The Philadelphia 76ers got roundly mocked for trading talented guard Jared McCain at last year's trade deadline. They put lipstick on the pig by drafting Labaron Philon with the pick they got from the Thunder.
The 76ers' own draft pick was owed to the Oklahoma City Thunder as a result of the Al Horford trade. The Thunder used it to trade up and draft Iowa point guard Bennett Stirtz, who has size, playmaking and shooting in spades and will join Jared McCain in Oklahoma.
Philly sold high on Jared McCain
The only pick that Philly had on hand in the first round was pick No. 22, routed from Houston via OKC from the McCain trade. The 76ers' GM at the time, Daryl Morey, told the media he was "selling high" by trading McCain to the Thunder for the Rockets' 2026 first-round pick and a trio of future second-round picks.
That came after McCain was the best rookie in his class in 2024-25, missing out on Rookie of the Year because he suffered a season-ending injury. He hadn't found his stride perfectly in Philadelphia this season after returning from injury, but the 76ers still "sold low" on him by trading him away.
McCain then proceeded to be a playoff hero for the Thunder, playing an increasingly large role as the playoffs moved on, stepping up as his teammates went down due to injury. He was scoring at will against the perimeter stoppers of the San Antonio Spurs. The 76ers, for their part, couldn't do anything against the New York Knicks and desperately could have used McCain.
To give Morey the benefit of the doubt, however, perhaps the 76ers could do better with the pick they got for McCain. His point was that McCain was too small to coexist with Tyrese Maxey and that his value would only go down over time. Ownership never gave Morey the chance to prove his point, as he was axed and replaced.
76ers made a terrible draft pick
His replacement, new General Manager Mike Gansey, used the No. 22 pick on Alabama point guard Labaron Philon. An electric scorer and playmaker, Philon made the most of the up-tempo offense that Alabama coach Nate Oats runs in Tuscaloosa.
Philon is also an inch shorter and 20 points lighter than Jared McCain. All of the problems with McCain are wors with Philon, and unlike McCain his value comes from being on the ball, not as a movement shooter off of it. He is a much worse fit with Maxey and will exclusively be forced to back Maxey up. They cannot realistically play together.
In other words, the 76ers sold low on McCain because of his size, then turned around and used that pick on a smaller player with less positional versatility. A bad trade just turned into an abject disaster. The merciless fans of Philadelphia will turn their wrath once more to their favorite (and most hated) franchise.
Philon had a lot of fans because of his inflated stats and his fast-paced style. He played for a big brand at Alabama. And yet he is too small, too light, and too limited to be a truly impactful player. And if he were going to figure it out somewhere, it would be anywhere but in Philadelphia, backing up Tyrese Maxey.
The 76ers blew the trade. Then they blew the pick. That's a lethal one-two punch that the team will need to answer for.
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