In the immediate aftermath of perhaps the biggest game of his basketball career, Jared McCain was asked about the controversial trade that sent him from the Philadelphia 76ers to the Oklahoma City Thunder. Daryl Morey was named directly, given that he was the executive behind it. Thankfully, McCain is ready to move forward without holding a grudge.
Unfortunately, it doesn't change the fact that the 76ers traded a player who is now playing a direct role in another team's realistic championship aspirations.
McCain was brilliant on Friday, May 22, going off 24 points in 27 minutes as the Thunder defeated the San Antonio Spurs 123-108 to take a 2-1 series lead in the Western Conference Finals. It was the type of showing that could've saved the 76ers from being swept out of the 2026 NBA Playoffs.
Following what may have been the best performance of his NBA career thus far, McCain fielded a question about the fact that the 76ers traded him. He chose to take the high road.
Jared McCain on Daryl Morey trading him: “It’s never to prove anybody wrong. I try to keep a positive outlook. I like proving my support system right. Daryl’s still the guy that drafted me, so I’ll always have love for him for that. He believed in me enough to take me at No. 16.” pic.twitter.com/nZdfbwUOE0
— Michael Scotto (@MikeAScotto) May 23, 2026
Though it's nice to see McCain show appreciation for the 76ers rather than contempt, one can't help but agonize over what could've been.
Jared McCain: "[Morey] believed in me enough to take me at No. 16."
Philadelphia drafted McCain at No. 16 overall in the 2024 NBA Draft and helped him thrive before a meniscus tear prematurely ended his season. At the time of the injury, he was averaging 15.3 points, 2.6 assists, 2.4 rebounds, 0.7 steals, and 2.2 three-point field goals made on .460/.383/.875 shooting.
McCain made his highly-anticipated return to the 76ers on Nov. 4, 2025, and though he struggled to find his footing early on, shot 37.8 percent from beyond the arc in 37 appearances.
Unfortunately, former 76ers president of basketball operations Daryl Morey decided to trade McCain rather than remaining patient with him. To some degree, it was a justifiable risk, as McCain is a 6'3" guard and Philadelphia already has its backcourt of the future in Tyrese Maxey and V.J. Edgecombe.
What was harder to understand, however, is why Morey traded McCain for draft compensation and no proven players whatsoever.
The 76ers inevitably found themselves in the 2026 NBA Playoffs with an agonizingly limited depth chart to rely on. The second unit routinely came up short, leaving Maxey to play 39.7 minutes per game and Edgecombe averaging 37.0.
Though McCain has turned the other cheek, one can't help but wonder how much more fruitful the postseason could've been had the 76ers either kept him or at least received some form of immediate value in the trade.
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