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Tag: Jared McCain

  • Sixers takeaways: Struggles without Joel Embiid, horrid three-point shooting, and more from loss to Knicks

    Sixers takeaways: Struggles without Joel Embiid, horrid three-point shooting, and more from loss to Knicks

    So much for the early-season banter about the 76ers being better without Joel Embiid.

    Guard depth went from the biggest strength to a glaring weakness.

    And poor three-point shooting was another major problem.

    These things stood out in the Sixers’ 138-89 loss to the New York Knicks at the Xfinity Mobile Arena.

    Knicks rout the Sixers behind strong performances by Jose Alvarado and Mikal Bridges

    The loss dropped the Sixers to 30-24. The Eastern Conference’s sixth-place team takes a two-game losing streak into the NBA All-Star break. Meanwhile, the third-place Knicks improved to 35-20 after posting their largest victory in franchise history and evened the season series with the Sixers at two games apiece.

    No Embiid, no victory

    Remember when Embiid couldn’t move well at the beginning of the season?

    Back then, the Sixers played at a noticeably slower pace on nights when the 7-foot-2, 280-pound center was in the lineup. As a result, there was a growing belief that the team was better when Adem Bona or Andre Drummond started in his place.

    No one thinks that anymore.

    Embiid missed his second consecutive game on Wednesday with right knee soreness. And he was sorely missed.

    The Sixers have now lost six of the last seven games that Embiid has not played. Their lone victory during that stretch was a 113-94 decision over the Golden State Warriors on Feb. 3 at Chase Center. The Sixers are 11-12 without him and 19-12 when he plays.

    The Sixers trailed by as many as 52 points against the Knicks. This came after they trailed by as many as 31 points against the Portland Trail Blazers on Monday.

    New York scored 32 points off 18 Sixers turnovers. The Knicks also had a commanding 51-38 rebounding advantage in Philly’s most-lopsided loss of the season.

    The Sixers must find a way to play well in games without Embiid, considering he’s going to miss more time due to not playing in back-to-backs.

    “There’s been some, probably not as good of nights [without Embiid],” coach Nick Nurse said. “And I think most of it has been offensively. When I thought we were operating really well early in the year with some of the stuff we kind of put in in training camp, and just kind of maybe get back and readjust [to playing without him] we go over it a little bit and look at some of that stuff, because we’re obviously capable of playing pretty decently offensively as well.”

    Tyrese Maxey finished with a game-high 32 points to go with two assists. His backcourt mate, VJ Edgecombe, added 14 points, four rebounds, and two assists. Dominick Barlow had 13 points on 6-for-10 shooting.

    Joel Embiid and Quentin Grimes miss second straight game as Sixers face Knicks

    However, Bona got into early foul trouble and finished with six points, five rebounds, two steals, two turnovers, and four fouls, while being minus-24 in 22 minutes, 42 seconds. Drummond had two points and four rebounds and was minus-10 in 10:38 off the bench. He was replaced by Charles Bassey in the rotation during the second half.

    Bassey, whose second 10-day contract expires on Saturday, had two points and one block in 4:38. Following the game, he was assigned to the Delaware Blue Coats.

    “It’s weird, man,” Maxey said of readjusting to play without Embiid. “It’s weird because you got to play multiple different ways. A lot of times when he sits out, it’s on back-to-backs, so it’s hard. You go from playing one way with him or without him early in the season. He comes back and then you got to play that way and then a different way when he’s there, which is OK. It’s fine, you know what I mean?

    “It’s the reality of it, and I think we’ll be all right. He’ll be here more than he isn’t here when we get back, and we just got to maintain. Those games that he’s not there and [suspended forward] Paul [George] probably won’t be there till the end, so we just got to maintain.”

    The Sixers also struggled to contain Jose Alvarado. The reserve guard, acquired last week in a trade from the New Orleans Pelicans, finished with 26 points on 8-for-13 shooting from the three-point line. He also finished with a game-high five steals.

    The Brooklyn native’s play drew loud “Jose … Jose … Jose!” chants from the Knicks fans who made up at least half of the 19,746 in attendance.

    “Obviously, we had zero readiness and energy physically or mentally,” said Nurse, whose squad trailed 72-42 at intermission. “We kind of got to the half, the game was pretty much settled by then, and just going over all the things that we already gone over that we couldn’t get done.”

    Lack of guard depth

    This past summer, the Sixers were excited about their deep, versatile backcourt rotation featuring Maxey, Edgecombe, Quentin Grimes, and Jared McCain.

    Daryl Morey, the team’s president of basketball operations, likened it to the guard-heavy style used by the Oklahoma City Thunder and Indiana Pacers to reach last season’s NBA Finals.

    But the Sixers traded McCain on Feb. 4 to the Oklahoma City Thunder in exchange for a first-round pick and three second-rounders. Meanwhile, Grimes has missed the past two games with an illness.

    The Sixers also traded Eric Gordon to the Memphis Grizzlies on Feb. 5 for a pick swap. As a result, Kyle Lowry, MarJon Beauchamp, and Dalen Terry joined Maxey and Edgecombe as the available guards against the Knicks.

    And that wasn’t good.

    Sixers’ Tyrese Maxey (right) scored a game-high 32 points against the Knicks on Wednesday.

    Lowry is a six-time All-Star and future Hall of Famer. But in his 20th NBA season, the 39-year-old has taken on more of a player-coach and mentor role. Meanwhile, Beauchamp and Terry are both on two-way contracts.

    Beauchamp made his first appearance in Monday’s loss to the Portland Trail Blazers. He finished with eight points, three rebounds, one assist, one block, and three turnovers against the Knicks. And Terry had a rebound, an assist, and one turnover one day after signing his two-way contract with the team.

    Regardless of Daryl Morey’s comments, the Sixers used the NBA trade deadline to duck luxury tax

    The Sixers need to strongly consider adding a guard in the buyout market. That will help Maxey and Edgecombe, especially on nights Grimes is unavailable.

    Meanwhile, McCain appears to be finding his groove in Oklahoma City.

    The second-year guard had 12 points on 5-for-8 shooting — including making 2 of 3 three-pointers — in the Thunder’s 136-109 victory over the Suns. McCain scored eight of his points in 75 seconds.

    Poor three-point shooting

    The Sixers had more problems than being without Embiid and a lack of guard depth. Against the Knicks, they shot 18.8% (6 of 32) from three-point range.

    Kelly Oubre Jr. (0-for-5), Edgecombe (0-for-5), Justin Edwards (0-for-3), Trendon Watford (0-for-2), Terry (0-for-1), and Johni Broome (0-for-1) were a combined 0-for-17.

    A lot of the Sixers’ three-pointers were short or off target. The squad appeared noticeably fatigued in their first home after following a five-game West Coast road.

    “Maybe,” Maxey said when asked if being tired impacted their three-point shooting. “I think, in general, guys are a little tired, but that’s what the break is for, though. That’s what the [All-Star] break is for. Rejuvenate, get your legs back under you. Get mentally prepared for this stretch because after the break, it’s go time. It’s go time for every team in the NBA that’s trying to make a push, for sure. They want to play their best basketball down the stretch to get ready for the playoffs.”

    Inside Sixers: Tyrese Maxey’s three-point invite, Paul George suspension plan and more

    The Sixers are 16th in the league in three-point shooting at 35.6%. However, they’re 21st in made threes (12.7 per game). And the squad hit less than half that amount against the Knicks.

    As bad as things were, this wasn’t the fewest amount of made three-pointers for the Sixers this season. They made 4 of 28 in a road victory over the Orlando Magic on Jan. 9.

    The Sixers were fortunate that night. They know they must shoot the ball better to stay in games, especially when Embiid doesn’t play.

  • Jared McCain shares emotional reaction to Thunder trade: ‘Everybody is getting on the plane and I’m just crying’

    Jared McCain shares emotional reaction to Thunder trade: ‘Everybody is getting on the plane and I’m just crying’

    Chat, they traded me, dog.

    Those were the first words from 21-year-old former Sixers guard Jared McCain in his latest vlog after getting traded to the Oklahoma City Thunder on Feb. 4 in exchange for a 2026 first-round pick and three second-round picks.

    The former Rookie of the Year front-runner was surprised when he received the news on the team bus, which was headed to the San Francisco airport ahead of the Sixers’ road game against the Los Angeles Lakers.

    “We were just on the bus,” McCain said in his latest YouTube video. “I get a call saying it might happen. And then like five minutes later [Daryl Morey] calls and says, ‘You’re cooked, Jared McCain.’ He said, ‘Bye, man. Never speak to me again.’ No, they were nice about it but, you know, it’s part of the NBA.”

    When McCain initially broke the news to his teammates, they didn’t believe him.

    “Right when I found out, I went to the back of the bus and I told Tyrese [Maxey] and nobody, they didn’t believe me,” McCain said. “And then I think management called them and then we were all getting on the plane and then I’m crying at this point. And we get off the buses and everybody is giving me hugs and I’m just crying. It was like a movie scene. Everybody is getting on the plane and I’m just crying. Lot of tears today. Happy, sad, I don’t know.”

    Maxey thought it was a joke when McCain shared the news. Afterward, the All-Star point guard publicly discussed McCain’s departure, calling him his “little brother.”

    “It was just like, ‘All right, whatever. He’s just joking,’” Maxey said. “Calls start coming in, and then you realize it’s real.”

    McCain had a breakout rookie season, averaging 15.3 points, 2.4 rebounds, and 2.6 assists before his season was cut short by a torn meniscus in his left knee. McCain struggled in his second season after being sidelined for surgeries on his knee and thumb. In 37 games, the young guard averaged 6.6 points, 2.0 rebounds, and 1.7 assists.

    On a private jet to Oklahoma City, McCain tried to keep a positive mindset on the trade — even if that meant drawing inspiration from his favorite music artist, Drake.

    “I’m in shock still,” McCain said. “I’m an OKC Thunder. What did Drake say? ‘It’s raining money, Oklahoma City Thunder. The most successful rapper 35 and under.’ Drake did say that. So, maybe it was destined for me. And it was in Weston Road Flows too. But, shout-out OKC, man. OKC, here we come. I’m excited, blessed, thankful. Let’s go have some fun.”

    Throughout the rest of the video, McCain shared his first few days with his new team — whether he was practicing how to say hi to Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, visiting the Paycom Center, getting locked out of the Thunder’s training facility, meeting OKC fans, or playing in his first game with the team, when he finished with five points, two rebounds, and one assist — and received a standing ovation.

    But the former Sixers first-round pick had one more message to Philly fans and it came in song form. McCain dedicated Olivia Dean’s “A Couple Minutes” to the organization and its fan base.

  • Regardless of Daryl Morey’s comments, the Sixers used the NBA trade deadline to duck luxury tax

    Regardless of Daryl Morey’s comments, the Sixers used the NBA trade deadline to duck luxury tax

    Daryl Morey tried his best during Friday’s 28-minute press conference to convince people that trading Jared McCain was good for the 76ers.

    But the Sixers president of basketball operations could have spoken for 28 days, and it wouldn’t have changed folks’ minds that this deal was made to save money.

    No matter how much Morey and the organization preach positivity, the Sixers did not get better by trading the second-year guard to the Oklahoma City Thunder for a 2026 first-round pick and three second-rounders. They may have actually gotten fleeced by Sam Presti, the Thunder executive vice president and general manager.

    Daryl Morey likes the Sixers’ chances in the East, but he understands skepticism around the Jared McCain trade

    Based on their tendency to win deals, Presti and Utah Jazz CEO Danny Ainge are the two executives you don’t want to trade with. And the fact that Presti surrendered a first-rounder — something he hasn’t done since 2015 — reveals that he sees something special in McCain.

    This trade has the potential to be one that the Sixers will regret in a few seasons.

    The 6-foot-3, 195-pounder received a standing ovation while checking into the game during his Thunder debut on Saturday in Oklahoma City. He finished with five points, two rebounds, and one assist while a plus-12 in 13 minutes, 56 seconds during the 112-106 loss to the Houston Rockets at Paycom Center.

    These are reasons why Sixers fans are up in arms over this move, and see it for what it is: a way to get under the luxury tax threshold for a fourth consecutive season.

    But give Morey credit for trying to sell the trade to the media and Sixers fans.

    The team will receive the Houston Rockets’ 2026 first-round pick, which is expected to be a late first-rounder. One of the second-rounders is the most favorable 2027 pick from the Thunder, Rockets, Indiana Pacers, and the Miami Heat. The other second-rounders are 2028 picks that previously belonged to the Milwaukee Bucks and Thunder.

    Daryl Morey speaks at the team’s NBA training facility on Friday.

    “Sort of the whole tell with people who don’t like the deal is they’ll leave off the return, minimize this draft, which we think is good, and things like that …,” Morey said. “That return is for a starter-quality player on a good team. It’s actually above that.”

    Morey added that the Sixers tried to trade those draft picks for an impactful addition at the deadline. He also thinks they could use them as tradable assets to move around in the draft.

    Morey did say that McCain has the potential to be a great player. He even noted that the Sixers wish the 21-year-old good luck. Morey added that they feel the returns for McCain put them in a better position for the future.

    But what if they can’t swap those picks for the standout player Morey envisions?

    Will people think back to when the Sixers traded Matisse Thybulle as part of a four-team trade on Feb. 9, 2023, that helped them get under the luxury tax?

    Daryl Morey’s message to Joel Embiid and Sixers fans: Trust the Process

    The team acquired Jalen McDaniels from the Charlotte Hornets in that deal.

    “A big theme of our season this year was to prepare for the playoffs, and win a championship as you guys know,” Morey said then. “We wanted to make sure we gave [coach Doc Rivers] as many two-way players as possible.

    “And we think Jalen is one of the up-and-coming solid defenders, somebody that’s a little easier to keep on the floor in a lot of matchups.”

    The problem is that McDaniels gradually found himself out of the rotation during the Sixers’ second-round playoff series loss to the Boston Celtics.

    The 6-9 small forward signed with the Toronto Raptors on July 6, 2023, after the Sixers only offered him a minimum-salary contract to remain with the team in free agency.

    Unable to find his footing with several other teams, McDaniels is out of the league.

    The Sixers traded guard Jared McCain for a first-round pick and three second-rounders to the Oklahoma City Thunder.

    There’s also some uncertainty surrounding the type of players the Sixers could get with the picks acquired from OKC, assuming they keep them.

    While there are some exceptions, with Sixers two-time All-Star Tyrese Maxey (21st pick in 2020) being one of them, late first-rounders and second-rounders often have brief NBA careers. And very few of those players become stars, and even fewer become value rotation players.

    Yet, McCain, whom the Sixers selected 16th in the 2024 draft, averaged 10 points and made 38.1% of his three-pointers in 60 career games with the Sixers.

    He was the 2024-25 Rookie of the Year front-runner before suffering a season-ending torn meniscus in his left knee in December 2024.

    Despite playing in just 23 games last season, McCain finished tied for seventh in the Rookie of the Year voting. He was awarded a third-place vote from the media panel of 100 voters.

    Sixers takeaways: Matching physicality, Tyrese Maxey is hard to guard, and more from the win against Suns

    That’s because McCain put the league on notice by averaging 15.3 points, 2.4 rebounds, and 2.6 assists last season. He also shot 46% from the field, including 38.3% from three. The California native joined Hall of Famer Allen Iverson as the only Sixers rookies to average at least 15 points and two made three-pointers.

    In addition to last season being cut short, the start of this season was delayed after he suffered a torn ligament in his right thumb in September.

    While returning from the injuries, McCain struggled with consistency this season, leaving him out of the rotation at times. He averaged just 6.6 points, 2.0 rebounds, and 1.7 assists while shooting 37.8% on three-pointers in 37 games this season.

    But once a player returns from a major knee injury, it can take up to an additional five or six months to regain his old form.

    Daryl Morey said “time will tell” if it was the right move to trade McCain for picks.

    With that, the expectation was that we would start seeing flashes of the old McCain at the end of this season. Even if they felt strongly about trading him, one would have thought his value would have been higher this summer when he’d be back to his old self.

    Morey didn’t see it that way.

    “I’m quite confident we were selling high,” he said. “Obviously, time will tell. We weren’t looking to sell. I’ll be frank. Teams came to us with aggressive offers for him. You could say, ‘Yeah, that’s because he’s a good player.’ I agree with that. We thought this return was above, for the future value of our franchise, what we could get. The only higher point would’ve been during his run last season. Otherwise, we feel like we did time this well.”

    The Sixers trading Jared McCain will either be a head-scratcher or an embarrassment

    Perhaps.

    The thing is, however, the Sixers will have a tough time convincing people that trading McCain isn’t a move to duck the luxury tax for the fourth consecutive season.

  • Daryl Morey likes the Sixers’ chances in the East, but he understands skepticism around the Jared McCain trade

    Daryl Morey likes the Sixers’ chances in the East, but he understands skepticism around the Jared McCain trade

    The NBA trade deadline sparked movement among Eastern Conference contenders.

    James Harden was traded to the Cleveland Cavaliers. Nikola Vučević landed with the Boston Celtics. The Detroit Pistons added Kevin Huerter and Dario Šarić. And the New York Knicks acquired Jose Alvarado.

    All these moves were made to bolster those teams’ championship chances.

    Anyone expecting to see the sixth-seeded 76ers do the same were let down. In fact, star center Joel Embiid might have been among them after he expressed hope that the front office would avoid “ducking the tax” and instead focus on strengthening the roster to compete.

    Still, Sixers president of basketball operations Daryl Morey didn’t make any deals that netted a player. Instead, they traded Jared McCain and Eric Gordon in exchange for draft picks in what was viewed as an avenue to get under the luxury tax threshold for the fourth consecutive season.

    The Sixers trading Jared McCain will either be a head-scratcher or an embarrassment

    Morey spoke on Friday as if he wasn’t the least bit concerned about the rest of the conference’s attempts to improve on the margins.

    “We like our chances in the East,” Morey said. “We feel like we’re in the mix with the top teams there. Obviously, we’ve got to prove that on the court. But, just reiterating, we were looking to add, and we didn’t add. But we still believe in this team. … Folks have speculated on the improvements of our East competitors. I don’t see it, personally. I think all the teams made moves at the deadline, but there weren’t any needle-movers, in my opinion.”

    Pressed about his no “needle-movers” comment, Morey was reminded that Harden’s migration to Cleveland from the Los Angeles Clippers is regarded as a blockbuster deal. Does he believe that the Cavaliers trading for Harden, who is familiar with from stints together with the Sixer Houston Rockets, doesn’t move the needle?

    “I don’t want to talk about specific teams,” Morey said. “I’m just saying, I mean, objectively, teams in the East, the array is similar. Like, if you were to look at teams’ chances before and after — that’s my opinion. I think people can have differences of opinion.”

    Former Sixer James Harden is coming back to the East as a member of the Cleveland Cavaliers.

    That said, Morey understands the disappointment among Sixers fans who have witnessed him make moves to duck below the tax threshold for several years at the trade deadline. This gives the impression that saving money for managing partner Josh Harris is more critical than contending for a title. The team comes off looking cheap, especially as Embiid’s championship window continues to shrink.

    “I’d say we were trying to add to the team and we didn’t find a deal that made sense that we thought could move the needle on our ability to win this year,” he said. “The CBA pressures were felt up and down the league.”

    Morey said the Sixers traded Gordon to the Memphis Grizzlies on Thursday in exchange for a 2032 second-round pick swap to create space to convert Dominick Barlow’s two-way contract to a standard NBA deal.

    Joel Embiid keeps his reaction to Sixers’ trade deadline politically correct: ‘I believe in myself’

    According to Spotrac, the team is now $1.7 million below the tax level. The Sixers also have $3.9 million in cap space under the first apron. Morey said that because of the first apron, they had to move to create that opportunity for Barlow.

    “But that wasn’t the primary reason for the Jared deal,” he said. “We see Jared as somebody that’s more likely to help a team in the future.”

    Yet the Sixers shipped him to the Oklahoma City Thunder on Wednesday in exchange for the Houston Rockets’ 2026 first-round pick and three second-round selections. One of the second-rounders is the most favorable 2027 pick from the Thunder, Rockets, Indiana Pacers, and the Miami Heat. The other second-rounders are 2028 picks that previously belonged to the Milwaukee Bucks and Thunder.

    In June, Morey expressed confidence in the Sixers’ deep and versatile backcourt rotation of Tyrese Maxey, VJ Edgecombe, Quentin Grimes, and McCain. He likened it to the guard-heavy style used by the Oklahoma City Thunder and Indiana Pacers to reach last season’s NBA Finals.

    Sixers president Daryl Morey believes former guard Jared McCain has a chance to be a good player in the future.

    McCain was exceptional in his rookie season before suffering a season-ending knee injury in December 2024. But he struggled with consistency this season, leaving him out of the rotation.

    Did the Sixers lose faith in the second-year guard?

    “I wouldn’t say that. No,” Morey said. “I think he has a tremendous future. Sort of the whole thing with people who don’t like the deal is they’ll leave off the return, minimize this draft, which we think is good, and things like that. … That return is for a starter-quality player on a good team. It’s actually above that. We do a lot of analysis on how we think things will play out both here and around the league going forward, in terms of the quality of play. What kinds of returns will there be for what players in the future?

    “And the bottom line is, Jared is a player who’s a great future bet and a potential great player. We wish him luck. We feel that this returns sets us up better to set up the team in the future.”

    Sixers takeaways: Second half turnovers, Joel Embiid’s scoring and more in loss to Lakers

    While it’s not a primary focus, the Sixers think the first-round pick can be used to make moves around the upcoming draft. Morey also believes they can use the three second-rounders to move up the draft.

    But that doesn’t address the team’s needs for the remainder of the season. They offered the picks they received from OKC to other teams.

    “Nothing materialized for a player that we thought could move the needle with those picks now,” Morey said. “But we feel like going forward, those picks will help us build the team in the future in a good way.”

    Sixers guard Eric Gordon during warm ups before the Sixers played the New York Knicks on Saturday, January 24, 2026 in Philadelphia.

    While Morey mentioned that he had authorization to go over the tax, this was the fourth straight year that the Sixers made moves to get under the luxury tax, even after Embiid’s comments.

    “I understand the perception,” Morey said. “I hope to defeat it by finding a deal that I can go to ownership and say, ‘We think this move is the right move to do for that and create those apron issues.’ But I haven’t been able to recommend that move yet.”

    At this moment, however, Morey wants to talk about the solid players that the Sixers currently have on the roster.

    He’ll remind you that Embiid is rounding into form. Morey will mention that Maxey took a leap to becoming an All-Star starter. And he’ll tell you that Kelly Oubre Jr. is playing the best basketball of his career.

    “We love the bigs we have with Joel, [Andre Drummond and Adem] Bona,“ he said. ”We feel like guys are contributing up and down the roster. Coach [Nick] Nurse has done a tremendous job putting us in with the top few teams in the East in terms of how we’re playing. So that’s why we understand the fan reaction. Obviously, the big move was with Jared. Because we’re playing well, we were trying to upgrade the team and add to the team now. That was goal No 1.”

  • The Sixers trading Jared McCain will either be a head-scratcher or an embarrassment

    The Sixers trading Jared McCain will either be a head-scratcher or an embarrassment

    A week ago, Joel Embiid decided to spend a little bit of the organizational capital he reaccrued in recent months. In response to a question about the Sixers’ approach to the upcoming NBA trade deadline, Embiid pointedly expressed his hope that the team would be looking to add talent rather than cut costs.

    “Obviously, we’ve been ducking the tax past couple of years, so hopefully, we’ll keep the same team,” Embiid said. “I love all the guys that are here. I think we got a shot.

    I don’t know what they’re going to do, but I hope we get a chance to just go out and compete because we’ve got a good group of guys in this locker room. The vibes are great. Like I said, in the past we’ve been, I guess, ducking the tax, so hopefully, we think about improving because I think we have a chance.”

    The Sixers got under the tax and took a small step back at the NBA trade deadline

    Embiid was surprisingly — some might say ungraciously — candid in noting the Sixers’ recent prioritization of shedding salary at the trade deadline to avoid paying the NBA’s luxury tax (and, thereby, to receive a share of the pooled taxpayer dollars). But he also was prescient, and unfortunately so.

    Sixers president Daryl Morey is scheduled to meet with the media on Friday, so we’ll have to wait to hear the official defense of the team’s decision to trade 2024 first-round pick Jared McCain to the Oklahoma City Thunder for what most likely will be a low-value first-rounder (plus the obligatory smattering of second-round picks). We don’t have to wait to judge the optics of the thing.

    The optics are poor, and that will remain true even if the thing ends up making more sense than we can immediately glean. The Sixers didn’t trade McCain for a player who is more likely to help them contend for a championship, be it this year or beyond. They didn’t trade him for a pick that they then flipped for a player who can help them capitalize on their momentum this season. Everywhere else, teams got better, and many of them did so in ways beyond this season. The Minnesota Timberwolves can re-sign Ayo Dosunmu. The Indiana Pacers can pair Ivica Zubac with Tyrese Haliburton next season. The Sixers can hope a late first-round pick is worth something in June.

    Jared McCain (right) only played in 60 games with the Sixers after being selected in the first round of the 2024 draft.

    A good way to judge the optics of a move is to attempt to write an executive summary of it in as favorable a way as possible. That’s an extraordinarily difficult task in this case. The Sixers just traded away a guy who they drafted at No. 16 barely a year and a half ago and who probably would be drafted higher in a redo. In exchange, they received a pick that currently projects as the No. 23 pick in the 2026 draft, two picks later than where the Sixers grabbed Tyrese Maxey almost six years ago. It is a range of the draft that rarely yields starters, let alone stars. It is a range where the odds say you are more likely to draft a player who never cracks a first-division rotation than one who becomes a meaningful starter.

    Just look at the track record. Of the 42 players drafted with the last seven picks of the first round since 2020, only 17 have started more than 17 NBA games. Just eyeballing it, you’d be hard-pressed to identify 10 of those 42 who’ve turned out to be better than the median potential outcome of even this year’s version of McCain. Jaden McDaniels and Desmond Bane are stars. They are followed by Payton Pritchard, Immanuel Quickley, Quentin Grimes, and Santi Aldama. Beyond that: Peyton Watson and Cam Thomas, and then Bones Hyland, Day’Ron Sharpe, Nikola Jović, and Kyshawn George. You get the picture.

    Risk vs. certainty is the name of the game. The Sixers traded McCain for a first-round pick that will be uncertain, even on draft day. Let alone five months before. Whatever negative certainty they felt about McCain’s mid-to-long-term trajectory, it can’t possibly be greater than the negative uncertainty of a draft-day replacement. Which is why, optically speaking, the move looks like one that was inordinately influenced by the cost-cutting benefits.

    Trading Jared McCain is a big risk, unless something bigger is in play

    The Sixers surely will point to optionality as a variable. On draft day, they will have another opportunity to flip the McCain first-rounder for an established NBA player or include the pick in a package. If that influenced the move, then the bet they are making is that the pick will be more in a draft-day trade than McCain would have been himself. There’s a decent chance that is true, given how far McCain has fallen on the depth chart and how little opportunity he could have to reestablish value.

    It just rings a little bit hollow to anybody who has bought into the commendable shift we’ve seen from the Sixers in their roster-building strategy over the last year. And it rings especially hollow when you consider that the team that traded for McCain is one of the best and brightest roster-builders in the modern NBA. As somebody said the other day, when Sam Presti wants one of your guys, it’s a good reason to think a few more thoughts about whether you should want to get rid of him.

    Barely a year and a half has passed since the Sixers made McCain the No. 16 pick in the 2024 draft. In that year and a half, we’ve seen McCain:

    • Play 23 games in which he looked like one of the top five players in the class, forcing his way into the starting lineup and then averaging 19.1 points while shooting 39.7% from three-point range in the 16 games before he suffered a season-ending knee injury.
    • Play 25 games where he looked like a player working his way back from a broken thumb that he suffered while working his way back from knee surgery.
    • Play 11 games in a 15-game stretch in which he logged just 132 minutes.

    In the Sixers’ defense, they’ve seen much more of McCain than the television cameras capture. Nobody can have a more informed opinion on where he projects within the context of their roster. But it wasn’t long ago that McCain looked like a player who could eventually transcend questions of fit. His ceiling never was close to VJ Edgecombe’s, and his probable reality was always short of Maxey’s. Again, though. The Thunder have a lot of guards. They are built on a two-way mentality. It makes you wonder.

    What it comes down to is that the Sixers better be right in their evaluation of McCain. Whatever the marching orders from ownership regarding the luxury tax, there is a level of player even Scrooge McDuck wouldn’t deem an appropriate cost-savings measure. McCain isn’t that player now. The Sixers could be accurate in their judgment of the odds that he ever becomes one. The question is whether they are accurate in their judgment of their risk of being wrong.

  • Joel Embiid keeps his reaction to Sixers’ trade deadline politically correct: ‘I believe in myself’

    Joel Embiid keeps his reaction to Sixers’ trade deadline politically correct: ‘I believe in myself’

    LOS ANGELES — When asked to assess the 76ers’ approach and execution at the trade deadline, Joel Embiid kept his words politically correct.

    But his multiple pauses to look to his right at a team public relations staffer observing his postgame media session — not out of nervousness, but as if this was the way he could make his desired point — spoke volumes.

    “The only thing I’ll say, I believe in myself,” Embiid said late Thursday, after the Sixers dealt guards Jared McCain and Eric Gordon and did not add any players. “I believe in Tyrese [Maxey]. I believe in everybody in this locker room. But the main thing is I believe in myself.

    “So no matter what, we’re going to go out there and compete and still try to win it.”

    Sixers takeaways: Second half turnovers, Joel Embiid’s scoring and more in loss to Lakers

    Those comments came exactly one week after Embiid said publicly that he hoped the Sixers (29-22) would not make moves purely to duck the luxury tax and would instead try to bolster a roster that, after Thursday’s 119-115 loss at the Los Angeles Lakers, sat in sixth place in a crowded Eastern Conference.

    “Hopefully, we keep the same team,” Embiid said then. “ … We’ve got a good group of guys in this locker room and the vibes are great. … Hopefully, we think about improving, because we have a chance.”

    When those previous comments were referenced to Embiid following Thursday’s game, the standout center coyly quipped, “I don’t remember what I said.”

    Sixers center Joel Embiid defends Los Angeles’ LeBron James’ (right) layup during their matchup on Thursday.

    Like several teammates on Thursday, Embiid complimented McCain’s impact and wished him well with the Oklahoma City Thunder.

    “I felt like [McCain] was starting to find himself there [after knee and thumb surgeries],” Embiid said from his locker inside Crypto.com Arena, “especially considering what he was doing last year. OKC got a great one.”

    The departures of McCain and Gordon, who was dealt to the Memphis Grizzlies, are at least a temporary blow to the Sixers’ guard depth before the buyout market opens. Those losses are particularly crucial while starting wing Paul George serves a 25-game suspension for violating the NBA’s anti-drug policy. The Sixers surrendered a 14-point second-half lead against the Lakers, and four starters played more than 37 minutes in the team’s third game in four nights.

    Yet there is reason for Embiid, the 2023 NBA Most Valuable Player, to have re-instilled self-belief after struggling with knee issues the previous two seasons.

    The Sixers got under the tax and took a small step back at the NBA trade deadline

    He put together another monster stat line against the Lakers, totaling 35 points on 13-of-19 shooting, seven rebounds, seven assists, and two blocked shots. In his last 11 games played, he is averaging 31.4 points on 53.2% shooting, 8.1 rebounds, and 5.1 assists to put himself in All-Star contention. And though Embiid has not been cleared to play in back-to-backs, he has logged 34.9 minutes in that timeframe and is moving and elevating better.

    “I’ve made a lot of progress, and I think this is only the beginning,” Embiid said. “I think, from now on, every single day … keep stacking them up, it’s only going to get better. With the hope that, whether it’s by the playoffs or next year, I’m really, really back to being myself. I’m on my way there.”

  • Sixers takeaways: Second half turnovers, Joel Embiid’s scoring and more in loss to Lakers

    Sixers takeaways: Second half turnovers, Joel Embiid’s scoring and more in loss to Lakers

    The 76ers were handling business at the conclusion of an emotional two days, until they began turning the ball over when things got chippy in the second half.

    They were also doomed by the Lakers’ bench points.

    But if there’s a positive for the Sixers, Joel Embiid was back to doing a little bit of everything against Los Angeles.

    And coach Nick Nurse will tell you that the biggest strides that VJ Edgecombe have made are with his consistency.

    Austin Reaves scores 35 to help Lakers snap the Sixers’ five-game winning streak

    Those things stood out in Thursday’s 119-115 loss to the Lakers at the Crypto.com Arena.

    The setback dropped the Sixers to 29-22 and snapped their five-game winning streak. They also fell one spot into sixth place in the Eastern Conference standings.

    Unable to handle business

    The good news is the Sixers didn’t initially look like a team that was emotional due to losing teammates Jared McCain and Eric Gordon before the 3 p.m. NBA trade deadline.

    The bad news is that the team continued its trend of falling apart after the intermission.

    At one point, it looked like the Sixers would coast to an easy victory. However, they began to struggle as the Lakers (31-19) increased their physicality. That led to costly turnovers by the Sixers.

    Sixers guard Quentin Grimes (center) reaches for a loose ball with Los Angeles Lakers forward Jake LaRavia on Thursday.

    Los Angeles opened the fourth quarter on a 21-6 run.

    The Sixers committed 15 turnovers, with 11 coming in the second half. To their credit, they battled back after trailing by 16 points with 4 minutes, 4 seconds left to play. Tyrese Maxey’s floater pulled the Sixers within two points with 27 seconds left.

    But they just couldn’t overcome costly turnovers at inopportune times, combined with Los Angeles’ chippy play.

    “It’s just the physicality at one end was a big thing,” Nurse told the media. “I think it was we had [been] playing pretty good and rolling along pretty well, winning. It just seemed like it was physical at one end and not at the other.”

    Sixers convert Dominick Barlow’s two-way contract to a standard NBA deal

    This loss could be considered a major disappointment, given that the Sixers’ stars shone.

    Embiid finished with 35 points on 13-for-19 shooting along with seven rebounds, seven assists, one steal, and two blocks. Maxey added 26 points, 13 assists, and four steals for his sixth double-double this season. Edgecombe finished with 19 points, 10 rebounds, two assists, and four steals for his third double-double. And Dominick Barlow had 13 points, two steals, and a block hours after having his two-way contract converted to a standard deal.

    But the last couple of days for the Sixers were intense mentally.

    First, the uncertainty surrounding the trade deadline was emotionally taxing. They knew that several teammates could be moved before Thursday’s deadline. Then there was some added emotion seeing the well-liked McCain get traded on Wednesday. And even though he rarely played, the emotion resurfaced when Gordon, a team mentor, was moved on Thursday.

    The Sixers got under the tax and took a small step back at the NBA trade deadline

    “I think it is emotional for everybody,” Nurse told reporters before the game. “Just watching it all unfold over the last three days, it seems like every half hour there’s some news around the league. I think that pours into the emotion for everybody that there’s a lot going on, seeing the wildness of all of it going so fast.”

    The Sixers knew the trade deadline was coming down to the wire when they arrived at Thursday’s shootaround. And it was a bit of a distraction for them.

    “But everybody is going through it,” Nurse said. “So you can’t sit here and say it’s a factor in anything. And you have to get through this game. And we’ll see what kind of emotions it had for us when we go out there and play tonight.”

    And they came to play, with all five starters scoring in the first five minutes to set the tone early.

    Bench-point disparity

    The Sixers could have used McCain’s scoring production off the bench against the Lakers. That’s because Los Angeles had a 61-14 advantage in bench points. Austin Reaves, a regular starter, is coming off the bench for the Lakers because of a minutes restriction. The guard finished with a team-high 35 points and made 5 of 8 three-pointers while playing just 25:03.

    Rui Hachimura added 14 points in a reserve role.

    He and Reaves took up the slack for Luka Dončić, who exited the game in the first half with left leg soreness.

    Sixers’ Joel Embiid (left) made 13 of 19 shots against the Lakers on Thursday.

    Embiid’s night

    It didn’t take long to realize Embiid would have a solid night.

    The 2023 MVP and seven-time All-Star scored 12 of the Sixers’ 27 first-quarter points. Embiid was averaging 30.2 points, 9.8 rebounds, and 5.0 assists in 12 career games against the Lakers before Thursday’s game.

    Sixers trading Eric Gordon to Memphis in exchange for a second-round pick swap

    But Embiid had struggled through 4-for-21 shooting — including missing all six of his three-pointers — while scoring 16 points in the Sixers’ 112-108 loss to the Lakers on Dec. 7 at Xfinity Mobile Arena.

    Thursday, however, marked the seventh time that he scored at least 30 points against Los Angeles.

    Edgecombe’s consistency

    As a 20-year-old rookie, Edgecombe has experienced peaks and valleys in his play.

    “But not many,” Nurse said. “Not … too high or too low. And I think that’s an accomplishment or development, or a stride that rookies are usually pretty up and down. But he kind of came in doing a lot of stuff, and he continues to do a lot of stuff. That’s all I keep saying, he’s so versatile. He does a little bit of everything. And again, he has great maturity and composure for his age as well.”

    Sixers rookie guard VJ Edgecombe (right) finished with a double-double (19 points, 10 rebounds) against the Lakers.

    The Sixers are trying to get Edgecombe to become more aggressive. Nurse has seen increased aggressiveness from him lately.

    “But I don’t want to say we’re there yet, either,” the coach said.

  • The Sixers got under the tax and took a small step back at the NBA trade deadline

    The Sixers got under the tax and took a small step back at the NBA trade deadline

    The shaping of the 76ers took a step backward this week … perhaps just momentarily.

    The team moved on from Jared McCain, a fan favorite and 2025 Rookie of the Year front-runner, and seldom-used veteran guard Eric Gordon before Thursday’s 3 p.m. trade deadline. In return, the Sixers acquired a first-round pick, three second-rounders, and a second-round pick swap.

    McCain was shipped to the Oklahoma City Thunder on Wednesday in exchange for the Houston Rockets’ 2026 first-round pick and three second-round selections. One of the second-rounders is the most favorable 2027 pick from the Thunder, Rockets, Indiana Pacers, and the Miami Heat. The other second-rounders are the 2028 picks that previously belonged to the Milwaukee Bucks and Thunder.

    Then, around 2 p.m. on Thursday, the Sixers agreed to send Gordon and the right to swap second-round picks in 2032 to the Memphis Grizzlies in exchange for the draft rights to Justinian Jessup.

    Sixers trading Eric Gordon to Memphis in exchange for a second-round pick swap

    Shedding those players’ salaries gives the Sixers just over $7.6 million in cap space under the first apron. That means they can sign players on the buyout market in addition to using up to $8 million in a trade exception to acquire a player.

    After the deadline, the Sixers signed forward Patrick Baldwin to a 10-day contract and center Charles Bassey to his second 10-day stint, giving the Sixers 14 standard contracts. And 48 minutes before Thursday’s game against the Los Angeles Lakers, the team announced it converted starting power forward Dominick Barlow’s two-way contract to a standard deal.

    Sixers guard Eric Gordon, a mentor to young star VJ Edgecombe, was dealt to the Memphis Grizzlies.

    That enabled Barlow remain active for the remainder of the season.

    But for now, they’re not in a good situation.

    The buyout market could be key for the Sixers if they don’t sign Baldwin and Bassey for the remainder of the season.

    Baldwin was the 28th overall pick by the Golden State Warriors in the 2022 NBA draft. On July 6, 2023, he was traded to the Washington Wizards.

    The 7-foot, 220-pound player has averaged 3.7 points and 2.0 rebounds while shooting 37.7% on three-pointers in a combined 95 games with the Warriors, Wizards, and Los Angeles Clippers.

    Meanwhile, Bassey was not active for any games with the Sixers during the initial 10-day deal that he signed on Jan. 26. However, he excelled for their NBA G League affiliate, the Delaware Blue Coats.

    Sixers guard Jared McCain was shipped to the Oklahoma City Thunder.

    The Sixers headed into the trade deadline with a 29-21 record and were riding a five-game winning streak. Even though they were fifth in the Eastern Conference standings, they were regarded as the league’s most dangerous team.

    With Joel Embiid healthy and playing at a high level, the thought was that they could beat any team on any given night. And it didn’t matter that Paul George is in the midst of serving a 25-game suspension for violating the NBA’s anti-drug program.

    Kelly Oubre Jr., Barlow, and VJ Edgecombe took up the slack during the first three games that he missed.

    Since then, the Sixers traded away players who were well-liked in the locker room for what on the surface appear to be moves to help them get below the luxury tax threshold.

    Jared McCain traded to OKC Thunder for first-round pick and three second-round selections

    But it’s still too early to fully judge the moves that were made.

    McCain was exceptional in his rookie season before suffering a season-ending knee injury in December 2024. But he struggled with consistency this season, leaving him out of the rotation. Gordon played in only six games, with his last appearance coming Dec. 23 against the Brooklyn Nets.

    The Sixers signed Patrick Baldwin (center) to a 10-day deal after the NBA trade deadline.

    So these moves were made on the margins and will only be crystalized once we see how they affect the roster this season and what they do with their draft picks in the future.

    But in the interim, the Sixers got a little worse over two days while several contenders in the East improved.

  • The Sixers have entered the NBA trade deadline madness. What will they do next?

    The Sixers have entered the NBA trade deadline madness. What will they do next?

    Could we see another alteration to the 76ers‘ roster before they face the Los Angeles Lakers at 10 p.m. Thursday at Crypto.com Arena?

    There was always a belief that the Sixers would shed some salary before the 3 p.m. Thursday trade deadline to get below the luxury tax threshold. They also needed to free up a roster spot to sign two-way players Dominick Barlow and Jabari Walker to standard deals.

    And the squad might have accomplished both by trading Jared McCain to the Oklahoma City Thunder in exchange for the Houston Rockets’ 2026 first-round pick and three second-rounders. One of the second-rounders is the 2027 most favorable pick from Oklahoma City, Houston, the Indiana Pacers, and Miami Heat. The others are the 2028 Milwaukee Bucks and 2028 Thunder picks.

    Jared McCain traded to OKC Thunder for first-round pick and three second-round selections

    The Sixers are now $3 million below the luxury tax threshold after trading away McCain’s $4.2 million salary for draft assets.

    But is there another deal to be made? There’s a sense that this roster, as it’s currently constructed, has a chance to position itself for an Eastern Conference title.

    The Sixers (29-21) take a five-game winning streak into their contest with the Lakers (30-19). The conference’s fifth-place team is 3 ½ games behind the second-place New York Knicks with 32 games remaining.

    The Sixers traded Jared McCain to the Oklahoma City Thunder in exchange for the Houston Rockets’ 2026 first-round pick and three second-rounders.
    Six burning questions facing the Sixers at the NBA trade deadline

    Multiple sources insist that the Sixers are still willing to trade reserve center Andre Drummond.

    But while McCain battled inconsistent play during his return from last season’s knee surgery, Drummond is the team’s best rebounder and has 12 double-doubles this season.

    Parting ways with Drummond would be a blow to the Sixers’ depth. With Joel Embiid resting on the second night of a back-to-back, Drummond started his 18th game of the season Tuesday night against the Golden State Warriors. The 6-foot-11, 279-pounder had 12 points, 12 rebounds, one steal, and a block in the 113-94 victory.

    Sixers center Andre Drummond is averaging 6.9 points and 8.8 rebounds in just 19.8 minutes per game.

    But more than providing a presence, Drummond has been a great teammate, setting screens, playing hard, and mentoring younger players.

    Sixers guard Tyrese Maxey has seen the same traits from many of his teammates.

    “As far as the trade deadline, when I was younger, I was a part of every [possible trade] situation,” Maxey said. “So you have to keep your head low, keep working. It’s a business, at the end of the day. Whatever happens, happens.

    “I like this group. I think our group is really good, really tight, and guys like each other. So whatever happens, we will always support each other.”

    At this stage of his career, it remains to be seen what kind of return the Sixers would receive for Drummond.

    In fact, Maxey and VJ Edgecombe are the only trade assets who would pull in a player capable of drastically improving the team. And both are considered untouchable.

    Five reasons the Sixers should be cautious at the NBA trade deadline

    But by trading McCain, Daryl Morey, the Sixers’ president of basketball operations, has made a deadline deal every year since being hired in2020.

    And he’s not the only NBA executive making moves. The Detroit Pistons, who sit atop the East, received sharpshooter Kevin Huerter and former Sixers post player Dario Šarić from the Chicago Bulls in a multiteam trade that sent Minnesota Timberwolves point guard Mike Conley and Pistons combo guard Jaden Ivey to the Bulls.

    The Los Angeles Clippers traded former Sixers guard James Harden (right) to the Cleveland Cavaliers on Tuesday.

    The third-place Boston Celtics are acquiring two-time All-Star center Nikola Vučević, a former Sixer, and a second-round pick from the Bulls in exchange for Celtics guard Anfernee Simons and a second-round pick.

    And the fourth-place Cleveland Cavaliers traded two-time All-Star guard Darius Garland and a second-round pick to the Los Angeles Clippers for 11-time All-Star point guard James Harden, another former Sixer.

    A look at the Sixers’ movable contracts, and how Paul George’s suspension could impact their trade deadline plans

    Harden will be paired in the backcourt with seven-time All-Star shooting guard Donovan Mitchell. Cleveland (31-21) also has frontcourt difference-makers in 2025 Defensive Player of the Year Evan Mobley and rim protector Jarrett Allen. Both players have made an All-Star team.

    “He does James Harden stuff,” Maxey said about his close friend being traded. “He’s a dynamic player with playoff experience. He knows how to play the game, knows how to get guys involved. He’ll take some pressure off D-Mitch, for sure, and get those other guys, Mobley, Allen, [Jaylon] Tyson, all those guys easy shots.”

    The big question is: What else will the Sixers do?

  • Trading Jared McCain is a big risk, unless something bigger is in play

    Trading Jared McCain is a big risk, unless something bigger is in play

    Curious.

    Suggestive.

    Dangerous.

    Most of all, unfortunate.

    Those are the only sorts of words you can use right now when evaluating the Sixers’ decision to trade Jared McCain to the Thunder on Wednesday afternoon in exchange for a 2026 first-round pick and some ancillary draft capital.

    To judge the move in more definitive terms would be irresponsible given the amount of time that still remains between now and Thursday’s NBA trade deadline. The final verdict depends on what happens next. If nothing happens next, then, yeah, the Sixers’ decision to jettison their promising 2024 first-round pick will rank somewhere on a spectrum between “underwhelming” and “foolish.” If their primary motivation was to duck below the luxury tax yet again, it will be a level beyond foolish. It will be criminal.

    Many Sixers fans came to love Jared McCain and his social media flair. And now their hearts are broken.

    That being said, there are a lot of other ifs in play, many of them more plausible than Daryl Morey viewing a legitimate asset as a cost-savings vehicle. The NBA’s in-season hot stove is sizzling right now. The Mavericks traded All-Star center Anthony Davis to the Wizards, thereby finalizing their aggregate return for Luka Doncic at a grand total of three first-round picks, each of which is more likely to be closer to No. 30 than to No. 1. Trade rumors continue to circulate around Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo, with suitors like the Timberwolves and Heat jockeying to present Milwaukee with an offer that will convince it to strike a deal now rather than wait for the offseason. There are a lot of dominoes left to fall, and the Sixers could easily end up toppling one — or being one.

    The Bucks’ Giannis Antetokounmpo remains the big prize at the NBA trade deadline.

    As of Wednesday night, there were no indications that the Sixers were gearing up to make a legitimate run at acquiring Giannis, who was previously reported to be intrigued by the possibility of teaming up with Tyrese Maxey and the Sixers. Such a move would almost certainly require the Sixers to part with rookie star V.J. Edgecombe. That’s a move they almost certainly will not do.

    But the Sixers could easily end up involved on the periphery of the Giannis talks. If Minnesota is determined/desperate to add Giannis, then it would presumably need to be desperate/determined to acquire the first-round picks that the Bucks would require (the Timberwolves don’t have much in the way of draft capital to trade). Minnesota’s determination/desperation creates some intriguing possibilities for a third team that does have first-round picks it can trade. The dream scenario would be someone like young sweet-shooting big man Naz Reid becoming available. A more realistic opportunity could come in the form of former Villanova-turned-Knicks-turned-Timberwolves grinder Donte DiVincenzo.

    Forget about trading VJ Edgecombe for Giannis. Or anybody.

    I’m throwing those names out there mostly as for-instances. The world remains Morey’s oyster until the clock strikes 3 p.m. EST on Thursday.

    What we can say right now is that trading McCain is a risk. We’re barely a year removed from the 21-year-old guard looking like one of the best players in his draft class. His star has dimmed quite a bit since a season-ending knee injury put the kibosh on his rookie season after 23 games. But remember what we saw in those 23 games: 15.3 points, a .383 three-point percentage, promising toughness and defense. It’s hard to believe that those things were mirages, especially when you consider the track record that the Thunder have in identifying undervalued young talent. If Sam Presti wants to trade for your player, it’s a good reason not to trade him.

    Adding a young guard like the Bulls’ Ayo Dosunmu would help the Jared McCain trade make sense.

    The Sixers surely know this. That’s a good enough reason to give them until the trade deadline before deciding how we feel. The reality on the ground has changed a lot since McCain burst onto the scene early last year. The fit with Edgecombe isn’t an ideal one. McCain is averaging just 16.8 minutes this season. But he was hardly in danger of becoming a sunk cost. The hope here is that the draft capital the Sixers acquired from the Thunder will help them add a player who brings more certainty to go with his youth. The Bulls’ Ayo Dosunmu is just one example of a player who would make all the sense in the world to swap in for McCain.

    Until then, we wait.