How Thunder’s Jared McCain has thrived since 76ers GM Daryl Morey’s ‘sold high’ remark

Story by

Story by
How Thunder’s Jared McCain has thrived since 76ers GM Daryl Morey’s ‘sold high’ remark

Josue Pavon, ClutchPoints · ClutchPoints

Mon, Feb 23, 2026 ·

4 min read

About Our Ads

How Thunder's Jared McCain has thrived since 76ers GM Daryl Morey's 'sold high' remark appeared first on ClutchPoints . Add ClutchPoints as a Preferred Source by clicking here .

OKLAHOMA CITY — Oklahoma City Thunder guard Jared McCain cried when he was traded by Philadelphia 76ers president of basketball operations Daryl Morey. The news came as a shock to the second-year guard, who celebrated his 22nd birthday in a city he never thought he'd call home. Still, McCain has shone ever since he joined the Thunder. Amidst an increased role due to a plethora of injuries, he's been a consistent spark off coach Mark Daigneault's bench.

McCain is averaging 14.0 points on 50.0% shooting, including 50% from deep on 9-of-18 attempts, 3.5 rebounds in 21.2 minutes in his last four games with the Thunder. He followed up a season-high 21 points in a 105-86 win against the Brooklyn Nets with 10 points, including a pair of threes, three rebounds, and one steal in Sunday's 121-113 win against the Cleveland Cavs .

Without All-Star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander , Jalen Williams , Ajay Mitchell , and Alex Caruso , Isaiah Joe joined the Thunder's starting lineup, while McCain and Jaylin Williams combined for 20 points to lead the bench. Against a healthy Cavs team led by All-Stars Donovan Mitchell , Evan Mobley , and James Harden , Joe's 22 points, including six threes and a career-high five steals, led the Thunder to victory.

After the win, Joe addressed how the addition of McCain has opened up creative opportunities for the Thunder's offense, which is finding ways to win without three of its top four scorers.

"It puts the defense in a dilemma to help or not, and it kind of creates driving lanes, even when they went box-and-1, and they made that run, we were still getting really good looks," Joe said. "I think Lu got a couple of wide-open shots — J-Will, Chet. The shot didn't fall, but having that gravity out there, we just try to find ways to either get looks, get shots, and a lot of times it creates opportunities for other people, and other opportunities for everybody else."

Joe is 33-for-65 from deep (50.8%) in February, including 18-of-31 in his last four games. The Thunder has won four in its last five tries without Gilgeous-Alexander, Williams, and Mitchell. At the same time, the Sixers are 1-4.

Jared McCain felt 'all emotions' after trade to Thunder

76ers president of basketball operations Daryl Morey felt confident about trading Jared McCain to the Thunder for a 2026 first-round pick and two future second-round picks. While the 76ers had a bit of a logjam at the guard position with rookie VJ Edgecombe taking on a prominent role over McCain, many fans felt it was too soon to give up on the sophomore guard.

Morey felt differently and wasn't afraid to say it , as he did, per NBC Sports Philly.

"I'm quite confident we were selling high. Obviously, time will tell, but the only other high point, and we weren't looking to sell, I'll be frank," Morey said. "Teams came to us with aggressive offers for him, and 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 for our franchise, what we could get. So the only higher point would have been during his run last season. But otherwise, we feel like we did time this well."

McCain couldn't believe it. He revealed how he found out about his trade days after the deal was made.

"We were all on the bus to the airport, and I just got a call. I had no feeling. I didn't think it was going to happen, to be honest. There was nothing, and I got the call, and just went and told everybody. I went to Tyrese [ Maxey ] first, and it was pretty emotional," McCain said.

However, his confidence never wavered after 76ers' Daryl Morey gave a hollow goodbye moments after trading McCain ahead of this year's deadline.

"I allow myself to feel all the emotions. It's natural. Give myself grace through this process," McCain added. "But you move quick. I touched down in LA and then had to come straight here. It's a little bit of both. It's a balance you've got to work through."

The Thunder will travel to face the Raptors on Tuesday.

Mobilize your Website

View Site in Mobile | Classic

Share by: