Jared McCain trade grades for Thunder-76ers deal

Jared McCain was ranked as the best rookie in the NBA by SB Nation last season. McCain only played 23 games before a meniscus tear shut him down for the year, and he’s struggled to regain his form this season in his second year in the NBA. Now he’s on the move in another surprising NBA trade deadline move.

The Oklahoma City Thunder have acquired McCain, and they’re sending a 2026 Houston Rockets first-round pick and three second-round picks to the Philadelphia 76ers for his services. Shams Charania broke the news.

McCain has struggled this year after a phenomenal but injury-plagued rookie year. He’s averaging only 6.6 points, 2.0 rebounds, and 1.7 assists per game and also spent time in the G League. The Rockets’ first-round pick is currently projected to be No. 26 overall, and the Thunder also have two other first-round picks in this draft from the 76ers and Clippers.

Let’s grade this deal from both sides.

OKC had too many picks in the 2026 draft. Now they’ve added a potential ace shooter on a cost-controlled contract for the worst of their projected picks.

McCain looked like a deadeye marksman as a rookie by canning 38.3 percent of his three-pointers on 11.1 attempts from deep per 100 possessions. That’s slipped to 37.8 percent from three on 9.3 attempts per 100 possessions this year, but it’s not the real reason for his drop-off. McCain just can’t get to the rim much anymore coming off knee surgery, and he’s never been a big defensive playmaker. That’s okay for the Thunder: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander handles all the creation duties, and OKC just needed a shooter and secondary handler to play off him.

I like this for OKC as a buy-low proposition. They still have two better picks remaining in the 2026 draft, and they’ve immediately upgraded their rotation with a soon-to-be 22-year-old who has two years left on his rookie contract after this season. McCain needs to get back to 100 percent physically, and it’s tough to say if he’ll be able to do that this year. For the price, this is a fine gamble to take.

The Thunder’s only real weakness is outside shooting. That didn’t matter last year when OKC used its rugged defense to claim the championship, but it was still too close for comfort. McCain addresses their biggest weakness on an affordable contract. He needs to get healthy from his knee injury and his more recent thumb tear, but those shouldn’t linger too long. I suggested a Michael Porter Jr. trade for OKC, but getting McCain comes way cheaper. He hasn’t looked good enough this season to call it a home run, but it does feel like another sharp move by Sam Presti.

Grade: A-

This feels like selling low on McCain, but the Sixers know him better than anyone. Maybe they think he was never as good as he looked his rookie year. Maybe they believe his explosiveness, which was never great to begin with, is even worse now after the meniscus tear. Maybe the Sixers just outgrew him.

Philly is building around Tyrese Maxey and its new rookie VJ Edgecombe, and that made McCain the odd man out. By trading him now, Philly puts itself back in the 2026 draft (OKC owns their pick this year) and recovers a haul of second-round picks that can be used to wheel and deal. McCain wasn’t making an impact for Philly this year, and he wouldn’t have returned even a late first-round pick next year with another bad season.

Ultimately, Philly’s bright future had nothing to do with McCain this year. Edgecombe is a star in the making, Maxey is already playing at an All-NBA level, and now the team can convert productive power forward Dominick Barlow from a two-way to a real contract. Daryl Morey and company understand how to leverage value, and they got pretty good value for McCain even if it would have seemed like a bummer a year ago.

Grade: B+