Paul George joins the Thunder
The Oklahoma City Thunder won the Paul George sweepstakes last week. How has this impacted the team’s ability to win the NBA Finals.
On Friday, the Thunder agreed to a trade with the Pacers that sent Victor Oladipo and Domantas Sabonis to Indians in exchange for Paul in his final year of a contract. The trade gives OKC a big duo of George and 2016-17 MVP Russell Westbrook.
According to oddsmakers at BetDSI, the Thunder have improved their odds to win the NBA Finals to 50/1. They join the likes of the Timberwolves, 76ers and Wizards as teams with 50/1 odds.
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George is coming off a season where he averaged a career-high 23.7 points. He also averaged 6.6 rebounds and 3.3 assists per game. George shot 46.1 percent from the field and 39.3 percent from the arc. George was the main scoring option for Indiana, but now joins OKC, where he can share the responsibility with Westbrook, who seemed like a 1-man team at times. OKC is hoping they can convince George to stay long-term following a full season with the team.
Following the trade of their top player, the Pacers have fallen to 1000/1 odds to win the NBA Finals next season. They only have shorter odds than the Brooklyn Nets. Oladipo averaged 15.9 points this past season with the Thunder, his fourth year in the NBA. Sabonis averaged 5.9 points and 3.6 rebounds in his rookie year with OKC.