At noon on October 31 , the Los Angeles Clippers and Philadelphia 76ers created a blockbuster exchange around James Harden.
The relationship between Harden and the 76ers has shown signs of rift since the end of last season and has become increasingly more serious this summer. The climаx was when the former Brooklyn Nets star publicly criticized 76ers director Darl Morey. Therefore, when Harden requested to be traded, the 76ers were not too interested in keeping him.
Although it took longer than Harden expected, he was eventually transferred to the Clippers, the club he wаnted. Here, Harden will be teammates with former All-Star players such as Russell Westbrook, Paul George or Kawhi Leonard. Harden’s appearance significantly increases the Clippers’ championship hopes.
This season’s Clippers only ranked 8th on the list of teams with the highest odds of winning the NBA championship. However, after acquiring Harden, they rose to 5th place, with only the Phoenix Suns, Denver Nuggets, Milwaukee Bucks and Boston Celtics having better odds.
“The Clippers’ odds were $1 to $26 on Oct. 27 and are now down to $13,” said Dave Bauk, senior trader at TAB and host of the Trаsh Talk with DBauk podcast .A few days ago, the Clippers’ odds dropped to 1 to $21 when Harden did not play for the 76ers. When the transfer was finally completed, the odds were down to 1/17 before a huge plunge left it at 1/11.”
One day after the successful transfer announcement, the Clippers held 11.5% of the total bets on the club winning the NBA championship this season, and were ranked 5th.
Currently at $13, the Clippers have similar odds to the Golden State Warriors, but according to Bauk, when Harden starts playing, that number could change significantly.
| Team | Odds ($1 win) |
| Boston Celtics | $5 |
| Milwaukee Bucks | $5.50 |
| Denver Nuggets | $6 |
| Phoenix Suns | $8 |
| LA Clippers | $13 |
| Golden State Warriors | $13 |
| Los Angeles Lakers | $17 |
| Cleveland Cavaliers | $21 |
| Philadelphia 76ers | $26 |
| Memphis Grizzlies | $34 |
| Dallas Mavericks | $34 |
| Miami Heat | $34 |
| Sacramento Kings | $51 |
| Oklahoma City Thunder | $51 |
| New Orleans Pelicans | $51 |
| New York Knicks | $51 |
| Minnesota Timberwolves | $67 |
| Atlanta Hawks | $81 |
| Brooklyn Nets | $101 |
| Toronto Raptors | $126 |
| Chicago Bulls | $151 |
| San Antonio Spurs | $201 |
| Orlando Magic | $201 |
| Indiana Pacers | $201 |
| Portland Trail Blazers | $251 |
| Utah Jazz | $251 |
| Washingtоn Wizards | $501 |
| Houston Rockets | $501 |
| Detroit Pistons | $501 |
| Charlotte Hornets | $501 |