{"id":592609,"date":"2026-02-09T14:22:59","date_gmt":"2026-02-09T14:22:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/592609\/"},"modified":"2026-02-09T14:22:59","modified_gmt":"2026-02-09T14:22:59","slug":"time-will-tell-if-the-sixers-were-right-to-move-on-from-jared-mccain","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/592609\/","title":{"rendered":"Time will tell if the Sixers were right to move on from Jared McCain"},"content":{"rendered":"

For several weeks earlier this season, Jared McCain<\/a> had a copy of the book \u201cThe Inner Game of Tennis\u201d in his locker.<\/p>\n

According to the Amazon.com summary<\/a>, the 1972 work by W. Timothy Gallwey is about \u201ca revolutionary program for overcoming the self-doubt, nervousness, and lapses of concentration that can keep a player from winning\u201d \u2013 and not just in tennis, but every walk of life.<\/p>\n

No less a figure than Bill Gates called it \u201cthe best guide to getting out of your own way.\u201d<\/p>\n

While I never got the chance to ask McCain about it \u2013 and I had planned to \u2013 this would at least hint at the fact that the issues the young guard faced in Philadelphia were not confined to the knee injury that cut short his promising rookie year after 23 games, nor the thumb injury that caused him to get off to a slow start this season, his second with the Sixers.<\/p>\n

Whatever was holding him back \u2013 whether he was still hobbled or indeed unable to get out of his own way \u2013 he seemed to be getting it together recently. And that\u2019s the thing that gnaws at you, now that he has been traded to Oklahoma City: We never really got to see how his next chapter might read.<\/p>\n

The arguments for dealing him are manifest. He was blocked by Tyrese Maxey<\/a>, VJ Edgecombe<\/a> and Quentin Grimes<\/a> in the backcourt rotation. The Sixers gained the financial flexibility to sign Dominick Barlow<\/a> to a big-boy contract. And those four draft picks obtained from the Thunder can be used in a future deal (though Daryl Morey told reporters he was unable to pull the trigger on anything that would have given the team immediate help).<\/p>\n

That\u2019s all well and good. But McCain is 21, and he played exactly 60 games for the Sixers. Nobody knows exactly what he is, nor what he might become. Put another way, he was an ACL tear away from getting big-time minutes here.<\/p>\n

The suspicion is that he will never be an All-Star, but he could be a useful piece on a good team. That he has \u201can identifiable NBA skill,\u201d as Brett Brown used to say \u2013 i.e., he can shoot \u2013 that will consistently resurface once he gets regular run again.<\/p>\n

You know, like Isaiah Joe<\/a>.<\/p>\n

This is not an apples-to-apples comparison, but the Sixers cut Joe on Oct. 13, 2022, after he played sparingly for them over two seasons. The Thunder snapped him up three days later, and he has developed into a reliable off-the-bench sniper, nailing 41 percent of his three-point attempts over three-plus seasons.<\/p>\n

And, of course, he earned a championship ring last spring.<\/p>\n

The Thunder, ably operated by Sam Presti, are now hoping that the Philly pipeline delivers once more. While they are loaded and again rolling along \u2013 and while there is no clear role for McCain at present \u2013 he does represent a potential hedge against possible issues concerning their veteran wings.<\/p>\n

The team holds an option<\/a> on Lu Dort next season, and Alex Caruso<\/a>, in the first season of a four-year, $81 million<\/a> deal, is struggling at present. He\u2019s also nearing his 32nd birthday. McCain is not the defender either of those guys are \u2013 who is? \u2013 but he offers another perimeter alternative, in the event Caruso is washed and\/or OKC parts company with Dort (not as unlikely as it might appear, given the money the team has committed to its biggest stars \u2013 Shai Gilgeous-Alexander<\/a>, Chet Holmgren<\/a> and Jalen Williams<\/a>).<\/p>\n

In short, this looks like the sort of low-risk transaction a smart, well-run team makes. If McCain doesn\u2019t work out, no big deal; the Thunder has a bunch of other wings, and a bunch of assets to acquire anybody they might need.<\/p>\n

And while it\u2019s understandable why the Sixers went this route, it now seems like their reserve corps, already threadbare, is another man short. This is a team that is ranked 28th in the NBA in bench scoring<\/a>, at 16.5 points a night. And in Thursday\u2019s loss to the Lakers, their reserves were outscored by a staggering 61-14 margin. Given the precarious health of some of their front-line players, they are really walking a tightrope now.<\/p>\n

McCain, for his part, bade a fond farewell to Philadelphia. On Instagram<\/a> he wrote that Philly will \u201calways be a home for me\u201d and that he was \u201cincredibly blessed to be drafted here.\u201d And on TikTok he sang part of an Olivia Dean song<\/a> entitled \u201cA Couple Minutes,\u201d<\/a> notably these lines: \u201cAlthough it\u2019s over\/I\u2019ll always be there.\u201d<\/p>\n

Then he closed by saying, \u201cI\u2019ll always love ya, Philly.\u201d<\/p>\n

Yeah, it\u2019s a business. We hear that time and again. But is it a good idea to give up on a guy like this? Only time will tell.<\/p>\n