While the Lakers and LeBron James appear to be at odds with each other over the team’s direction for next season, there has been some movement on The King’s future in the betting market.
James, who was previously considered a long shot to be traded anywhere this offseason, has moved to +300 to play his next game as a member of the Dallas Mavericks after the Mavs opened at +1200.
This comes as James’ agent Rich Paul put out a series of curious statements related to his top client’s future in Los Angeles and what appears to be hopes for trades.
| Team | Latest odds | Previous odds as of July 7 |
|---|---|---|
| Lakers | -340 | -700 |
| Mavericks | +300 | +800 |
| Cavaliers | +600 | +600 |
| Heat | +1500 | 100/1 |
| Knicks | 20/1 | 25/1 |
| Clippers | 20/1 | 40/1 |
| Suns | 25/1 | 18/1 |
| Bucks | 30/1 | 20/1 |
| Warriors | 30/1 | 16/1 |
James to remain a Laker remains the most likely option, but the odds have shifted from -700 to -340 at the time of writing.
A potential trade to the Mavericks would be complicated and almost definitely require three teams, although here is one potential trade that would be plausible with just the two teams involved and potentially some draft capital to help Los Angeles build for the future.
It’s certainly better than a trade between the Lakers and Cavaliers, which is nearly impossible and would force Cleveland to part ways with Darius Garland and Jarrett Allen, a deal they surely wouldn’t be eager to make.
Some other notable line movement is the Miami Heat moved from 100/1 to 15/1, a massive move, although the Heat are far from title contention.
Moreover, the Warriors’ odds dropped substantially, as their odds moved from 16/1 to 30/1 at the time of writing.
Erich Richter is a brazilian jiu-jitsu blue belt but he has a black belt in MMA betting. During the football season he’s showcased massive profits at The Post in the player prop market the last two seasons. While constantly betting long shots, his return on investment is 30.15 percent since 2022.