Former Sixers Standout Reflects on Shocking Trade and His Tenure in Philadelphia

We regret to report that Jared McCain Week is not quite over yet, despite our editor-in-chief's best efforts to end it.

On Friday, James Herbert of CBS Sports dropped a feature on McCain's early days with the Oklahoma City Thunder and the end of his tenure with the Sixers. McCain echoed what he told Jake Fischer of The Stein Line about being blindsided by the trade—he "wasn't thinking about a trade at all," he told Herbert—but what he said next rubbed salt in the wound of Sixers fans who are still bent out of shape about the trade.

"I definitely thought it could work," McCain told Herbert. "Long-term, I definitely think it could work. I loved playing with them. It was really fun. And I'm going to miss it, too. So I think there was definitely potential there, but they made the best decision for what they thought it was and we've just gotta live with it and kind of move on."

On one hand, there's genuine reason to be skeptical of that. Tyrese Maxey and VJ Edgecombe have the starting guard spots locked down moving forward. A three-guard lineup with those two and McCain is a nice curveball to throw at defenses occasionally, and that trio had a net rating of plus-24.8 this season, albeit in only 97 possessions.

But even prior to Edgecombe's arrival, there were questions about whether a Maxey-McCain backcourt was viable long-term given their size. Maxey is listed as 6'2" and 200 pounds, while McCain is 6'3" and 195 pounds with only a 6'3½" wingspan. Edgecombe was measured at 6'4" without shoes at last year's draft combine and has a 6'7½" wingspan, which makes him a far more viable option at the 2.

When team president Daryl Morey proclaimed that the Sixers sold high on McCain, that was what he meant. He said the first-round pick and three second-round picks that the Sixers received for McCain was the price of a "starter-quality player on a good team." With Maxey and Edgecombe blocking McCain's path to a starting job in Philly, it appears as though Morey and the rest of the front office expected McCain's trade value to continue to decline.

The Thunder seem thrilled about that evaluation.

What went wrong in Philly?

The question that's been on everyone's mind this week is how McCain has so quickly rebounded to look like his rookie-year self in OKC after spending the first few months of this season struggling in Philly.

McCain has now played 12 games with the Thunder this season. He's averaging 11.9 points while shooting 47.2% overall and 41.1% from deep in only 19.5 minutes per game since the trade. During his 37 games with the Sixers this year, he averaged 6.6 points while shooting 38.5% overall and 37.8% from deep in 16.8 minutes per game.

McCain already nearly as many double-figure scoring games in OKC (eight) as he did in Philly this year (11) in one-third of the time.

He commended the Thunder's coaching staff, telling Herbert, "they allow me to be myself." He also said that he had "nothing bad to say" about any of his teammates and coaches in Philly, but "it's just hard to find a rhythm playing with really great players and getting little short spurts."

"There were a few games, for sure, that I felt great," he added. "I feel like those were the ones where I got to play a little extended minutes, play through some mistakes."

He did shield the Sixers' coaching staff to some extent, though, by saying it's "nobody's fault" that he couldn't get back to his rookie-year form in Philly this season. After all, he missed most of his rookie season with a torn meniscus and then suffered a UCL tear in his thumb shortly before training camp this year. He needed a chance to reacclimate to NBA speed before he hit the ground running again.

"I knew it was going to take time," McCain told Herbert. "It's even still taking time. I feel great right now, but sometimes, you know, some days are better than others."

McCain told Fischer that when team president Daryl Morey called him to inform him about the trade, he "said his piece" but was brief. He went into more detail about the call—and the emotions he felt afterward—with Herbert.

"They call you and it's just so, like, cold, almost," he said. "It's like, damn. They drafted me. It just feels like it just ended so quickly. The call that you get traded is, like, 'Hey, we just traded you,' and that's kind of it. So it's really, it's almost sad. It's really sad. It really is sad.

"Like, I'm an emotional person. I really, like, I love all those people over there, like the staff, like the medical staff, the coaching staff. The teammates, like, those are like my brothers. I really looked up to a lot of 'em and hung out with all of 'em. It's sad that you don't see 'em every day."

If it's any consolation to McCain, it's clear that the trade had a similar impact on the Sixers' locker room.

Tyrese Maxey was asked if he senses a change in the team’s morale since the west coast trip and then whether the Jared McCain trade, specifically, has affected morale: pic.twitter.com/hhRJ1Kysvv
— Austin Krell (@NBAKrell) March 4, 2026

The good news for McCain is that he now has a much better chance of winning a championship this year in OKC than he would have in Philly. Meanwhile, the short-handed Sixers have to put that trade behind them as they desperately try to stave off the Miami Heat and Orlando Magic for the final guaranteed playoff spot in the East.

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Unless otherwise noted, all stats via NBA.com, PBPStats, Cleaning the Glass or Basketball Reference. All salary information via Spotrac and salary-cap information via RealGM.

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