While Philadelphia grapples with playoff spacing issues, Jared McCain fueled Oklahoma City’s deep run with elite shooting and fearless scoring against the league's best defenders.
Andre Drummond said what many Philadelphia 76ers fans were already thinking.
Drummond’s comments about Jared McCain resurfaced one of the most painful decisions from Philadelphia’s season. Drummond said he was happy for McCain and believed Oklahoma City was a good place for him to grow, but he also admitted the obvious: he wished the Sixers had kept him.
In an interview with creator N3on, the veteran center said: "I am very happy for Jared McCain. I wish we kept him, obviously, but I think he went to a good situation, a team that is going to help him develop and help him grow. I love the kid to death. Very, very good kid."
McCain has not just been a feel-good story for Oklahoma City. He was a serious playoff contributor for one of the best teams in basketball. He averaged 9.2 points in the playoffs while shooting 46.4 percent from the field and 41.3 percent from three.
Against the San Antonio Spurs in the Western Conference Finals, his role became even more important. He averaged 14.3 points and 4.3 rebounds in the series and gave Oklahoma City the spacing and on-ball creation they needed.
His Game 3 performance was the clearest example. McCain scored a playoff career-high 24 points off the bench, helping Oklahoma City beat San Antonio and take a 2-1 series lead. Oklahoma called his number and allowed him to operate with the ball in the mid-range area, and McCain even attacked the rim and finished against Victor Wembanyama, one of the best rim protectors the sport has ever seen.
These sorts of performances are what make the trade so frustrating from a Sixers perspective.
Philadelphia’s playoff issues were not mysterious. The Sixers needed more shooting, more spacing, and more players who could punish defenses for loading up on their stars. Too often, opponents were able to tilt extra attention toward Joel Embiid, Tyrese Maxey, or Paul George because Philadelphia did not have enough reliable off-ball threats around them.
McCain could have helped solve that.
He is not a perfect player, and he would not have fixed every Sixers problem by himself. But he gives an offense something every good playoff team needs: a guard who can shoot quickly, play with confidence, and keep defenses honest without needing the ball every possession.
Next to Maxey, McCain would have given Philadelphia another guard who could space the floor and attack bent defenses. Next to Embiid, he could have punished double teams by shooting from beyond the arc. Next to George, he could have helped keep lineups from becoming too stagnant when the offense slowed down.
Instead, Oklahoma City got to use him in that exact kind of role.
Philadelphia has spent years searching for shooters around their stars. They have spent years trying to find guards and wings who can thrive in the playoffs, make open shots, and keep the offense from collapsing when defenses load up on the main creators. McCain checked all of those boxes
Philadelphia may be able to draft or sign someone similar to McCain, but he has shown that he is ready to contribute meaningful minutes to any team in basketball.
The Sixers could not see that; now, all they can do is learn from their mistake.
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Wes Dixon is a contributing writer to 76ersRoundtable. He can be reached at [email protected].
