The Philadelphia 76ers’ decision to trade Jared McCain to the Oklahoma City Thunder may never make perfect sense.
And lately, McCain is doing his best to make the ‘Sixers regret that trade even more.
It’s been an odd time for OKC, which is down a number of key contributors due to injury. And while their depth at its peak would leave McCain on the bench, he’s starting for the Thunder right now.
Meanwhile, the 76ers are working out how to give their veteran legs the occasional rest, and it sure would help to have McCain in those scenarios to pick up some of the slack.
Unfortunately, that decision has long since been made. McCain is in Oklahoma City, not Philadelphia, and the 76ers can only look back and wonder what could’ve been.
Jared McCain Trade Details
The 76ers received a 2026 first-round pick from the Thunder, which they later swapped as they moved around the draft board, as well as three second-round picks.
That was the cost to send McCain to Oklahoma City.
McCain had been a breakout performer as a rookie after being a first-rounder out of Duke, but an injury ended that season early for him, and more injuries limited his ability to rebound as a second-year player.
Rather than wait it out or figure out how to fit McCain in to what they were doing, the 76ers traded McCain away.
Maybe he’ll never be a star, but he’s a dynamic scorer who can shoot it. That matters in the modern NBA.
The fact that a top-notch organization like the Thunder wanted McCain for that price is also telling. Clearly, another team valued McCain more highly than Philly did.
Jared McCain Recent Stats
McCain has gotten the chance to start three of the Thunder’s last four games, and the game he came off the bench in between was an impressive outing, too.
On Nov. 6, McCain scored 21 points with five rebounds, four steals and a block while shooting 9-for-14 from the field, including 3-for-8 from 3-point range.
The next night, he had 19 points on 8-for-10 shooting (2-for-4 from 3) with five rebounds, two assists, a steal and a block.
Then on Nov. 10, McCain dropped 21 points again (6-12 FG, 4-7 3FG) with three rebounds and three assists.
He struggled more on Nov. 11, with just 10 points on 3-for-14 shooting, including 2-for-10 from 3 — but everyone is allowed an off night. McCain added six rebounds, three assists and a steal and was only a minus-2 in 31 minutes despite his shooting struggles in a game OKC lost by 10.
McCain isn’t a perfect player, but the tough part about how this trade might age is that the 76ers weren’t in a spot where they had to give him up, yet they did anyway.
76ers Dealt More Jared McCain Trade Regret