Some have called it the most shocking trade in the history of professional sports. On Sunday 2 February 2025, the NBA was rocked to its core when the Dallas Mavericks traded superstar guard Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers. Doncic, just 25, is considered by most to be a top-three player in the world and previously had been considered untouchable and untradeable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Mavericks traded Doncic for all-world center Anthony Davis, Max Christie, and a 2029 first-round draft pick. The Lakers also received Markief Morris and Maxi Kleber in the deal. The trade sent shockwaves through the NBA and the professional sports world. Every player involved in the trade had no idea of it even up to the announcement on social media. Doncic was said to be stunned and completely blindsided by the trade after recently purchasing a $15 million house in Dallas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So, how does this trade impact the NBA betting markets? Let\u2019s examine Doncic\u2019s new team, the Los Angeles Lakers, and see if the trade makes them a viable candidate for the NBA Championship.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Lakers are a completely different team and are well set up for the future if Doncic re-signs with them in the offseason. But what about 2025? Is Doncic enough to will the Lakers to the NBA Championship? Doncic did so last year, with arguably a worse team in Dallas. Can Doncic and Lebron James carry the Lakers to the promised land?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Bookmakers and bettors seem to believe so. After the trades, the Lakers saw their future odds of winning the NBA Championship increase substantially. On Bet Victor, Los Angeles now has the fourth-best odds of winning the title, behind only the Boston Celtics, the Oklahoma City Thunder, and the Cleveland Cavaliers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
On the surface, when you take Lebron James and pair him with Luka Doncic, you can see why bettors would be itching to bet on the Lakers to win the championship. However, Los Angeles has the same issue it had when it was Lebron and Davis: they are a very top-heavy team.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
They lack the depth of teams like OKC, Cleveland, Boston, and Denver. In a league where teams used to mortgage everything for a \u201cbig three,\u201d younger teams are building depth and developing their draft picks. The Lakers\u2019 failed attempt to trade for center Mark Williams also leaves a gaping hole at the five. Without Davis, the Lakers will need to rely on a combination of Jaxson Hayes, Lebron, and potentially a returning Christian Wood to defend against Western Conference centers like Nikola Jokic, Chet Holmgren, and Alperen Sengun.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The fact of the matter is, with these updated odds the Lakers simply are not a sharp look to win the NBA Championship this year. So, which team is? Let\u2019s take a look at some longer odds for a sharper play on the title picture.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Knicks are very much one of those teams that have acquired some strong depth pieces in recent seasons. Between OG Anunoby and Mikal Bridges, they can defend every guard and wing combination in the Eastern Conference. With the added offence from Karl Anthony-Towns and Jalen Brunson, the Knicks have one of the strongest starting rotations in the league.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
New York has to stay healthy, which has been an issue for teams coached by Tom Thibodeau. Thibs likes to give his starters plenty of minutes even during the regular season, and we have seen some injuries hit the Knicks in recent weeks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Eastern Conference is wide open this year. While the Celtics and Cavaliers still have to be considered the class of the East, the Knicks aren\u2019t too far behind. The Knicks are 0-3 this season against Boston and Cleveland and 0-2 against Oklahoma City.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Still, seven-game series have proven to be different than one-off regular season games. The Knicks certainly have the defence and the offence to steal a couple of games from any team in the league. If they can get a healthy Mitchell Robinson back for the playoffs, it would go a long way in covering up some of KAT\u2019s defensive shortcomings. The Knicks will need strong rim protection against the likes of Myles Turner, Jarrett Allen, Evan Mobley, and Giannis Antetokounmpo.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If you\u2019re considering placing a bet on the Lakers because they acquired Luka Doncic, then the Knicks are just as worthy of your consideration. New York has a much deeper squad and does not have to beat Memphis, Denver, or Oklahoma City to get to the finals.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Some have called it the most shocking trade in the history of professional sports. On Sunday 2 February 2025, the NBA was rocked to its core when the Dallas Mavericks traded superstar guard Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers. Doncic, just 25, is considered by most to be a top-three player in the world […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":34420,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[164,185],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-34419","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-basketball","category-nba-picks-and-parlays"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n