Milwaukee Bucks Favored in NBA Title Odds with Lillard

The Milwaukee Bucks made the biggest splash of the NBA offseason on Wednesday when news broke that the 2021 NBA champions were trading for Portland’s Damian Lillard. Milwaukee immediately became the favorites to win the 2024 NBA Championship per the basketball futures odds after the trade, leaping the defending champion Denver Nuggets with the move. The three-team deal has been the talk of the sports world for the last 24 hours, so let’s take a look at how it has shifted the NBA futures odds for each of the teams involved in the trade.

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MILWAUKEE BUCKS

NBA Title Odds Before the Trade +650
NBA Title Odds After the Trade +360

There’s no doubt that the Milwaukee Bucks are the team to beat in the NBA after this trade. However, the sportsbooks aren’t going to move the NBA Championship odds too much after we saw superteams in Brooklyn and Phoenix underwhelm and fall short of winning it all.

This move should ensure that Giannis Antetokounmpo stays with Milwaukee long term. Antetokounmpo had made it known that he wanted the front office to continue to make moves in order to keep the team competitive, and he should be smiling from ear to ear knowing that he will be playing with his most talented teammate yet.

Damian Lillard is a seven-time All-NBA selection. The standout point guard was selected to the NBA 75^th Anniversary Team, and he is the reigning NBA Three Point Contest champion. His presence will create three levels of scoring threats in Antetokounmpo, Lillard, and Khris Middleton, and the only real question is health. Lillard recently turned 33 and has only played in 87 games over the last two seasons, while the 32-year-old Middleton only started 19 games for the Bucks during the 2022-23 campaign.

PHOENIX SUNS

NBA Title Odds Before the Trade +750
NBA Title Odds After the Trade +600

Phoenix’s NBA title odds also fell as a result of this trade even though the Suns gave up a more talented player in DeAndre Ayton than anyone they received in return. That’s because the team almost immediately regretted matching Ayton’s four-year, $133 million offer from Indiana as a restricted free agent. It limited what the team could do in free agency, and it put the team in luxury tax hell after the Suns traded for Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal.

Fortunately for Phoenix, the Suns are out from under that contract now and have some much-needed depth. This was one of the most top-heavy teams ever constructed last year, and the Beal trade made it even moreso, but now the Suns have some solid complimentary pieces in Jusuf Nurkic, Grayson Allen, Nassir Little, and Keon Johnson.

PORTLAND TRAIL BLAZERS

NBA Title Odds Before the Trade +10000
NBA Title Odds After the Trade +15000

Kudos to Portland general manager Joe Cronin for sticking to his guns and continually refusing a subpar offer from the Miami Heat. This deal puts the Trail Blazers in a much better position to compete in the long term, as they have real assets they can deal in an effort to build a winner around No. 3 overall pick Scoot Henderson. Portland has essentially handed the keys to Henderson after the deal as the Blazers are expected to trade newly acquired Jrue Holiday in the coming weeks.

Early indications are that Portland will keep DeAndre Ayton in order to have a quality big man on the roster with the decision to trade both Nurkic and Little. The Trail Blazers are very unlikely to be competitive this season as a result of the deal, but the future is bright. Ayton’s contract only has three more years on it, and Portland has another talented youngster in Shaedon Sharpe.

It will be interesting to see which team lands Holiday as multiple contenders are reportedly looking to trade for him. Holiday just turned 33 and has just two years left on his contract assuming he picks up his player option for the 2024-25 season. He is still a valued defender, and any team would be better by adding him given his skillset and experience in the NBA.