Without a shadow of doubt, Jared McCain has been a huge disappointment for the Philadelphia 76ers so far this season. Sure, missing almost an entire calendar year due to injuries warrants some grace in his favor, but at some point, you expect the worm to at least turn, even if only by a little. Unfortunately, that has nowhere been the case for him.
As a result of his poor play, McCain has been sent to the G-League a handful of times. However, his latest outing with the Delaware Blue Coats is probably his worst yet. In 30 minutes of game time, the sophomore tallied 15 points on five of 18 shooting from the field and two of nine from three-point range, five rebounds, zero assists, and six turnovers.
Yikes.
Jared McCain disaster continues for the 76ers even in the G-League
With each passing game, it almost seems like the 76ers are losing their trust on McCain. While there is still considerable promise in his game, it is becoming apparent that him getting back to the player he was in his rookie year could take much, much longer than expected.
There is also the possibility that he never returns to that form, which is a tough pill to swallow.
As everyone knows, guards usually have a steeper learning curve in the NBA. This is more so the case for McCain, who already had a major injury in Year 1. Having said that, it is not an excuse for the team not to pursue better options they could easily have via external help.
With the trade deadline coming up, the 76ers front office is only becoming even more incentivized to actively shop McCain in the market. The team has more than enough cushion in the backcourt to absorb his hypothetical exit, and they should be able to fetch some quality returns for him anyway.
This is an unfortunate development for sure, especially since the eccentric guard easily looked like the best player in his draft class just a year ago. Now, he is struggling to even stay with his mother team, and his subpar showing in the G-League does nothing to flip the narratives now shrouding him.
This might still be a tad reactionary, but Jared McCain is now far, far away from being a prized asset on this team. His value was waned a lot and fast, and the 76ers are starting to not have a choice but to envision life without him.