The biggest fireworks in the NBA in July did not come on July 4th this year, they came on July 5th. That’s when the LA Clippers landed Kawhi Leonard and Paul George.
Late Friday evening and early Saturday morning, depending on your time zone, Adrian Wojnarowski reported not only that Kawhi Leonard had made his decision to sign with the Los Angeles Clippers but he was bringing Paul George with him.
Join Wannamakeabet.com today. Join our monthly “All Sports” Betting Championship today where you bet points instead of real money on all the major pro sports (NFL, College Football, NBA, NHL, MLB, and pro soccer). We’ll put you into a league and give you a bankroll of 50,000 points so you can bet on every game on the board. And you get 50,000 more points every week. Whomever has the most points at the end of the league is the winner and wins real cash based on how many players join! Join today, it’s free!
Leonard and George will join a starting lineup of Patrick Beverley, Landry Shamet and Montrezl Harrell. The Lakers, the betting favorite at +150 prior the Leonard’s decision, quickly signed Danny Green to a two-year deal to join LeBron James, Anthony Davis, Kyle Kuzma and a roster to be determined later.
The total return for Oklahoma City, according to Woj, is four unprotected first round picks, a protected first round pick and two pick swaps in addition to Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Danilo Gallinari. There’s now speculation the Thunder could look to on from Russell Westbrook, too.
Just like that, Toronto lost two key contributors including its Finals MVP; the Lakers were left at the alter with no Big 3 to join James and Davis; the Thunder lost its co-star and perhaps are signaling a rebuild; the Clippers are now perhaps the best roster in the NBA.
The Thunder were 40/1 prior to the trade.
Some sports books have either put out lines at time of publish or have estimated lines. At DraftKings, the Clippers are 2/1, the shortest odds to win the NBA title. The Raptors are 20/1.