The Philadelphia 76ers traded away talented guard Jared McCain to the Oklahoma City Thunder for four draft picks. This includes the Houston Rockets’ first-round pick from the 2026 Draft, along with three other second-round picks. It was an interesting deal from the Sixers’ perspective as they traded away a useful bench option without securing a player in return, especially when they are going to miss Paul George due to his 25-game suspension.

Following his trade, Sixers president Daryl Morey made a statement, which got the fans talking about the deal. “I’m quite confident that we were selling high [trading McCain]. Obviously, only time will tell,” Morey stated when asked about the trade. McCain was a bench option for the Sixers this season, averaging 6.6 points, 2.0 rebounds, and 1.7 assists in 16.8 minutes over 37 games (one start). He was in a reduced role in his second season in Philadelphia.

However, this was not always the case for the 21-year-old guard, as he was one of the best-performing rookies last season despite being the 16th overall pick in last year’s draft. McCain averaged 15.3 points in 25.7 minutes per game, shooting 46 percent from the field and 38.3 percent on three-pointers, and finished seventh on the Rookie of the Year vote despite playing only 23 games. McCain couldn’t play more games because he sustained a knee injury in mid-December, which ended his rookie season.

Fascinatingly, when the Sixers acquired him as the 16th overall pick, it was Morey who hailed the Duke product as a “special talent”. And also labelled him as the top 10 player in the 2024 draft. It seems a lot has changed since then, as McCain was allowed to leave for a bunch of picks to which Morey felt that the Sixers got a justified return for the player. End of the day, this was a money-saving move.

The Sixers chose tax relief over Jared McCain’s potential

Jared McCain has shown enough potential in the 23 games of his rookie season to convince the Thunder to make a move. The 21-year-old was sensational in his rookie season until he suffered a knee injury. This season, he was behind rookie star VJ Edgecombe and Quentin Grimes in the Sixers rotation. While his time on the court decreased considerably, his shooting metrics continued to speak volumes about his talent.

But unfortunately, that was not enough for the Sixers to choose the youngster’s talent over their tax relief. The Sixers are hoping that they will be able to draft a player as good as McCain with the 2026 Houston Rockets’ first-rounder. But that looks highly unlikely as it would be a late first-round pick.

The major questions around the deal were the Sixers getting zero players in return for the 21-year-old. But it was made entirely with the motive of saving tax. Although the Sixers are a couple of bodies down, as Paul George is also serving his 25-game suspension for using a banned substance and violating the league policy. He will only return in late March.

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Interestingly, his suspension is unpaid, and he will have to pay $11.7M, which actually reduced the Sixers’ payroll and allowed them to make the McCain deal to go below the tax threshold. It is something that Morey is known for, as he ducked under the luxury tax deadlines of 2024 and 2025. This will surely help in their financial planning going forward at the cost of a young guard with big potential. It shows that their primary focus is on minor financial savings rather than winning.

76ers star Tyrese Maxey got emotional hearing the McCain trade

While Sixers president Daryl Morey shared his thoughts on the trade deal. Tyrese Maxey, along with other players, strongly felt the impact of Jared McCain’s trade because he shares a close bond with the 21-year-old. He shared how it marked the end of his first rookie-vet relationship, and therefore, he was emotional.

“Yeah, man, it’s part of the business,” Maxey told NBA Insider Gina Mizell on Thursday. “It’s just sad, little brother to me dog, kind of like first real rookie-vet relationship. Yeah, I mean he was emotional and stuff but I am happy for him. Hopefully he gets even better opportunity over there to succeed and he got a fan of me for life, brother for life… It’s just unexpected, and you never know, it’s all part of business.” Maxey also revealed that all the Sixers players were present on the bus when the trade news became official.

With Thunder talisman Shai Gilgeous-Alexander out for an indefinite period due to abdominal sprain, the franchise did a great job in securing someone of McCain’s calibre. He could go straight into the first team or get heavy minutes in rotation, considering the injury crisis at Oklahoma this season.