe the exploration of these particular players and their teams’ current situation is definitely of note.
As many of you know, sports books in Las Vegas are not allowed to offer these types of bets because they are not officially scored in the nightly boxscore, which is just one of the reasons why the offshore sports books offer such large intrigue to many bettors across the nation and the world.
Here is the list of players on which odds were offered before the season began Tuesday night:
Player: Rudy Gay
Position: SF
Team: Toronto Raptors
Odds: Yes (6/1) & No (1/10)
Gay has been a member of the Toronto Raptors for a little over 270 days since his trade from the Memphis Grizzlies, and Toronto has already had discussions about what it could potentially get for Gay in a deal this season. Gay’s odds are very interesting, but you would assume they are a little bit higher than most on this list because of two reasons. One would be Raptors new general manager Masai Ujiri, who is a deep thinker when it comes to rebuilding a team and will look up and down for a deal that may get his team closer to the top sooner rather than later – which does not necessarily mean a deal for Gay. Two would be the fact Gay is currently taking up $17.8 million on Toronto’s cap, and you would have to find a team on their way toward the top to take on that contract. I would say Dallas, Chicago or Cleveland could be destinations for Gay, but keeping money off the books that are not expiring contracts may be more valuable for these teams than acquiring a scoring wing.
Player: Kyle Lowry
Position: PG
Team: Toronto Raptors
Odds: Yes (2/1) & No (1/3)
Different player, same team. The fact that another Raptor is on this list is just another reason why “NBA-heads” are pretty sure Ujiri is going to shake things up pretty soon in Toronto. If the Raptors do not start off on a good note, things may change pretty quickly. Lowry is a completely different animal than Gay for a multitude of reasons – one being Lowry’s price tag is about $11 million less than Gay’s and may be easier to trade across the league if injuries thin a team at point guard. Lowry may be intriguing to a few teams considering his contract is an expiring one, and a contender may be interested in renting his services to make a run. Here is a list of possible destinations, IMHO: Warriors, Heat (not really talented point guard, but a need), Pelicans, Spurs (probably a long shot) and Wizards.
Player: Carlos Boozer
Position: PF
Team: Chicago Bulls
Odds: Yes (1.5/1) & No (1/2)
It seems like Boozer has been discussed in trade rumors for the past two to three seasons, even though he had only been signed as a free agent by Chicago in 2010. Boozer has two years left on his contract that pays him approximately $15.3 million per year, which is a tough contract to trade away unless you are adding assets or an incentive for another team. With $14.25 million left on Luol Deng’s expiring contract, I fully expect Deng to be a bigger asset for teams than Boozer will until next season, when his expiring deal will be an asset for contending teams a few months into the season. People have discussed such deals as Boozer for LaMarcus Aldridge or the possibility of a blockbuster trade of Boozer, Jimmy Butler and assets for Kevin Love. But if you ask me, it will be tough for the Bulls to deal Boozer this season.
(RELATED: AMNESTY PROVISION: WHO STILL HAS IT; WHO DOESN’T? A TEAM-BY-TEAM LOOK)
Player: Danny Granger
Position: SF
Team: Indiana Pacers
Odds: Yes (1/2) & No (1.5/1)
Granger and the trade market go hand-in-hand. He played only five games in 2012-2013 and is expected to miss the first three to four weeks of this season. Trading Granger and getting some sort of equal value from another team would be tough for the Pacers. Indiana made the Eastern Conference finals last season basically without Granger doing anything, so they are definitely not going to rush him back, especially after adding depth in Luis Scola and Chris Copeland this offseason. Granger currently has one year at $14 million left on his expiring contract, which makes him a potential deal chip if he can ever string together 10-15 games of action to show other teams there is the possibility of playing time.
Player: Omer Asik
Position: C
Team: Houston Rockets
Odds: Yes (1/3) & No (2/1)
Many people believed the signing of Dwight Howard over the summer for the Houston Rockets meant the inevitable exit for Asik, who even thought so himself at first. When the signing went down, Asik went public, demanding a trade out of Houston because he did not want to play behind Howard on the roster. Two months later, Asik is still in Houston, the Rockets have two really good centers on their roster – and are playing them alongside each other. Asik has two years and $8.3 million per year on his contract, but the positive is the fact many teams across the league have a need for a productive center and a deal is a possibility if GM Daryl Morey and the Rockets ever wanted to pull the trigger. The 1/3 odds on Asik to be traded is more about the public perception than it is Houston’s point of view. From an outsider’s perspective, people are a bit shocked Houston has not yet pulled the trigger on a deal to send Asik somewhere for players and draft picks to strengthen other parts of their roster. But only time will tell what Houston wants to do.
Evan Abrams covers basketball gambling for SheridanHoops.com. Follow him on Twitter.
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