Odds on Ben Simmons’ next NBA team up already
PointsBet has installed the Trail Blazers as the favorites for a prop that is only legally available in one state in the U.S.
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In yet another sign of how quickly things have deteriorated, PointsBet is offering odds on where Ben Simmons will be traded.
There are two important caveats. One, he has to actually be traded, which today feels inevitable, but you never know how these things will go.
Two, this prop currently is available only in Illinois. Approval of exotic proposition bets in some U.S. jurisdictions, such as Pennsylvania and New Jersey, takes more time than others. It’s a kink in the relatively new industry that should correct itself.
Anyway, PointsBet opened the Blazers at +250 as the favorites, followed by the Wizards (+300) and Spurs (+450). Odds of Simmons joining LeBron James and the Lakers are +625, with the Rockets (+1,000) the longest shot of the nine teams listed.
Simmons, an All-Star the last three seasons, has seen his offensive confidence take a nosedive. He did not attempt a field goal in the fourth quarter in the last four games against Atlanta. The 24-year-old, 6-foot-11 point guard even passed up a dunk late in the Game 7 loss that Joel Embiid remarked afterward was a particularly damaging play.
A little over four months ago, Simmons posted a career-high 42 points at Utah. He was 15-for-26 from the field, 12-for-13 on free throws.
Compare that to the last four games against the Hawks (three losses), when he attempted a total of 24 shots from the field (made 11) and was 8-for-25 from the line.
$3.6M riding on Hawks
DraftKings is looking at a singular $3.6 million payout if the Hawks keep rolling to their first NBA title since moving to Atlanta in 1968.
On May 3 in Colorado, when the Hawks were 35-30 and tied for fifth place, a bettor put down $20,000 on them to win the Eastern Conference at 40-1 and another $20k to win the NBA title at 100-1.
On June 10 in New Jersey, two days after they lost Game 2 to the Sixers, the same player laid down another 10 grand on each play. To win the East was 25-1, to win the whole enchilada was 60-1.
If the Hawks beat Milwaukee and win the East, the bettor will win $1,050,000. If Atlanta goes on to win the whole megillah, the unidentified player will grab another $2.6 million.
Those same bets if made today, with Atlanta +350 to win the East and +1100 to win the title, would be worth $435,000 — a difference of $3,215,000.