LeBron James Odds: Where Will He Play in 2015 After Opting out of Contract?
Whether it was a real earthquake or just a tremor to wake up Miami Heat management, the announcement by LeBron James Tuesday that he would opt out of his contract sent shock waves through NBA fandom.
It also put oddsmakers on high alert and induced some sportsbooks to take down their 2015 NBA future odds lists until the situation settles a bit.
Shops such as Bodog took down their lines, while others kept Miami as the clear top betting choice. One also posted odds on which team LeBron will play for in 2015, and their opinion seemed to be that he won’t leave South Florida.
One shop had Miami as the 1-6 bet, with the Cleveland Cavaliers—his hometown team—as the next top choice at 5-1.
The fate of James was the only topic of fan and oddsmaker attention Wednesday. Carmelo Anthony has been rumored to be interested in the Chicago Bulls and early odds favor Chicago, with his current team running second.
And Thursday's NBA draft continues to generate buzz and NBA props. There are rumors of teams trying to move into the top few spots, where Cleveland and Milwaukee currently hold the keys to Jabari Parker and Andrew Wiggins.
The injury to Joel Embiid has disturbed the top of the draft order, as some teams are expected to shy away from the Kansas big man because of his checkered injury history.
LeBron James odds on where he will play next season (gathered by OddsShark.com):
Chicago Bulls +1500
Cleveland Cavaliers +500
Dallas Mavericks +3000
Houston Rockets +1000
Los Angeles Clippers +700
Los Angeles Lakers +2500
Miami Heat -600
New York Knicks +2500
Where will Carmelo Anthony play in 2015?
Chicago Bulls -250
New York Knicks +225
Miami Heat +300
Houston Rockets +750
Los Angeles Lakers +1500
Dallas Mavericks +1500
Atlanta Hawks +2000
Stats, odds courtesy of Odds Shark and NBA-Odds.com.
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