The Philadelphia 76ers drew major flak when they made the bold decision to trade Jared McCain before the deadline. The fact that they shipped him to the Oklahoma City Thunder, the defending champs, did not do them any favors, either. After all, many felt that the team gave up on him way too early despite some out-of-control reasons behind his decline in Year 2.
Having said that, with each passing game, the 76ers actually keep getting vindicated for taking such a drastic measure. No, it is not because the sophomore has been subpar for his new team, but his current role only reinforces the unpopular notion that the front office sold at the most opportune time. Now, they stand to revel in the draft-heavy package they received for him.
Thanks to OKC, Philly now owns Houston’s first-round pick this year. Aside from that, they will also have three future second-round picks to bolster their war chest of draft capital. For McCain’s name value, that might even be an underpay for the Thunder, but for the 76ers, they definitely got their money’s worth.
The 76ers traded Jared McCain at the perfect time and for the right price
Through four games so far for his new ball club, McCain has averaged just 18.5 minutes a night. HIs raw numbers have looked better than what he turned in for the 76ers this season before he got dangled away, but of note is the fact that OKC does not seem to have a clear-cut role for rhim just yet.
Sure, that might be natural in the ordinary course of things, but the fact that he is struggling to get more minutes when Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is out only begs this question — is McCain slated to just be an energizer bunny off the bench moving forward?
The 76ers initially envisioned McCain as their future backcourt partner for Tyrese Maxey, but getting VJ Edgecombe changed all that. To make things more difficult for him, injuries basically chipped away at his effectiveness as a scorer, and coupled with his belo-average playmaking, his ceiling suddenly got limited.
This is certainly an abrasive — and probably even arbitrary — assessment, but the 76ers basically turned a bench player into an impressive return centered on draft picks, which is exactly what the front office needs to solve their roster overlaps and temper the weight of their muddled pay roll.
As such, contrary to popular opinion, the 76ers made the right trade — and they did it at the perfect time and for the right price.