Written by Lindsey Qian
Illustrated by Sylvain Chan
On February 4th, the Philadelphia 76ers traded Jared McCain to Oklahoma City Thunder for four draft picks: a 2026 first-rounder (via Houston Rockets), plus three future second-rounders. This looks pretty simple on paper, but the reality McCain faces is complicated. With Thunder fans cheering and Sixers fans groaning, does this trade bring about new opportunities for McCain? After all, they already have a well-established team with defined roles for players. The underlying message is that OKC does not need McCain to be a franchise savior. ESPN’s depth chart shows that many other players on the team are ahead of McCain, so basically, he is joining a rotation that already worked well without him, and that is exactly what created the tension: is it a fresh new start for McCain or the same Philly situation? This trade seems to be a real opportunity for McCain, but it’s not a free pass. OKC can give him a clearer, more protected role, but the trajectory risk still exists; he still has to force his way into the picture.
To understand this, we should see why OKC did it in the first place. Short-term considerations are clear. Jalen Williams was out at the time due to a hamstring injury, and the SGA injury later in the day also changed the immediate needs. They needed a backup who could shoot and who had the potential to be a star. This pragmatism of surviving the injury window and keeping the offense functional is an objective that draws their interest into the trade: with extensive draft capital, giving up some for a previous rookie of the month player would be more than beneficial. However, it should also be noted that the depth chart shows quite a few safer rotation options OKC could maintain. The fact that they went and got a player with upside indicates a second layer of consideration. The long-term considerations make the move appear less like a spur-of-the-moment thing. Despite holding extensive draft picks, they did send a first-round pick to get McCain. That’s a signal that there might be a sophisticated plan behind this trade, not just ‘end of bench’. OKC rarely spends a first-round pick without a clear plan; the last time this happened was in 2015. Even if the circumstances are different, it still indicates that OKC does not treat first-round value lightly.
If OKC’s motivations are clear, the bigger question is what McCain can gain from this situation. So, why is it good for McCain if the depth chart is crowded and minutes on court are not guaranteed?
OKC could be a better development fit for McCain, even though the competition is worse. Although it already has a crowded depth chart with many substitutes for McCain, and there would be no guaranteed minutes on court for him, it might bring him a narrow, protected role instead of an all-around role. This logic seems, to some extent, counterintuitive, but given OKC’s status as a well-established team, it should be clear that McCain could be gradually developed there.
As the Thunder are built around three core players: SGA, Jalen Williams, and Chet Holmgren, each of them perform well-defined roles in the team. Essentially, OKC does not need McCain as a core player. There were more options ahead of McCain, so they did not require McCain to be the absolute all-around. Instead, he could focus on a few aspects on court, do them cleanly, and build trust from there. That’s part of the advantage of playing alongside major stars and established role players. It would enable McCain to play a supporting role or second-side creator, without requiring self-created tough shots or offense. In this kind of team that already generates good shots, it would be a more realistic path to consistency, especially for a player like McCain trying to get back in rhythm.
How would OKC use McCain when the roster was short-handed? He could be part of the starting lineup when core players are out (SGA, Jalen Williams, and Ajay Mitchell). He can start, and, given McCain’s current performance, OKC should probably put him in the starting lineup. OKC rotation rarely relies on draft status or reputation alone, so he still has to earn his way onto the court. It is highly possible that they would prefer stability and put him in the second unit instead of the first, because a new, unproven guard would typically be asked to earn the coach’s trust. However, the injury context changes the extent to which stability is important. Without top ball handlers, stability is not only about defense but also about scoring and creating, so the offense does not stagnate. This is also why McCain’s debut against Houston is actually a strong argument for starting him. OKC started with Wallace and Aaron Wiggins instead of McCain (or Alex Caruso). McCain was not put in the starting five, but he entered the first quarter. He was often open on the three-point line with no one guarding him. When McCain was on the court, the offense looked much better than when he was off, and OKC tied up in the fourth quarter with McCain on the floor. The bigger problem was that other players were not passing to him. If they had passed to McCain earlier and more often, especially when Houston were not paying attention to him, OKC would have gotten easier points, opened offensive lanes, and possibly changed the result against the Rockets.
However, with the return of the core players, the prospect appears less favorable and more complicated for McCain. This is because of the tightened role hierarchy with the full roster back on track. When SGA and Jdub are healthy, they would reclaim starter minutes, and the lineup would naturally re-center around them. McCain is more likely to be in rotation and on the bench instead of a (permanent) starter, because OKC already has other guards who fit specific defensive and connective roles. That is the foreseeable reality of joining a team with a settled hierarchy and functions. Nevertheless, McCain’s benching does not mean he is detached. His chance for becoming a starter in a sophisticated system of OKC could take long enough when others are healthy, so what should be ideal for now would be that he could be played every night as one of the top 7 or 8, and occasionally closes. Therefore, the important thing would be to keep him playable when the team is healthy. If teammates recognize his value and make the simple pass when he is open, McCain doesn’t need to ‘dominate’ the ball to swing the game. On a strong team like OKC, this is more important than starting.
This bench situation feels like his encounter in Philadelphia again. On the surface, it can
resemble what he dealt with on the Sixers, where he was also fighting for guard minutes alongside established core players like Tyrese Maxey. What changed was not the competition, but the role he played on the team and his function. In OKC, as aforementioned, the pathway for McCain is cleared. He would not be asked to be an absolute star, but to execute a defined job within a system that already generates good shots, and his role is well-defined within this sophisticated system. If McCain becomes the guy who can reliably provide shooting gravity, secondary creation, or defense, he can build a stable role even if he never becomes a full-time starter.
In the end, it cuts both ways. OKC offers a new opportunity for development and role clarity for McCain, but the same trajectory risk still pervades amid crowded rotation as in Philly. It would still be up to McCain himself to decide whether he could be a specialist who locks the rotation or not. Overall, the trade provides a better career path for McCain. Once he finds his rhythm again, the court tends to open up fast. The opportunity is real with a more developmental environment, and the next time McCain steps back on court, it won’t just be about getting minutes – it’ll be about building momentum and thrust that constructs himself as a reliable part of the rotation.
