Despite an apprehensive city’s collective fear that Elton Brand’s cellphone must have died during the opening moments of the NBA’s fast and furious free agency period on Sunday evening, the Sixers arguably (keyword: arguably) ended the day as a better team than when they started it. To this point, oddsmakers at SugarHouse Sportsbook still view the Sixers as one of the Eastern Conference favorites to win the 2020 NBA Championship.  By the way, if you think that first sentence–the part about collective fear–was me being a bit dramatic, then go back and check your Twitter timeline from yesterday afternoon, or just read this text that I received from a Sixers fan at 6:16 pm last night:

People think the Philly sports landscape is a fertile breeding ground that should produce winners, but it’s more like a landfill. Only occasionally will teams emerge from it unaffected just long enough to be enjoyable before dying, rotting, and becoming one with its toxic underbelly once again.”

That’s deep stuff, and while he’s probably right, that’s quite the strong response over JJ Redick’s departure and some Jimmy Butler and Tobias Harris uncertainty.

Of course, some of the angst was alleviated less than an hour later when ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski tweeted that Harris would remain with the Sixers on a five-year, $180 million deal. Nearly two hours later, the news broke that Butler was out, and Josh Richardson and Al Horford were in. The ramifications of these moves obviously remain to be seen, but for now, the Sixers figure to be much improved defensively while their shooting remains a concern. Either way, despite their significant roster turnover, they are expected to remain a factor in what looks like a wide-open Eastern Conference.

Here’s a more complete look at how the NBA Championship futures markets have shifted at several popular sportsbooks less than 24 hours into the NBA free agency period:

Team SugarHouse Sportsbook
(June 14th / present)
PointsBet
(June 14th / present)
FanDuel Sportsbook
(June 14th / present)
Bucks +500 / +600 +500 / +600 +480 / +650
Warriors +700 / +1200 +600 / +1100 +600 / +1200
Lakers +700 / +300 +600 / +250 +850 / +280
Raptors +700 / +800 +900 / +700 +600 / +750
Rockets +800 / +1100 +1000 / +900 +850 / +1000
Sixers +1000 / +1200 +800 / +800 +1100 / +1000
Celtics +2000 / +2000 +1400 / +2000 +1600 / +1900
Nets +2500 / +2000 +2000 / +2000 +2400 / +2000
Knicks +2500 / +15000 +2200 / +15000 +2500 / +15000

For those of you in Pennsylvania, you can sign up for SugarHouse Sportsbook and claim your $250 deposit bonus.*

Only the Bucks (+600) and Raptors (+800) have better odds to win it all than the Sixers (+1200) of teams in the Eastern Conference. Those of you feeling good about the Horford and Richardson additions can get the best payout on the Sixers at SugarHouse where you can grab them at +1200.

As for the rest of the league, the Nets made a small jump from +2500 to +2000 after adding Kyrie Irving and currently-injured Kevin Durant, who is expected to miss most of, if not all of, the 2019-2020 season. The Lakers are now the favorite to win the 2020 NBA Championship across the board, while the Knicks, in what can only be characterized as a totally unsurprising development, have watched their odds fall from +2500 to +15000. You, well, you just hate to see it.

PA Sportsbooks:

[INSERT_ELEMENTOR id=”95941″]

NJ Sportsbooks:

[INSERT_ELEMENTOR id=”95353″]

*Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-Gambler

Only 1x Wager Applies, Playable in PA Only