- The Los Angeles Lakers have moved up the 2023 NBA championship odds boards after shipping out Russell Westbrook.
- Los Angeles is now at +2500 at BetOnline after floating at the +4000 range prior to the Westbrook trade.
- The Lakers acquired D’Angelo Russell, Malik Beasley, and Jared Vanderbilt in the Westbrook trade.
The Los Angeles Lakers roller coaster ride in the 2023 NBA championship odds boards continued on Wednesday after they finally shipped out Russell Westbrook in a three-team deal that involved the Utah Jazz and Minnesota Timberwolves trading point guards.
In the trade, which was first reported by ESPN, the Lakers shipped Westbrook, Juan Toscano-Anderson, Damian Jones, and their 2027 first-round pick which is Top-4 protected. If the pick is not conveyed in 2027, meaning it falls in the Top 4, it will automatically be converted to a 2027 second-round pick.
Meanwhile, the Timberwolves will receive Mike Conley and Nickeil Alexander-Walker in the deal while the Lakers will get D’Angelo Russell, Jared Vanderbilt, and Malik Beasley.
Both Utah and Minnesota are ahead of Los Angeles’ in the team standings but it’s the Lakers’ title odds that have benefited from Wednesday’s trade.
The Lakers, Jazz, and Timberwolves are discussing a three-team trade involving D’Angelo Russell, Russell Westbrook, and Mike Conley, per @ShamsCharania and @Tjonesonthenba
D-Lo would go to L.A., Westbrook to the Jazz along with a first-round pick, and Conley to the Wolves pic.twitter.com/clQtpsRS8b
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) February 8, 2023
Lakers Move Up The Odds Boards
The Lakers were floating at the +5000 odds range at the start of the month to win the NBA Championship. But their title odds suddenly surged to +2200 when Kyrie Irving demanded a trade from the Brooklyn Nets. When Irving ended up in Dallas, the Lakers’ title odds dropped back to +4000.
After trading Westbrook, the Lakers’ odds are now down to +3000 at BetUS and +2500 at BetOnline. However, given the early numbers, the Lakers’ title odds could improve across all sportsbooks once the dust settles from the NBA Trade Deadline.
Looking at the odds boards, the Lakers have the 7th best title odds among Western Conference teams despite being just 13th in the latest West team standings.
Los Angeles has better title odds than:
#3 Sacramento Kings (+7000)
#8 New Orleans Pelicans (+2800)
#9 Minnesota Timberwolves (+20000)
#10 Utah Jazz (+30000)
#11 Oklahoma City Thunder (+30000)
#12 Portland Trailblazers (+10000)
Despite moving up the odds boards, the Lakers remain outside the Top 10 in the Western Conference standings. At 25-30, they are a massive 13 games behind the leaders Denver Nuggets but are just 5 games back of the 4th-seeded Clippers, 4 games behind no. 6 Dallas, and two games behind Utah for the final Play-in Tournament spot.
A Westbrook Trade, Finally
Westbrook is finally on the move after being in the rumor mill since last season’s trade deadline. After a disappointing first season with the Lakers, last year, it looked like Russ had finally settled down in L.A. after being relegated to coming off the bench as the team’s Sixth Man.
Before Wednesday’s trade, Russ had the second-best odds to win the 2023 NBA Sixth Man of the Year award. As late as Tuesday, Bovada had Westbrook as a -210 to remain with the Lakers after the trade deadline. The odds of him going to Utah were at +800 although the Jazz were listed at +400 to be his next team if he would be traded.
For all the criticism around him, Westbrook was having a good season in Los Angeles as he was averaging 15.9 points, 6.2 rebounds, and 7.5 assists per game. However, his shooting numbers were terrible at .417 from the field, .296 from three-point distance, and 65.5% from the foul line. Westbrook has posted 4 triple-doubles this season.
But while he posted decent numbers in his L.A. stint, Westbrook was never seen as a fit with LeBron James and Anthony Davis and was always blamed for the Lakers’ struggles. It probably also did not help that Russ had a heated argument with head coach Darvin Hamm after their recent loss to the Thunder.
D-Lo’s Second Stint With the Lakers
D’Angelo Russell is back with the Lakers❗️@twsn_sbs gives his thoughts on this trade for L.A.https://t.co/132Zy8pjin
— TWSN (@TWSN___) February 9, 2023
D’Angelo Russell will be returning to the team that drafted him second overall in the 2015 NBA Draft. He played for two seasons with the Lakers before he was traded to the Brooklyn Nets in June 2017 for Brook Lopez and the 27th pick of the 2017 NBA Draft which became Kyle Kuzma.
That season, the Lakers also drafted Lonzo Ball with the 2nd overall pick, the reason why they traded D-Lo to the Nets a couple of days prior.
Interestingly, Ball did not last long as the Lakers’ starting PG as he was traded to the New Orleans Pelicans along with Brandon Ingram and Josh Hart plus multiple draft picks for Anthony Davis. Meanwhile, Kuzma was also eventually traded to the Washington Wizards in the deal that brought Westbrook to Los Angeles.
D-Lo is averaging 17.9 points and 6.2 assists per game this season while shooting 46.5% from the field and 39.1% from three-point distance. His FG percentage, 3P%, and FT percentage are all career-high numbers for him. Russell’s 65.4% shooting on layups and dunks this season also ranks in the Top 10 among NBA guards.
After a rough start to the Timberwolves’ 2022-23 campaign, and the loss of Karl-Anthony Towns to injury, Russell helped keep them in the playoff hunt. Following Wednesday’s games, the Timberwolves are 29-28 SU on the season and in 9th place in the Western Conference, but only two games behind the 4th-seeded L.A. Clippers in a tight playoff battle.
