Sixers Getting Piled On for Controversial Trade Deadline Move

On Tuesday, the Sixers got absolutely shellacked at home by the San Antonio Spurs. Meanwhile, Jared McCain and Isaiah Joe were the two leading scorers for the short-handed Oklahoma City Thunder in their road win over the rebuilding Chicago Bulls.

That contrast was on full display Wednesday, as three national NBA writers decided to drop columns about McCain on the same day.

Longtime SB Nation writer Tom Ziller roasted the Sixers for the rationale they used to justify the McCain trade. He also castigated them for trying to pretend that the trade wasn't motivated by—what else?—ducking the luxury tax.

"What the pick also won't do is count toward the Sixers' salary cap this season, which is of course the real reason Morey was selling at the deadline," Ziller wrote. "He traded McCain for a pick and waived Eric Gordon to avoid his billionaire bosses paying the luxury tax once they converted Dominick Barlow and Jabari Parker off of two-ways. Being in the tax also restricts roster flexibility going forward, but I haven't seen a convincing argument that this would have caused near-term issues for the Sixers specifically. So what it appears has happened is that Morey's bosses told him to avoid the tax and Morey is laundering such a move as smart and sophisticated."

Ziller wasn't the only one who took issue with that aspect of the trade, either.

Yahoo Sports pulls no punches

Kevin O'Connor of Yahoo Sports was even more harsh when reflecting on the McCain trade.

"We’ve seen a lot of bad owner decisions over the years," he wrote. "This is up there.

"You have [Joel] Embiid, still one of the 15 best players on the planet when he’s healthy, in the final chapter of his prime, a closing window, and your response is to pinch pennies to avoid the luxury tax? The luxury tax that exists specifically for a contending situation? Indefensible doesn’t even cover it. It’s awful for the fans, and it’s awful for Embiid, who has given everything he has to this city, played through injuries, and watched the franchise nickel-and-dime itself time and time again."

KOC didn't stop there, though. He blasted Nick Nurse and the Sixers' coaching staff for not maximizing McCain this year, too.

"He’s playing with a freedom that was nowhere to be found this year in Philly," O'Connor wrote. "You can see it every single time he touches the ball."

According to O'Connor, McCain has already logged 21 dribble handoffs in his 11 games with Thunder this season. He had eight in 37 games with the Sixers. He's also "running 6.8 pick-and-rolls per game in OKC, up from the 4.4 he ran with the Sixers this season (though down from his 12.3 as a rookie)."

"They put him in situations built around his strengths," O'Connor wrote. "Nurse, by contrast, shrunk McCain by limiting his actions, turning a promising young guard into a passive role player."

Since joining the Thunder, McCain is averaging 12.5 points while shooting 48.5% overall and 43.1% from deep. Prior to the trade, he averaged only 6.6 points per game while shooting 38.5% overall and 37.8% from deep.

At least the Sixers sold high on him?

The human side of the trade

Whereas KOC and Ziller lit into the Sixers for the McCain trade, Jake Fischer of The Stein Line took a slightly different approach. Fischer caught up with McCain to discuss the shock he felt once he heard about the trade.

"It was weird emotions," McCain told Fischer. "I’m crying and he's telling me I’m traded and I’m telling players on the bus and hugging guys goodbye. I had no clue at all."

Neither did many of the league's preeminent newsbreakers. Fischer wrote that he and longtime NBA insider Marc Stein hadn't heard McCain's name "circulating on the NBA rumor mill" leading up to the trade deadline.

However, he did say that "the word making the rounds about the Sixers was that Daryl Morey's group wasn't sure if the current team was close enough to true contention in the East to warrant a significant midseason trade splurge." Paul George's 25-game suspension couldn't have helped in that regard, although it did make it far more realistic for them to duck the luxury tax for the fourth straight season. (Hang the banner!)

Regarding Morey's infamous "sell-high" quote, McCain told Fischer that he didn't think Morey "meant any harm from it. I just kind of take it as: That’s his job. And if he feels that’s the best decision [for the organization], then that’s his decision. But obviously I’m gonna have confidence in myself."

The Thunder clearly have confidence in McCain as well.

"The vibe already emanating from the Thunder is that they believe he'll be part of their ambitious group for some time," Fischer wrote.

When you can gift the defending champions a promising second-year player just so you can duck the luxury tax, you have to do it, right?

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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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