NBA Odds Updated for Okafor-Chandler Trade

Written July 28, 2009 by Jack Jones

okafor-chandler-trade-072809 The Sporting News reports that a trade between the Charlotte Bobcats and the New Orleans Hornets involving Emeka Okafor and Tyson Chandler has been finalized. There are no clear details as to the conditions of the trade, but it does appear that Okafor will be with the Hornets next year, while Chandler will be a Bobcat.

This should be a good move for the Hornets, who need to free up some cap room to be sure they can keep Chris Paul around as long as they possibly can. The move is also a pretty decent upgrade for the Hornets when you consider that Chandler has not been as productive as Okafor, not to mention that Chandler played in just 45 games last year due to injury. Okafor has played in 82 games in each of the last 2 seasons and has averaged over 10 rebounds and 13.5 points per game. Chandler has only played in 80 games once in his career, back in the 2004-2005 season for the Bulls. His career numbers have him averaging 9 rebounds and 8.2 points per game. Those aren’t horrible numbers, but I think most NBA fans and experts would agree that Okafor has the bigger upside between the two.

Sportsbooks have to keep on their toes to be sure they don’t open up themselves up to exploitation when trades go down. The Bobcats still aren’t getting any respect at +10,000 to win the NBA Finals both before and after the trade was done, but the Hornets improved slightly from +4500 to +4000 odds to win the NBA Championship next year. Obviously this deal doesn’t make or break either team, but, according to the betting odds at least, the Hornets came out on the better end of the deal.

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