The Western Conference Finals Are Reminding the Sixers of Their Past Mistakes

If you thought you were free from Sixers-inflicted psychological torture now that their season is over, think again. The Western Conference Finals is handing out a fresh batch of it on an every-other-day basis.

Jared McCain, whom the Sixers sent to the Oklahoma City Thunder at this year's trade deadline, is the obvious headliner. But he isn't the only former Sixer on the Thunder and San Antonio Spurs' rosters.

Julian Champagnie had a cup of coffee with the Sixers on a two-way deal in 2022-23. Two days after the Sixers waived him midway through his rookie year, the Spurs claimed him. He's proceeded to start 156 of the 238 games in which he's appeared over the past three seasons, including all 14 games of the Spurs' current playoff run.

Thunder sharpshooter Isaiah Joe hasn't done as much damage in the playoffs as McCain and Champagnie, which sends him to the background for now. However, he's fresh off averaging a career-high 11.1 points in only 21.2 minutes per game. He also shot a career-best 42.3% from deep on 6.0 attempts per game in that limited role off the bench.

With the Sixers' bench depth (or lack thereof) coming into question in the wake of their disappointing playoff crashout, seeing a trio of Sixers reserves playing in the conference finals is enough to make one question whether to permanently abandon the team. Especially given the circumstances surrounding all three of their departure from Philly.

With Victor Wembanyama and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander standing in the way of a championship for the foreseeable future, the conference finals should have the Sixers looking ahead to what—if anything—they can do to get on level ground with the Spurs and Thunder. But seeing Champagnie, Joe and McCain all carve out valuable roles on conference-finalist teams should make the Sixers reexamine those decisions to see where they might have erred.

Let's do that work for them.

Isaiah Joe

The Sixers took Joe with the No. 49 overall pick in the 2020 NBA draft—the same draft in which they found Tyrese Maxey at No. 21 and Paul Reed at No. 58.. That was also Doc Rivers' first year as head coach after he replaced Brett Brown.

During his two years in Philly, Joe averaged only 3.7 points in 10.3 minutes per game while shooting 35.5% overall and 34.9% from deep. The Sixers wound up waiving him during the 2022-23 preseason to prioritize "roster flexibility" and leave a roster spot open for midseason moves. They also waived Charles Bassey after signing Montrezl Harrell.

The Thunder signed Joe to a three-year, $6 million contract three days after the Sixers waived him. They declined their $2.2 million team option on him in 2024-25 to sign him to a four-year, $48 million extension.

During Joe's four years in OKC, he's averaging 9.7 points on 20.1 minutes per game while shooting 44.8% overall and 41.5% from three-point range. He would have been the exact type of inexpensive bench shooter whom the Sixers have always needed to pair with Joel Embiid.

At that year's trade deadline, the Sixers traded Matisse Thybulle and got Jalen McDaniels in return. They also signed Dewayne Dedmon after the trade deadline since they still had an open roster spot. The 33-year-old played 76 total regular-season minutes for the Sixers across eight appearances.

That's right. The Sixers waived Isaiah Joe so they could eventually sign Dewayne Dedmon.

And somehow, that's not even their worst decision to waive someone in recent years.

Julian Champagnie

After Julian Champagnie went undrafted in 2022, the Sixers signed him to a two-way contract. He appeared in only two regular-season games for them and played seven minutes in total before the Sixers waived him midway through his rookie season.

Champagnie put up decent numbers in the G League, but nothing suggested that he'd eventually become an every-game starter for one of the best teams in the NBA. He shot only 41.9% overall and 35.2% from deep in 18 games with the Blue Coats.

That still doesn't excuse the Sixers for the reason why they waived him.

76ers are waiving Julian Champagnie to sign McClung, sources said. https://t.co/Z7VWgscGMW
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) February 14, 2023

Mac McClung was fresh off winning G League Rookie of the Year, and he was also on the same Blue Coats team as Champagnie. But the timing of his signing was not coincidental. A few days after the Sixers signed him, he'd go on to win his first of three straight Slam Dunk Contests at All-Star Weekend.

McClung wound up playing only two games with the Sixers. Champagnie has started in 150-plus games for the Spurs over that same span. The Spurs claimed him two days after the Sixers waived him and signed him to a four-year, $12 million contract that offseason.

Much like Joe, it's hard not to think about what relief Champagnie could have brought both on and off the court. He's earned a flat $3 million over each of the past four seasons. The Sixers have been desperate for wing depth basically that entire time.

Champagnie averaged a career-high 11.1 points, 5.8 rebounds and 2.4 threes in only 27.6 minutes per game for the Spurs this past season. He also shot 38.1% from deep on 6.2 attempts per game. That is well worth his $3 million price tag and then some.

But hey, at least the Sixers briefly rostered the latest three-time Slam Dunk Contest champion?

Jared McCain

No recent Sixers move has been as divisive as the McCain trade. Even the most ardent Process trusters are still going back-and-forth with one another about whether the deal was justifiable or a catastrophic mistake.

The Sixers traded McCain to the Thunder at this year's deadline for a first-round pick via the Houston Rockets which landed at No. 22, plus three future second-rounders. With Tyrese Maxey and VJ Edgecombe blocking McCain's path to starting in Philly, the Sixers likely figured that he'd struggle to get that type of package for a sixth man moving forward. (Hence the "sold high" comment that continues to haunt Daryl Morey.)

McCain averaged 10.4 points in 18.0 minutes per game with the Thunder during the regular season after a slow start to his sophomore campaign in Philly. He also played sparingly during the Thunder's first-round sweep of the Phoenix Suns.

But with Jalen Williams sidelined by a hamstring injury for most of the playoffs, the Thunder have empowered McCain to have the greenest of green lights whenever he's on the floor. And he's taking advantage of it.

Since the start of the Western Conference semifinals, McCain is averaging 12.7 points in only 18.6 minutes per game while shooting 48.6% overall and 43.9% from three-point range. Not only is he back to being a sharpshooter, but opponents are now having to respect him for that, which is opening up driving lanes for both him and his teammates.

If the Sixers find a locked-in starter with the No. 22 pick, this could still wind up being a win-win trade. They deserve an "incomplete" grade for now. But for a Thunder team with looming salary-cap issues and a surplus of draft picks, flipping a late first-rounder and a handful of seconds for someone with McCain's upside was a no-brainer.

If he helps them repeat as champions, Morey's "sold high" comment will haunt the Sixers for years to come.

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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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