2023 NBA Championship Odds: How Nets, Mavericks futures shifted following the Kyrie Irving trade

The first seismic pre-trade deadline move was officially announced on Monday, as superstar guard Kyrie Irving was dealt to the Mavericks for forward Dorian Finney-Smith, guard Spencer Dinwiddie, and three future draft picks. Irving expressed his desire to be traded on Feb. 3, and Brooklyn quickly acted on his requests, dealing Irving to Dallas just a few days later.

Kyrie Irving has been traded to the Mavericks, per @ShamsCharania 🚨

To Nets
◽️ Spencer Dinwiddie
◽️ Dorian Finney-Smith
◽️ 1st-round pick
◽️ Multiple 2nd-round picks

To Mavs
◽️ Kyrie Irving pic.twitter.com/vC5p5peMQm

— 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐒𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐍𝐞𝐰𝐬 (@sportingnews) February 5, 2023

The deal comes with major ramifications, as the Mavericks and Nets have seen sizable swings in their odds to win the 2023 NBA Championship. Dallas now has a second superstar in its backcourt to pair alongside MVP-contender Luka Doncic, which should seemingly boost the Mavericks' chances of making a deep playoff run in the West. Brooklyn, who still owns the third-best record in the East, is now priced as more of an outsider to make a run in Eastern Conference.

Below, we’ll look at how BetMGM's NBA Championship odds changed after Irving got dealt to the Mavericks. 

All odds courtesy of BetMGM

2023 Mavericks and Nets NBA Championship odds: Before trading Kyrie Irving 

Before dealing Irving, Brooklyn sat at just 8-1 to win the 2023 NBA Championship, the third-lowest odds in the league behind the Celtics and Bucks. Despite Kevin Durant missing time with an MCL sprain, the Nets were starting to come together under coach Jacque Vaughn and looked like a team who could make amends for last season's first-round playoff exit.

Even after looking like one of the league's most potent teams in the first half, the Nets didn't garner much attention from futures bettors, coming in with the seventh-highest ticket count and handle to win the NBA Championship at BetMGM.

Dallas, meanwhile, sat at 25-1 to win it all in a parity-filled Western Conference before acquiring Irving. Similar to Brooklyn, not much liability was built up on Dallas to win the 2023 NBA Championship at BetMGM, but that's likely to change with such a big name coming to town. 

2023 Mavericks and Nets NBA Championship odds: After trading Kyrie Irving 

After dealing Irving, Brooklyn's odds dropped down to 22-1 (11th highest) to win the 2023 NBA Championship. The Nets still rank eighth in net rating (2.3) and have a well-rounded core that's going to be a tough out in a best-of-seven series come playoff time. As a result, seeing their odds plummet that much might actually be a slight overreaction. There's also still a possibility that Brooklyn will add pieces at the trade deadline, which would result in shorter odds in short order.

Dallas' title odds improved to +1400 following the move, giving it the eighth-highest odds to win it all and the fifth-highest odds from the Western Conference. Losing Finney-Smith will impact Dallas' defensive prowess, especially with Maxi Kleber (knee) sidelined indefinitely. Dallas ranks toward the bottom of the league in defensive rating (114.9), and losing a forward in Finney-Smith who can switch onto guards and can hold his own as an interior defender certainly stings. While Irving gets a bad rap as a defender, he isn't as much of a defensive liability as most think (111.9 def rtg), so Dallas might end up being fine on the defensive end while having a much-needed secondary offensive option to take some pressure off Doncic.

Luka Doncic 2023 MVP Odds

Additionally, Doncic currently sits at +700 to win his first-ever MVP, and while it might seem a bit counterintuitive, his chances of taking home MVP honors figure to improve with Irving in the fold. Doncic's West-leading 37.6 usage rate is certainly going to decline, but playing off the ball more while drawing slightly less attention from defenses could lead to a rise in his MVP odds. Dallas is also in position to finish higher in the West, which always seems to matter to MVP votes. Now could be the time to take a shot on Luka to ascend in the MVP race.

Betting advice: While the loss of Irving clearly hampers the Nets' title chances, they still have enough assets and overall talent to still make a run in the East. With Durant likely staying put for the time being, Brooklyn can still make other impactful moves before the deadline that could ultimately improve its title odds, making them a prime buy-low candidate. 

As for Dallas, the market's already adjusted to the addition of Irving, but anytime a team has one of the best players in the NBA and another superstar scorer, it's tough to put a limit on its ceiling. For that reason, dishing out a portion of your bankroll on a Mavericks NBA Championship future wager could be worthwhile.