How Steve Nash to Lakers Reshapes 2013 NBA Title Odds

As the Miami Heat hoisted the Larry O'Brien Trophy high over their heads back in June, NBA futures had already started to roll out of Las Vegas. The Heat were deemed favorites to win the title yet again, with the Los Angeles Lakers sitting a bit further back, going off at 12-1 odds.

Those odds aren't terrible, but it's a far cry from the 5-2 odds that the Heat and the Oklahoma City Thunder shared.

Now that Steve Nash has accepted a sign-and-trade deal to the Lakers, the odds have jumped up quite a bit, with the Lakers going off at 7-1 odds, a huge increase—enough to bring them neck-and-neck with the San Antonio Spurs in the NBA Title futures.

It's not surprising to see the Lakers increase that much after getting one of the three best point guards in the NBA, especially considering the fact that they didn't have to give up any of their current roster to nab Nash.

What is the major reason for the increase? Well it's got to be the fact that Nash doesn't only bring a pretty good long ball to the team, but he also makes everyone else on the team better.

Nash will turn Andrew Bynum into the best offensive center in the league, and there will be little doubt about that. He'll turn Pau Gasol into the most dangerous weapon on the Lakers, able to hurt the defense from the inside and the outside.

Should Kobe relegate himself to a bit of a lesser role on offense, he'll end up getting many more open three-pointers and presumably finish the season with some great shooting numbers.

Of course, a lot of the Lakers improvement depends on Nash and Kobe fitting well together, but if there's one point guard that Kobe would allow to take over the offense, it's Nash.

However, how do the Lakers compare to the top of the league in terms of NBA Title odds?

As stated earlier, the Thunder and Heat are booming at the top of the league, coming in at 5-2 odds, with the Bulls following closely at 5-1 even with an injured Derrick Rose. 

Los Angeles and San Antonio come up behind them at 7-1. 2011 NBA Champions the Dallas Mavericks come in at 15-1 even after being spurned by Deron Williams as Williams' Brooklyn Nets come in alongside Boston and Indiana with 20-1 odds.

While the Lakers are still just outside of the race for the top of the favorites list, they're pretty darn close. With a lot of offseason left and whatever may be running through Mitch Kupchak's mind at this point, it's entirely possible that Los Angeles jumps up with the Bulls or even up there with the Heat and Thunder.