The Philadelphia 76ers received a lot of criticism when they made the bold decision to trade Jared McCain before the deadline. The fact that they sent him to the Oklahoma City Thunder, the defending champions, didn’t do them any favors either. After all, many felt that the team gave up on him way too early, despite some out-of-control reasons behind his decline in Year 2.
That said, with every passing play, the 76ers are actually being vindicated for taking such a drastic action. No, it’s not because the second year has been insufficient for his new team, but his current role only reinforces the unpopular idea that the front office was sold at the most opportune time. Now they can enjoy the draft-heavy package they received for him.
Thanks to OKC, Philly now owns Houston’s first-round pick this year. Aside from that, they will also have three future second-round picks to bolster their war chest of draft capital. Considering McCain’s name value, that might even be an underpayment for the Thunder, but for the 76ers they certainly got their money’s worth.
The 76ers traded Jared McCain at the perfect time and for the right price
Through four games so far for his new ball club, McCain has averaged just 18.5 minutes per night. His raw numbers looked better than what he turned in for the 76ers this season before he was cut, but what’s notable is that OKC doesn’t appear to have a clear role for Rhim yet.
Sure, that might be par for the course in the normal course of things, but the fact that he’s struggling to get more minutes in Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s absence just begs the question: Does McCain plan to just be an incentive bunny off the bench going forward?
The 76ers initially saw McCain as their future defensive partner for Tyrese Maxey, but getting VJ Edgecombe changed all that. To make matters even more difficult for him, injuries negatively affected his effectiveness as a goal scorer, and combined with his below-average playing skills, his ceiling was suddenly limited.
This is certainly an abrasive – and probably even arbitrary – assessment, but the 76ers essentially turned a bench player into an impressive return centered on draft picks, which is exactly what the front office needs to resolve their roster overlaps and temper the weight of their messy payroll.
As such, contrary to popular belief, the 76ers made the right trade – at the perfect time and for the right price.
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