The OKC Thunder Seem Grateful for the Sixers' Gift to Them

The Oklahoma City Thunder's trade for Jared McCain couldn't have come at a better time.

Shortly after news of the deal broke, the Thunder announced that reigning MVP Shai Gilgeous Alexander wouldn't play again until after the All-Star break due to an abdominal strain. He wound up missing nine games before returning in Friday's overtime win over the Denver Nuggets.

SGA wasn't the only key Thunder player to miss time recently. Ajay Mitchell has been out since late January due to an abdominal strain, while Jalen Williams has been in and out of the lineup with a hamstring injury.

With those three sidelined, McCain has been playing perhaps more than expected since his arrival in OKC. He's averaging 19.4 minutes per game across his first 10 appearances with the Thunder and is chipping in 11.8 points per game while shooting 47.7 % overall and 42.9% from deep.

After the Thunder's win against the Nuggets, Gilgeous-Alexander expressed his appreciation that McCain was on his side now.

SGA on Jared McCain: "He was great tonight.

There was a spurt in the game where he kept us afloat, scoring wise.

Great shooting touch. He's going to continue get better the more he's in our system.

Kid's really talented at basketball."
— Brandon Rahbar (@BrandonRahbar) February 28, 2026

So much for the Sixers selling high.

Where was this version of McCain in Philly?

McCain's season debut this year was delayed by a UCL injury in his thumb that he suffered shortly before training camp began. Upon his return, he looked nothing like the player who took the league by storm as a rookie.

McCain showed a few brief flashes here and there, including a three-game stretch in late November where he averaged 16.7 points per game while shooting 45.0% overall and 47.4% from deep, but he never sustained that momentum. Every time he appeared to be turning the corner, he came crashing right back down to earth shortly thereafter.

That hasn't been the case in OKC thus far. That begs the question: Why weren't the Sixers able to have the same success with McCain this year?

During his post-trade deadline press conference, Morey said McCain's path in Philadelphia was "a little bit muted relative to where his path could be on another team." Since Tyrese Maxey and VJ Edgecombe have the long-term starting backcourt spots locked down, McCain would have topped out as a high-end backup for the Sixers.

Granted, the Sixers didn't—and still don't—have much depth behind Maxey and Edgecombe.

They have Quentin Grimes, whom they seemingly lowballed throughout all of last offseason before he accepted his $8.7 million qualifying offer. He's set to become an unrestricted free agent this summer and is no lock to return next season. Beyond that, they have a soon-to-be 40-year-old Kyle Lowry and journeyman veteran Cam Payne, whom they signed out of Europe after the trade deadline.

The Thunder have far more backcourt depth behind Gilgeous-Alexander. McCain is competing for minutes with Mitchell, Lu Dort, Cason Wallace, Alex Caruso, Isaiah Joe, Aaron Wiggins and Nikola Topić, yet he's still averaging more minutes for OKC than he did for the Sixers this year.

Once Jalen Williams and Chet Holmgren's max extensions kick in next season, the Thunder will likely have to begin making some tough decisions about their supporting cast. Having McCain locked up on a relatively inexpensive rookie-scale contract through 2027-28 likely made him that much more appealing to OKC.

Did the Sixers screw up?

If the season ended today, the Sixers would be receiving the No. 25 overall pick from Houston as part of the McCain trade. It's too early to definitively declare the winners and losers of this deal—other than McCain, who looks like a clear winner—but the Sixers will need to hit a home run with the draft capital they acquired for him if he keeps this up.

Sam Vecenie of The Athletic discussed Monday what makes McCain such a valuable asset for the Thunder before turning his attention to the Sixers.

Jared McCain has fit into OKC and its scheme perfectly, and it really makes me question how in the world Nick Nurse couldn't make this work in Philadelphia with him. pic.twitter.com/LoPTCDd2Gg
— Sam Vecenie (@Sam_Vecenie) March 2, 2026

"I have no idea how Nick Nurse screwed this up is where kind of where I'm at," Vecenie said. "He looks fully healthy. I assumed that he was just not moving as well and was not kind of physically there. And honestly, with the Sixers, it didn't feel like he was moving as well as what he is now with Oklahoma City.

"But he has that thing in his step right now to where he's flying around the court. He is doing the same exact thing it feels like to me that he was doing early in the season last year when he was the Rookie of the Year favorite prior to his injury. "

If this version of McCain is here to stay, it should lead to some introspection back in Philadelphia. Nurse, Morey and Co. need to ask themselves why he looked so rejuvenated immediately upon his arrival in OKC.

Is it something related to their offensive system or scheme? Were they not allowing him to play with as much freedom? Was he too afraid of making mistakes and winding up right back in Nurse's doghouse?

The Sixers were rightfully concerned that if McCain didn't bounce back, his brief Rookie of the Year-caliber performance would become a distant memory in eventual trade talks. From that perspective, perhaps they did sell high.

But it's becoming increasingly difficult to wonder whether they sold prematurely instead.

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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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