To Daryl Morey, the trade that shipped Jared McCain from the Philadelphia 76ers to the OKC Thunder ahead of the February 5 trade deadline was a “selling high” transaction. To Sam Presti, it was viewed as the ultimate buy-low move.

Now, roughly a month into the youngster’s tenure out in the Sooner State, it appears safe to say that it was, in fact, the heist of the season executed by the defending champions.

Quite frankly, such a claim really shouldn’t be up for debate at this point.

Thunder pulled off heist of the season with Jared McCain trade

Considering they were already fresh off an epic 2025 title run, sported one of the deepest rosters headlined by some of the biggest stars in the game today, and owned the best record in the entire association before the deadline, it’s safe to say Oklahoma City didn’t necessarily need to make any roster-bolstering moves this year.

However, the opportunity to land a 22-year-old sophomore who was far and away the frontrunner to take home Rookie of the Year honors before a UCL tear shelved him last season for a low-end 2026 first and three second-round picks proved too good to pass up on.

Fortunately for the Thunder and their fanbase, Presti and company took full advantage.

As The Athletic’s Sam Vecenie recently put it during Monday’s edition of The Game Theory Podcast, McCain has proven himself to be “a massive add” to this Thunder rotation, largely because of his ability “to not just shoot the ball but also to create.”

It seems that with every passing game he’s strengthening this sentiment more and more.

Following an initial two-game adjustment period, McCain finds himself producing to the tune of 13.0 points and 3.0 rebounds while shooting a blisteringly hot 48.7 percent from the floor and 43.2 percent from distance in 20.8 minutes per night.

What makes his efforts even more noteworthy to Vecenie is the fact that, unlike guys like Isaiah Joe, for instance, the point guard is “constantly moving” with or without the ball in his hands, a sign that he’s “reading and reacting” a lot quicker than most of Oklahoma City’s tertiary role players.

With all this in mind, it’s no surprise that McCain places fifth on the team in offensive rating and sixth in total plus-minus among those who have played five or more games since making his debut on February 7.

Add this to the fact that, as Vecenie correctly claimed, he seems to be playing the “same exact” way he was prior to last year’s thumb surgery, and it’s virtually inarguable at this point that the Thunder pulled off arguably the most lopsided trade of the 2025-26 campaign.

Oklahoma City truly boasts an embarrassment of riches within their title-favorite rotation.