The Phoenix Suns made a shocking deal at the trade deadline that secured four-time scoring champion, Kevin Durant. As a result, oddsmakers have lifted the Suns to the favorite to win the Western Conference. After Durant joined, BetMGM had Phoenix priced at +450 to win its first NBA title, and DraftKings priced them at +425. The team is now the favorite to win the Western Conference.
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Phoenix Suns Future Odds
Odds for the Suns To Win the NBA Finals following the trade deadline deal to acquire Kevin Durant:
- Caesars Arizona: +450
- BetMGM Arizona: +450
- FanDuel Sportsbook: +500
- DraftKings AZ: +425
- BetRivers Arizona: +450
Phoenix Suns To Win the Western Conference:
- Caesars Arizona: +230
- BetMGM Arizona: +225
- FanDuel Sportsbook: +240
- DraftKings AZ: +240
- BetRivers Arizona: +200
All five of these Arizona Sportsbooks list the Suns as the favorites to win the Western Conference, despite the team sitting in the No. 6 seed as we approach the NBA All-Star break.
NBA Title Odds
New Suns Lineup: Will it Lead Phoenix Back to the NBA Finals?
Durant’s famous wingspan gives him the reach of a player 7 feet, 5 inches tall. But can that reach extend to the NBA Finals? The Slim Reaper has a rare combination of height, quickness, and soft touch. The 11-time All-Star and former league MVP is averaging 29.7 PPG in this, his 16th NBA season.
Phoenix had to part with Mikal Bridges and Cameron Johnson to pry Durant away from the Nets, where the forward was not exactly happy with the direction of that franchise. Bridges had taken a step forward this season, especially on the offensive end of the court, but head coach Monty Williams has a new lineup now that he has Durant in his locker room.
Chris Paul, point guard
Devin Booker, shooting guard
Deandre Ayton, center
Torrey Craig, small forward
Kevin Durant, power forward
The Phoenix Suns add Durant to a group that includes a future Hall of Fame point guard and Booker, who at age 26 is already a four-time All-Star and the best scoring shooting guard in the game.
This season, the Suns have sagged to 23rd in the NBA in field goal percentage, despite having a top-ten percentage hoisting threes. Durant will improve the 15-20 foot range shooting and make the Suns scary-good at presenting opponents with weapons to defend.
Concerns are attached to the Durant deal: the 6’10 forward has not played since Jan. 8 because of a knee injury. Throughout his career, he’s struggled to stay on the court. Last season he played only 55 games, and he’s been out of the lineup for 14 games this season. Over the last six seasons, Durant has missed nearly 200 games for injuries or load management.
Yet, Durant has proven he is a prime-time player: just two years ago, he averaged 34.3 PPG in the playoffs for the Nets. The year before, when he helped the Warriors to the NBA Finals, he shot 43.8% from three-point range in the playoffs.
Ishbia Making Splash in First Days as Suns’ Owner
Talk about making a first impression. New Suns’ owner Mat Ishbia probably still has ink stains on his palms from signing the paperwork to buy the team. Yet at his first NBA trade deadline, the former Michigan State Spartan player sent a shot across the bow to the rest of the league by bringing Durant back to the west.
Just days before, the Lakers traded for D’Angelo Russell in an effort to move up the power structure of the western conference. But Ishbia’s move tossed that and any other NBA news off the front page when he acquired Durant, who previously won a pair of NBA titles with the Golden State Warriors.
Ishbia only formally assumed control of the team on Wednesday, when during an introductory press conference at the Footprint Center, he made a point to stress his main ambition.
“We’re going to win together,” Ishbia said to an assembly of news reporters, according to NBA.com. “I want to think how to make this one of the elite franchises in the NBA and the WNBA. I want everyone to look at the Mercury and the Suns as the best. What does that mean? Best in class for fan experience, community engagement, culture and winning. How do we make it the best?”
Last year, Suns’ owner Robert Sarver was suspended by the NBA for “workplace misconduct and organizational deficiencies.” That scandal has sent the team, which made the NBA Finals as recently as 2021, into a spin, leading to the sale to Ishbia, who also secures control of the WNBA’s Mercury.
Fans may not know what to make of Ishbia, who made his billions in mortgage brokerage, but he has the attention of sports fans in Arizona.
Photo by Melissa Tamez/Icon Sportswire
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