76ers see the writing on the wall as Jared McCain crumbles behind the main stage

Without a doubt, Jared McCain has been a huge disappointment for the Philadelphia 76ers so far this season. Sure, missing almost an entire calendar year due to injuries warrants some mercy in his favor, but at some point you expect the worm to at least turn, even if just a little bit. Unfortunately, that has never been the case for him.

As a result of his poor play, McCain has been sent to the G-League a handful of times. However, his last appearance with the Delaware Blue Coats is probably his worst yet. In 30 minutes of playing time, the sophomore scored 15 points on five of 18 shots from the field and two of nine from three-point range, five rebounds, zero assists, and six turnover.

Yes.

The Jared McCain disaster continues for the 76ers, even in the G-League

With each passing play, it almost seems like the 76ers are losing faith in McCain. While there is still a lot of promise in his game, it is becoming clear that getting back to the player he was in his rookie year may take much longer than expected.

There’s also the possibility that he never returns to that form, which is a tough pill to swallow.

As everyone knows, guards in the NBA tend to have a steeper learning curve. This is more the case for McCain, who already suffered a serious injury in year 1. That said, this is no excuse for the team not to pursue better options that they could easily get through outside help.

With the trade deadline approaching, the 76ers’ front office is only more incentivized to actively acquire McCain on the open market. The team has more than enough cushion in the backcourt to accommodate his hypothetical exit, and they should be able to get a quality return for him regardless.

This is certainly an unfortunate development, especially since the eccentric guard easily looked like the best player in his draft class a year ago. Now he’s struggling to even stick with his parent team, and his subpar performance in the G-League doesn’t diminish the narrative that now surrounds him.

This may still be a bit reactionary, but Jared McCain is far from being a valued asset to this team. His value declined sharply and quickly, and the 76ers are starting to have no choice but to imagine life without him.