The world according to Jim:

• If ever there were an indicator of just how confident Lakers fans have remained all through their playoff drought – and, yes, we’ve used the term “myopic” in This Space and undoubtedly will again – consider how the odds on next year’s NBA championship chase shifted when the Anthony Davis trade was announced Saturday.

(Or, to the faithful, the moment Championship No. 17 was signed, sealed and delivered. No use preaching caution, though we’ll try anyway.)

In the immediate aftermath of Toronto’s Game 6 and series victory over Golden State, the odds sent over by Jimmy Shapiro, the publicist for BetOnline.ag, listed Milwaukee as the early favorite at 9-2, followed by, in order, the Warriors at 5-1, the Lakers at 7-1, Toronto at 8-1, Houston at 9-1 and the Clippers at 12-1.

The new odds, following the events of the weekend: Lakers 7-2, Milwaukee 7-1, Houston 9-1, and the Warriors, Raptors and Clippers all at 10-1. …

• I’d say it’s early, but feel free to consider that 10-1 price on the Clippers. Or, if you want to live on the edge – such as the guy who put down a midseason $400 bet on the St. Louis Blues, then in last place, at 250-1 odds and will walk away with more than $93,000 after taxes following the Blues’ Stanley Cup run –  then take note: Memphis, Atlanta, Charlotte, Cleveland, Detroit, Miami, Minnesota, Phoenix and Washington are all 100-1 shots right now at this particular online parlor. …

• Caesars Sportsbook also listed the Lakers at 7-2, followed by Milwaukee and the Clippers at 6-1.

And it is important to keep in mind that in Vegas, there will always be a healthy amount of L.A. money being bet. Which raises the question: Should Kawhi Leonard become a Clipper, how much will that skew the odds? A lot? A little? Any? In other words, are there enough Clippers bettors to move the odds the way Lakers fans do? …

• See, for six long years, Lakers fans banked on (distant) past performance being indicative of future results. Never mind the losses and lottery picks and rebuilds and organizational turmoil; the faithful were convinced the Lakers were going to get superstars, plural, in free agency because, well, that’s just what they do. And so what if free agents this decade were decidedly unmoved by all of those championship trophies overlooking the practice court? It was going to happen, just because they were the Lakers.

(Kind of the same philosophy Jeanie Buss lives by, actually.)

But it did happen (LeBron via free agency and Davis via trade), and now the team’s two stars can recruit fellow luminaries to join them in a way that no front office functionary ever could, legally or otherwise. …

• Which is why Lakers fans should give thanks every night that Rich Paul has become the NBA’s new strongman. …

• Here’s what I want to know: Did the person who reportedly placed a $10,000 bet on the Lakers at the Westgate Sportsbook on Saturday afternoon – at 5-1 odds, shortly before the news of the Davis trade broke – have advance knowledge? Or was he just one of the Lakers loyalists described above? …

• Incidentally, remember when we couched talk of Vegas and odds and whatnot with “for entertainment purposes only?” Boy, have things changed. …

• Leonard, by the way, was the center – centre? – of attention in the streets of Toronto on Monday morning, when an estimated 1.5 million people showed up to celebrate the Raptors’ championship. (How many of those people, do you suppose, have given up on a Maple Leafs’ parade?)

Kawhi’s T-shirt, not surprisingly, said: “Board Man Gets Paid.” That is a certainty. And it will likely come down to the Raptors, whose fans made their best pitch Monday to convince Leonard to stay, and the Clippers. …

• Any talk you hear about the Lakers being a factor should be discounted for two reasons: It will be tremendously difficult to hold off on consummating the Davis trade until the end of July, which would be their only avenue to having room for a max contract. And even though Leonard is less impressed with the trappings of stardom than anyone else of his stature, I don’t see him being a third wheel behind LeBron and A.D. …

• Now, if I were Steve Ballmer, I would quietly reach out to the mayors of Riverside (Rusty Bailey) and Moreno Valley (Yxstian Gutierrez), the Inland Empire communities that claim Kawhi, just in case either or both wanted to throw their own celebration for him in the next two weeks. A parade float wouldn’t be tampering, would it? …

• Meanwhile, from the department of desperately trying to stay relevant, LaMelo Ball went on ESPN on Monday afternoon to announce he will play pro ball in Australia next year, with an eye on next June’s draft.

I’m sure LaVar will give us frequent updates, whether we like it or not.

jalexander@scng.com

@Jim_Alexander on Twitter