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Las Vegas has spoken and they love Trey Burke's game and the situation he has found himself in after being traded to Utah. They are more measured when it comes to Pistons rookie Kentavious Caldwell-Pope.
Burke leads all rookies in odds to win rookie of the year -- sitting at 4-to-1 according to Bovada. KCP, meanwhile, sits at just a 14-to-1. Caldwell-Pope ranks not just behind Burke but players such as Michael Carter-Williams, Anthony Bennett and Cody Zeller.
While I am not surprised to see Burke leading the pack I am a little perplexed at why they are as down as they are on the Piston Pontiff.
Allow me to stick up for our newest Detroit Piston.
Burke is inline to start from day one and has some serious NBA-ready skills. But he also might stumble a bit leading an offense and dealing with the more athletic, highly skilled NBA defenses.
But if you look at the Pistons current depth chart, you'd be hard-pressed to say there is a player on the team that is going to beat KCP out for the role of starting shooting guard. Their next-best option is Brandon Knight but with so much still unsettled at the point guard position Knight might find himself starting (gulp) or serving as the backup in a super sixth-man role.
Caldwell-Pope also had one of the more well-rounded games on both sides of the ball of any incoming prospect. He's got good size and athleticism to guard at the NBA level and as a do-it-all player on Georgia's moribund team he is above average in almost all phases.
Whereas Burke will probably have more put on his shoulders coming out of the gate, KCP will probably have his burden eased as he will no longer be the primary scoring option and focus of the defense.
The rest of the odds look as follows:
2013-14 Rookie of the Year | Odds to Win |
Trey Burke | 4/1 |
Victor Oladipo | 11/2 |
CJ McCollum | 15/2 |
Otto Porter | 15/2 |
Michael Carter-Williams | 9/1 |
Anthony Bennett | 10/1 |
Ben McLemore | 10/1 |
Cody Zeller | 12/1 |
Alex Len | 14/1 |
Kelly Olynyk | 14/1 |
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope | 14/1 |
Shabazz Muhammad | 15/1 |
Shane Larkin | 16/1 |
Sergey Karasev | 25/1 |
Tim Hardaway Jr. | 25/1 |
Nerlens Noel | 33/1 |
Dennis Schroeder | 33/1 |