Jared McCain dropped 20 for the Thunder and we’re back to calling for Daryl Morey’s head

Drew Smith
February 26, 2026
Sixers
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Jared McCain went for 20 points, three rebounds, and two assists in nearly 30 minutes for Oklahoma City on Thursday, going 6-of-16 from the field, 4-of-10 from three, and a perfect 4-of-4 from the line with zero turnovers.

The Thunder lost to the Pistons 124-116, but McCain was a bright spot in a game where OKC was already shorthanded. This was his second 20-point game since the Sixers traded him to Oklahoma City on February 4th.

Jared McCain: 20 PTS, 3 REB, 2 AST

Jared McCain 20 PTS, 3 REB, 2 AST, 6/16 FG, 4/10 3FG, 4/4 FT, 0 TO, 56.3% TS vs Pistons https://t.co/ERxVaiMNfC pic.twitter.com/5ovpEwXK6u
— Basketball Performances (@NBAPerformances) February 26, 2026

Over his last four games, Jared McCain has averaged 14 points on strong efficiency in under 20 minutes. In under 20 minutes. The Sixers traded a 22-year-old guard who is producing like this off the bench for a first-round pick that is not high enough to land anyone meaningful and not attractive enough to headline a trade for anyone who actually matters.

Daryl Morey called this move “selling high.” Selling high on what exactly? A second-year player who was just getting started, playing through a heart condition that kept him out for stretches last season, averaging 14 points a game in limited minutes on the defending champions?

That is not selling high. That is trading away upside because you have no coherent plan and needed to generate the appearance of activity.

The pick Philadelphia received is somewhere in the late first round at best. It will not get them a star. It will not flip into a star. It is a roster filler at a position the Sixers have plenty of mediocrity at already. Meanwhile the defending champions just got a 22-year-old shooter with legitimate juice who is getting better every week.

Joshua Harris needs to sell this team. Daryl Morey needs to be fired.

Those two sentences have been true for a while now and nothing that has happened since the Jared McCain trade has made them less true. Every time that kid scores 20 points for Oklahoma City it just becomes more obvious.

The Sixers gave the best team in the league a young player with a real future and got a pick that will be forgotten by 2027. It is inexcusable and it should not be treated as anything less than that.