The Chicago Bulls and Miami Heat have had eventful starts to free agency, garnering praise for their moves from most of the NBA community. The oddsmakers are also taking notice.
The Bulls are +6000 to win the NBA title in 2021-22 according to DraftKings Sportsbook, a big jump from their +10000 standing prior to free agency. The additions of Lonzo Ball, DeMar DeRozan and Alex Caruso give Chicago a solid perimeter rotation while improving the team’s defensive upside slightly. DeRozan provides a secondary scoring option to take pressure off Zach LaVine and Nikola Vucevic.
The Heat were +3500 entering free agency, but have now seen their odds jump to +2800 on DraftKings Sportsbook. They got one of the big prizes in free agency when Kyle Lowry decided to go to South Beach in a sign-and-trade agreement. Miami also brought back sharpshooter Duncan Robinson on what will likely be a discount at $90 million over five seasons. The Heat locked up Jimmy Butler to a maximum extension to set themselves up well for the future.
While these teams still don’t quite compare to the Brooklyn Nets (+200), Los Angeles Lakers (+400) and defending champions Milwaukee Bucks (+900), it’s clear the oddsmakers feel the Bulls and Heat made significant improvements early in free agency to boost their title odds for next year.
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