Having a nice relaxing Fall Saturday? Well, the NBA never takes a day off, and today reports came out that Jimmy Butler will be traded to the Philadelphia 76ers. Here's the final word on the trade, which will be official Monday.
Final trade summary:
Sixers get – Jimmy Butler, Justin Patton
Wolves get – Robert Covington, Dario Saric, 2nd round pick— FantasyLabs NBA (@FantasyLabsNBA) November 10, 2018
Star players aren't traded very often in the NBA, and Butler should definitely be classified as such: He ranked fourth in the league last year behind just Chris Paul, James Harden and Stephen Curry with a +6.39 Real Plus-Minus. He added a whopping 12.8 wins, per RPM, to the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Sportsbooks were quick Saturday afternoon to update title odds. Here's how odds at Westgate Las Vegas SuperBook have changed since the beginning of the season:
2018-19 NBA Title Odds
The 76ers are now up to 16/1 to win the 2018-19 NBA title; the Wolves dropped all the way to 500/1 sans Butler. And if you prefer nihilistic angles, the Warriors, overwhelming favorites as usual, didn't budge today:
Jimmy Butler has been traded to the Sixers
Warriors odds to win the NBA Finals:
Before trade: -250
After trade: -250 pic.twitter.com/lwan5AmYJy— The Action Network (@ActionNetworkHQ) November 10, 2018
We'll have more reactions on the trade and how it will impact these teams on the court. There are many questions yet to be answered about how Butler will fit with the 76ers, especially young stars Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid, and whether they now have enough power to get out of what looks to be a tough Eastern Conference, headlined by the Boston Celtics and Toronto Raptors.
