Two things are true when it comes to the Philadelphia 76ers trading Jared McCain to the Oklahoma City Thunder.

The second-year shooting guard out of Duke is a superb shooter and dynamic young talent. There is a chance under the right circumstances that he far exceeds the production he achieved in a Philadelphia uniform. And if that happens, Sixers executive Daryl Morey’s trade will age poorly.

It’s also true that, because of injuries, the presence of rookie guard VJ Edgecombe, and McCain’s struggles on the defensive end, he fell out of favor in Philadelphia coach Nick Nurse’s rotations. It’s true that, because of Edgecombe, there wouldn’t be a clear path back to major minutes for McCain. And, in assessing this, the Sixers sold high on him. They received a first-round pick in the upcoming 2026 NBA Draft, along with three additional second-round picks. No matter where you land on the deal, Philadelphia garnered significant value in the trade. That can’t be debated.

All of that being said, the emotional ripples of the deal are extremely strong, both externally and internally. It can’t be argued that Philadelphia fans are upset and even outraged. It can’t be argued that the Sixers’ roster has been emotionally affected. Star guard Tyrese Maxey referred to McCain as his little brother and the first rookie he had the opportunity to mentor. Almost every Sixers player took to social media in some form to pay tribute to McCain. Word of the trade hit the Sixers on Wednesday while they were on the team bus, and the scene was an emotional one.

On Friday morning, Morey addressed the McCain deal, the Sixers subsequently not bringing in immediate help for a team that ran out of gas in the fourth quarter of Thursday night’s 119-115 defeat to the Los Angeles Lakers. He understands the fan base isn’t happy losing a high-upside player. And, despite comments on the record that were diplomatic and tame, it was obvious to observers on Thursday night that the players themselves weren’t happy a roster addition wasn’t made.

“We think Jared has a tremendous future, and we think we got a great return for him,” Morey said. “The return we got, we feel, is for a starter on a good team. It’s actually above that. We feel Jared is potentially a great player. We wish him luck, and we feel that the return sets us up for success in the future.”

Much of the angst comes from fans who see McCain’s trade as a salary dump. And the one corresponding move the Sixers made leading to Thursday’s deadline — trading veteran guard Eric Gordon to the Memphis Grizzlies — didn’t do a heck of a lot to dispel the notion. On Friday, Morey said multiple times that the McCain trade was made in order to garner additional assets for an additional move, designed to bring a player in to help for the remainder of the season. The issue for Morey and the front office is that there wasn’t anything they deemed to be a needle mover.

This is what the Philadelphia 76ers currently are. They are 29-22 this season, with two games remaining on a current five-game Western Conference road trip. They are in the sixth spot in the Eastern Conference, and rather comfortably so. They are a dynamic offensive team when Maxey and Joel Embiid are both on the floor. If they stay healthy, a big if, they have the playoff upside to do some postseason damage.

But, because they traded McCain, they are thin in the backcourt. And that lack of depth showed itself against the Lakers in the second half. Los Angeles turned it up a notch defensively. The Lakers got out and ran the floor, and the Sixers were obviously fatigued down the stretch. They were playing their third game in four nights, and they could have used 20 minutes from McCain, just to soak up possessions.

Two weeks ago, Embiid passionately stated that he hoped the front office would use the trade deadline to make a move to bring in meaningful help. When Paul George got suspended for 25 games for running afoul of the NBA’s anti-drug policy, the need for more depth became more pronounced. And those are some of the reasons why there was so much disappointment from fans. It was also clear that the players and fans wanted the opportunity to strike while the proverbial iron is hot.

Sixers center Joel Embiid has returned to All-NBA form and had hoped for meaningful roster additions ahead of the trade deadline. (Adam Pantozzi / NBAE via Getty Images)

Embiid has returned to an All-NBA level. He’s back to relative health, and he’s gotten his game to a good place. Maxey has been tremendous. Edgecombe has been a revelation. The Sixers have enough role players around the two that a run this postseason isn’t out of the question. The fan base, simply put, wanted the front office to add to the core and not subtract from it. So, even with the good return, even with the trove of assets the Sixers have accumulated, the moves of the front office weren’t going to placate the masses. Not against the backdrop of the perception that this is a yearly trade deadline occurrence. And not against the thought of not knowing if Embiid is ever going to be this healthy and this good at basketball, going forward.

“I believe in myself,” Embiid said. “I believe in Tyrese. I believe in VJ. I believe in the guys we have in our locker room. I think as long as I’m healthy, I am going to have a chance to win at a high level.”

Even with the disappointment in the front office, management did set the franchise up going forward. They have a mountain of second-round picks over the next seven years. They are back in the 2026 draft, after not owning a selection at all. Now that they have gotten back into the 2026 draft, they unlocked the ability to trade their 2027 first-round pick, which could be important. They own the LA Clippers’ 2028 unprotected first-round pick. And they can swap their 2029 first-round pick with the Clippers. The Sixers have the assets to keep building around the current core.

The question is: Can they conquer a wide-open Eastern Conference? And can they do it with the core they currently have in place?

“We like our chances in the East,” Morey said. “We feel like we’re in the mix with the top teams there. Obviously, we’ve got to prove that on the court, but, just reiterating, we were looking to add and we didn’t add. We still believe in this team. Folks have speculated on the improvements of our East competitors. I don’t see it, personally. I think all the teams made moves at the deadline, but there weren’t any needle movers, in our opinion.”

On Thursday, the Sixers used their newfound cap space to convert power forward Dominick Barlow to a standard NBA contract, something they had to do. They will also use the coming days to scan the buyout market. They need to refill the edges of the roster, and they need to see if there is someone on the market who can come in and help immediately. People like Cam Thomas, Khris Middleton, Lonzo Ball and Haywood Highsmith are available.

How the puzzle is solved this season is something that will be answered in the coming months. And those answers will determine whether the front office will live down trading McCain, who was a fan favorite in his rookie season and beyond.