Report: Sixers Trade Jared McCain to OKC Thunder for Draft Picks

So much for a quiet Sixers trade deadline.

BREAKING: The Philadelphia 76ers are trading guard Jared McCain to the Oklahoma City Thunder for a 2026 Rockets first-round pick and three second-round picks, sources tell ESPN. pic.twitter.com/0wGXxzPURG
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) February 4, 2026

According to Kyle Neubeck of PHLY Sports, the Sixers are receiving the most favorable of the Thunder, Rockets, Pacers or Heat's 2027 second-round pick, a 2028 second-rounder from the Milwaukee Bucks and a 2028 second-rounder from OKC.

The Rockets currently have the NBA's fifth-best record, so that first-round pick figures to be in the mid-to-late 20s. That's an underwhelming haul for a young player who was the early front-runner for Rookie of the Year last season before he suffered a torn meniscus.

So, why did the Sixers pull the trigger on this deal?

The financial implications

As we've been warning, finances might have motivated the Sixers to make this trade.

In the wake of Paul George's suspension, the Sixers entered the trade deadline roughly $1.3 million over the $187.9 million luxury-tax line. McCain is making $4.2 million this season, so dumping him without taking any salary back leaves the Sixers roughly $3.0 million below the tax line.

They also now have two open roster spots, so they can convert Jabari Walker and Dominick Barlow from two-way contracts to standard deals without going back over the tax line. Walker has reached his 50-game limit, which means he can't play again until the Sixers convert him, while Barlow has 10 games left on his two-way contract.

If Walker and Barlow are each willing to take rest-of-season minimum contracts, it should cost the Sixers roughly $1.425 million to convert both of them. This trade gives the Sixers enough breathing room under the tax line to comfortably convert both.

In fact, the Sixers even give Walker and Barlow slightly more than a minimum deal via the non-taxpayer mid-level exception, which would allow them to sign either one for up to four years. Using the non-tax MLE would hard-cap them at the $195.9 million first apron, but that's a non-issue if they're planning on staying below the tax line regardless.

What might be next?

Between his meniscus tear and the UCL tear that he suffered leading up to training camp, McCain struggled to find his footing this season. After averaging 15.3 points per game on 46.0 percent shooting as a rookie, he was down to 6.6 points on 38.5 percent shooting this year.

Tyrese Maxey recently praised McCain for fighting through his funk and playing better as of late. The Thunder will now be the beneficiaries of that moving forward.

If this is all that the Sixers have planned, Joel Embiid is not going to be happy. He recently urged the Sixers' ownership group not to hurt the team by cutting costs and ducking the tax. Trading McCain for future draft picks will not help this year's squad unless the Sixers have a subsequent move planned in the next 24 hours.

Perhaps the Sixers weren't able to find takers for Andre Drummond or Eric Gordon (at a reasonable cost, anyway) and this was their only way to duck the tax while opening another roster spot for Walker and Barlow. ESPN's Shams Charania said it also gives them "flexibility to bring Quentin Grimes back in free agency," although they could have just as easily brought Grimes back with McCain still on the roster.

McCain's long-term future in Philadelphia was legitimately murky given the emergence of Edgecombe. He wasn't going to supplant Maxey or Edgecombe in the starting lineup, so he'd likely top out as a high-end backup with the Sixers. It's fair for both sides to prefer a fresh start eventually with that in mind.

But if this was just effectively a salary dump, that does not send a positive message to Embiid, Maxey or the rest of the players still on the roster. It signals a lack of faith in this group to go on a deep playoff run. And it just made that even more difficult for them.

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.

Follow Bryan on Bluesky.