We say it every summer, but this year’s NBA free agency has the potential to be one of the wildest in recent memory. Though Kyrie Irving’s decision to opt into the final year of his contract with the Brooklyn Nets — taking him off the board as the league’s most coveted free agent — there’s still a chance he could be on the move if GM Sean Marks wants to cut his losses. In typical NBA fashion, a trade could dictate how everything else plays out.

For instance, what happens if Jaylen Brown get dealt? Or Kevin  Durant?

There’s plenty of intrigue with this year’s free agency, which begins on Thursday, June 30, at 6 p.m. ET. We’ve already heard rumors of the first domino falling, with John Wall expected to be bought out by the Houston Rockets and then sign with the LA Clippers.

Sports betting apps see Wall’s addition — and the impending return of a healthy Kawhi Leonard — as big enough news to vault the Clippers near the top of the NBA title odds list. With Wall’s signing and the expectation that Irving stays, here’s where oddsmakers have pegged title favorites:

2023 NBA Title Odds

Odds via BetMGM; check out the BetMGM bonus code REALGM for a $1,000 risk-free bet

Which NBA Free Agency Moves Could Move Odds

Though we don’t expect Irving, Kevin Durant or James Harden to be swapping uniforms on Thursday, there are some big names who should make headlines shortly after the clock strikes 6 p.m.

We expect that the Bulls (+2500 title odds) will retain Zach LaVine with a five-year maximum deal, but the Phoenix Suns (+1000) seem reluctant to pay former top pick Deandre Ayton. Jalen Brunson may have priced himself out of Dallas (+1400) with a strong postseason, while the Hornets (+10000) will need to decide what Miles Bridges is worth as they rebuild around LaMelo Ball.

In terms of what moves could swing title odds most, the Suns would likely see a dip if Ayton leaves — but one would expect GM James Jones to have a backup plan to replace his 17.2 points and 10.2 rebounds. Arizona sports betting apps might see a spike in activity, depending on how things play out.

It would sting for the Mavericks to lose Brunson after he played alongside Luka Doncic to get Dallas to the Western Conference Finals, but they also traded for Christian Wood and drafted Jaden Hardy a week ago. They aren’t going anywhere as long as No. 77 is upright.

The Warriors are the defending champs and seem intent on running it back. Both Kevon Looney and Gary Payton II are expected to re-sign with Golden State when free agency begins, meaning Steve Kerr’s group will return seven of its top eight rotation players from last year’s title squad.

Other contenders could make giant splashes that we’re not sure exist right now, but it’ll be tough for any group to surpass the Warriors as title favorites.

Spurs-Hawks Swap could Shake Up East

More trade rumors abound as we near the start of free agency, and the latest involves one of the top young guards in the league. Dejounte Murray could be heading to Atlanta, where he’d form an intriguing — and stellar — backcourt duo with Trae Young.

The Hawks (+6600) struggled last season, but adding Murray, who finished second in the Most Improved Players voting behind Ja Morant, would give them the potential to earn a top-4 seed in the East. The Spurs feel content to rebuild, and it could be the Hawks who wind up as big winners because of it.

Stick a Fork In the Lakers?

The Lakers are just +1400 to win next year’s NBA title, an almost unthinkable set of odds considering they’ll once again be led by LeBron James and Anthony Davis. But last year’s injury-riddled, Russ Westbrook-tanking season didn’t leave oddsmakers any choice. T

here was a thought that Irving would sign for the Mid-Level Exception in LA, but that’s no longer an option. Instead, the Lakers will need to get creative to fill some serious holes — and decide what to do with Westbrook — without much cap flexibility.

Rob Pelinka has built a title roster before, but this might be asking a lot.

The Golden State Warriors are "increasingly expected" to re-sign Kevon Looney, sources told Marc Stein.

Stein adds that there is pessimism around that the league that Looney could be pried away, and that the center will receive a multi-year deal. 

The news comes on the heels of the Warriors also being the favorites to re-sign Gary Payton II. 

The Golden State Warriors are considered the favorites to sign Gary Payton II in free agency.

Payton is expected to receive interest from the Dallas Mavericks and other teams.

Payton emerged as one of the NBA's best defensive players this season while also contributing enough on offense to remain on the floor. 

During an interview before the NBA draft, Adam Silver was asked whether it is fair for a team like the Golden State Warriors, who have largely built their team via the draft, to be penalized with the league's luxury tax system.

"I don't view it as penalizing them," said Silver. "In essence, when you have a system like we do, there's a player sharing component to it. There's revenue sharing and there's also player sharing.

"The system is designed to help teams keep their own drafted players and they have a big advantage in doing that. In this case, Golden State was able to keep them by paying a high luxury tax in order to do that."

Silver also cited how the draft helps bad teams improve.

"It's not as if it's 30 independent teams all separately competing with each other. The goal is to create the best competition. Sometimes creating the best competition means sharing the best talent around the league."

Golden State's core features an inordinate number of players drafted by the franchise in Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, Draymond Green, Kevon Looney, Jordan Poole and others. 

The Golden State Warriors are planning on spending what it takes to retain their title-winning core despite an escalating payroll and luxury tax situation.

An extension for Jordan Poole is one of the items on the agenda for the Warriors.

A league source told the San Francisco Chronicle that an extension offer for Poole would likely need to start at around $100 million over four seasons. Poole established himself this season as one of the league's better bench scorers.

If the Warriors and Poole are unable to agree to an extension, he would become a restricted free agent in 2023.

The decision made by Kenny Atkinson to back out of a four-year contract to become head coach of the Charlotte Hornets had nothing to do with the future of Steve Kerr as head coach of the Golden State Warriors, sources tell Jake Fischer of Bleacher Report.

Kerr is not believed to have a timetable for when he would step away from coaching.

Before Atkinson and the Hornets formally signed a contract, the team was unable to come to financial agreements for his new assistants. The Hornets are known to be among the league's bottom five teams in coaching staff salary.

Atkinson will become the lead assistant coach for the Warriors and will not have to uproot his family for the third straight season. 

Host Danny Leroux talks with Tim Kawakami and Marcus Thompson II of The Athletic about the Warriors’ 2022 NBA Championship.

They discuss how winning a fourth championship in eight years changes their legacy, Stephen Curry’s Finals MVP performance, the 2022 NBA Finals, key role player contributions and much more.

Subscribe to RealGM Radio on Apple Podcasts or via the RSS feed. 

Kevon Looney is coming off his best NBA season for the Golden State Warriors. Now, Looney is in line for a big pay day in free agency.

Both the Charlotte Hornets and Sacramento Kings reportedly have interest in signing Looney. It's probably not a coincidence that both the Hornets and Kings have hired former Warriors assistants Kenny Atkinson and Mike Brown as their respective head coaches.

Looney appeared in all 82 games last season and started in 80 of them. He also played in 22 playoff games (13 starts) as the Warriors won the 2022 NBA Finals. In a fully healthy season, Looney averaged 6.0 points and grabbed a career-high 7.3 rebounds per game, while anchoring the backline of Golden State's defense.

Game 6 of the NBA Finals averaged 13.9 million viewers and peaked at 16.9 million viewers, according to Nielsen.

Viewership for Game 6 was 75% higher than its closest competition on television. 

Overall viewership was up 22% from last year's Finals, with the series averaging a total of 12.4 million viewers per game.

The Finals averaged a 20.0 share, delivering the highest share for the series in five years. 

The Golden State Warriors opened up as 5-1 favorites to win the 2023 NBA Finals at Caesars Sportsbook.

The Nets and Celtics followed at 6-1 odds, with the Bucks, Suns, and Clippers rounding out teams with single-digit odds.

Caesars Sportsbook reportedly took a $10k bet on the Warriors to win next season's title in late May.

The Warriors opened this current season at 10-1 odds to win the title, behind the Lakers, Nets, and Bucks.