Dwight Howard Trade: How does it shake up the NBA Odds?

With Dwight Howard now heading to the Lakers, how are the NBA odds makers adjusting the lines? Lets look at each team and decide who where the biggest winners in this landmark trade.

The NBA landscape has changed once again, and the lockout that tortured NBA bettors looks like it has ended up being for nothing. The rich in the NBA are just getting richer, and it is more evident with the blockbuster trade that just went down.

Dwight Howard’s ‘Indecision 2012’ is finally over, as he has been traded to the Lakers. He joins Kobe Bryant, Steve Nash and Pau Gasol to form up a team that is almost surely the favorite to win the NBA Championship; even over the Heat. 

I’ll break down each team in this trade one by one, and let you know if their NBA Odds will be improving or decreasing. 

Lakers +600 

Why is it that every time the Lakers pull off a big trade, it looks like they didn’t have to give up anything. They traded one big man with an expiring contract for another better one. Even in the Nash deal, they basically gave up Lamar Odom and draft picks for him. How can they do this? How can they get all the players they want, keep the players they want to keep (Pau Gasol) and end up not taking on more money in contracts?

The Lakers sent Bynum to Philadelphia, they will surrender another first round pick, and they didn’t end up having to take on any of the Magic’s bad contracts. The Lakers jumped up to +600 in the eyes of NBA odds makers after getting Steve Nash, they will almost certainly jump above the Heat as title favorites now. 

76ers +6000 

The Sixers have been getting better for the last few seasons, and even though they had to give up their best player in Andre Iguodala, they got back a dominant center, and they took on Jason Richardson’s contract. Either way, getting rid of AI’s contract will free them up to sign Bynum to a long-term contract if they can after this season. The Sixers have quickly moved to the third or fourth best team in East, and the NBA odds makers will surely take note. 

Nuggets +4000

While Denver had to give up the most pieces in this trade, they got exactly what they wanted by being a facilitator in this trade. They got rid of Al Harrington’s contract, but they got back Andre Iguodala. Iguodala will plug in very nicely with the Nuggets’ backcourt, giving them a physical defender at the two guard. Even though they had to give up Arron Afflalo, they needed an upgrade at the two guard to go along with Danillo Gallanari and Ty Lawson in the backcourt. 

Magic +6000

Now to the Magic, a team that looks as if they will be facing the basement for years. Orlando did get three first round draft picks from the three other teams involved. However, they won’t be able to use them until 2014, 2015 and 2017. The Magic also brought in Arron Afflalo, a young lights out shooter, who should be a solid NBA player for years to come. From Philadelphia, they got young big man Nikola Vucevic, and they also had to take on Al Harrington to make the money equal. They also got the Sixers’ first round pick, Moe Harkless, who played very well in Summer League.

While this isn’t the best the Magic could have done, it’s pretty close. They weren’t going to get top dollar for Howard unless Howard committed to a long-term deal. The Magic are going to be bad for a long time, but they will be stock piling draft picks on top of the three they just got, because they are a lottery team for the next three to five seasons.