What Sixers President Daryl Morey Meant About 'Selling High' on Jared McCain

During his post-trade deadline press conference last Friday, Sixers president Daryl Morey delivered a seemingly brutally honest quote about the decision to trade Jared McCain to the Oklahoma City Thunder.

"I am quite confident we were selling high" on McCain, he said. "Obviously, time will tell."

Upon his arrival in OKC, a reporter asked McCain about his reaction to those comments. He took the high road and demurred, although that couldn't have sat well with him.

This is where context matters, though. Morey wasn't necessarily taking a shot at McCain as a player. He was focused more on the return that the Sixers received for him versus his future projected role in Philadelphia.

'A starter-quality player' return

From the outside, the McCain trade seemed to be financially motivated. Dumping him without taking any salary back got the Sixers below the luxury-tax line. Salary-dumping Eric Gordon then gave them enough wiggle room under the tax to sign Dominick Barlow to an above-minimum contract.

Rather than harp on the financial aspects of the McCain trade, Morey pointed to what the Sixers received in return. They got a 2026 first-round pick (likely from Houston) along with three future second-round picks.

"That return is for a starter-quality player on a good team," Morey said. "It's actually above that."

McCain was one of only four players who fetched a first-rounder at the trade deadline. The other three were Jaren Jackson Jr., Anthony Davis and Ivica Zubac.

That's what Morey meant by selling high.

"We thought this return was above for the future value for our franchise what we could get," he said. "The only higher point would have during his run last season. But otherwise, we feel like we did time this well."

Why the Sixers traded McCain this soon

We spent the weeks leading up to the trade deadline hinting at how Maxey's ascendance to an All-NBA-caliber talent and the emergence of VJ Edgecombe complicated McCain's long-term outlook in Philadelphia. A trade was likely inevitable at some point, just not this soon.

However, unless Maxey or Edgecombe got hurt, McCain was likely to top out as a high-end backup in Philadelphia. If the Sixers re-sign Quentin Grimes in free agency this offseason, McCain would likely find himself right back where he was prior to the trade this year, battling for inconsistent minutes off the bench.

Morey used that to help justify the trade as well.

"Our path here is a little bit muted relative to where his path could be on another team," he said. "It would be hard to get to starter quality, which is the return we got."

The version of McCain that was on display last year—the one that averaged 15.3 points in only 25.7 minutes per game across 23 appearances—looked like a star in the making. This year's version of McCain—the one who averaged only 6.6 points in 16.7 minutes per game while shooting only 38.4 percent overall—was hardly a factor in the Sixers' rotation.

Between the meniscus tear that ended McCain's rookie season and the UCL tear that delayed the start of his sophomore season, injuries deserve at least some of the blame for his disappointing campaign this year. Even if he bounced back to his rookie-year form, though, the minutes that he played amidst their injury-ravaged start to the 2024-25 season wouldn't be there again this time around.

Lost in the furor over Morey's selling-high comments: He also described McCain as a "great future bet" and a "potential great player."

"We weren't looking to sell," he added. "I'll be frank. Teams came to us with aggressive offers for him. You could say, 'Yeah, that's because he's a good player.' I agree with that."

Given the contract Barlow received and the Sixers' newfound proximity to the luxury-tax line, it's clear that finances played a role in the decision to trade McCain. Suggesting otherwise would be disingenuous. However, the Sixers also were seemingly worried about his value having already peaked based on the role he'd be playing in Philly moving forward.

From that standpoint, it's possible that the Sixers did sell high. But if McCain gets back to his rookie-year form in OKC at any point, he'll make Morey and the Sixers regret moving on from him at all.