The Boston Celtics made the biggest splash of the NBA offseason last week. Brad Stevens traded Marcus Smart to the Memphis Grizzlies in a three-team deal that sent Kristaps Porzingis and two first-round picks back to Boston.
While the move has been divisive amongst Celtics fans, bookmakers appear to love the trade. In fact, with Porzingis on the roster, Boston is officially favored to win the 2023-2024 NBA Finals, according to FanDuel Maine and BetMGM Maine.
Prior to the trade, Boston was available at +500 to win it all in 2023-24, giving the C’s the third-best title odds in the league.
But after adding the 7-foot-3 Latvian, Boston surged up to +460, narrowly edging out the defending champion Denver Nuggets (+470). After Denver, the Milwaukee Bucks check in with the third-best odds (+550), followed by the Phoenix Suns (+650), Golden State Warriors (+1200), and Los Angeles Lakers (+1500).
Two of Boston’s biggest rivals in the East, the Miami Heat and Philadelphia 76ers, are tied for the seventh-best odds at +1700.
Will Boston make good on these odds? Only time will tell. But Maine sports betting is expected to launch in early 2024, so fans should be able to place an NBA futures bet on the Celtics before they’re too far into the season.
