{"id":837348,"date":"2026-09-17T12:03:30","date_gmt":"2026-09-17T12:03:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/837348\/"},"modified":"2026-09-17T12:03:30","modified_gmt":"2026-09-17T12:03:30","slug":"jared-mccain-is-an-expansion-draft-gem-coming-off-the-bench-for-thunder","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/837348\/","title":{"rendered":"Jared McCain is an expansion draft gem coming off the bench for Thunder"},"content":{"rendered":"

Last season, it was excitingly proclaimed<\/a> that there are “probably four or five guys” coming off the OKC Thunder bench who, if they were on a different club, would almost certainly be a part of the starting unit.<\/p>\n

Pretty soon, this theory will have a chance to be put to the test, and Jared McCain could be the ultimate proof of this actually being the case.<\/p>\n

ESPN’s Shams Charania reported<\/a> Tuesday that the process of gathering bids for new teams to join the league in both Las Vegas and Seattle is now gaining serious steam, with the potential season for both to be introduced believed to be as soon as 2028-29.<\/p>\n

Before they can tip off for an actual campaign, however, they’ll need to build out their rosters via an NBA expansion draft, an event that allows every team to protect up to eight players and requires at least one to be unprotected, and has the newly implemented teams fill out their depth chart by selecting talents from the available crop.<\/p>\n

To the folks at Bleacher Report, it’s well understood that choosing which Thunder players outside of their Big Three will be extremely difficult, though, in the event that Jared McCain is up for grabs, their latest mock has him going first overall to Las Vegas<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Jared McCain could go from Thunder role player to top draft pick<\/p>\n

In a hypothetical draft scenario where multi-time All-Stars and MVP winners like Joel Embiid and Paul George are available, Bleacher Report’s Grant Hughes would rather take someone like McCain.<\/p>\n

And while his career resume may not stack up against many of the other names listed in the player pool, it’s easy to see why.<\/p>\n

Still only 22 years old and on his rookie-scale deal for another few seasons, the combo guard has shown flashes of true stardom throughout his still incredibly young NBA career.<\/p>\n

From his presumed shoo-in position to win Rookie of the Year in just 23 games played in 2024-25 before succumbing to a season-ending UCL tear to averaging a whopping 16.5 points, 3.0 assists, 2.5 rebounds, and 1.0 steals on 41.7 percent shooting from deep as a starter in the Western Conference Finals while being guarded by the likes of Stephon Castle and Dylan Harper, there’s no denying McCain’s potential.<\/p>\n

Thrusting him into a “prominent role,” rather than a second-unit spark plug position as he currently serves for the Thunder, could theoretically prove to be what finally unlocks it.<\/p>\n

To Hughes, McCain’s scoring abilities and star-caliber upside may just be “too good to pass on” at the top spot in any upcoming expansion draft.<\/p>\n

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