The Oklahoma City Thunder stole Jared McCain from the Philadelphia 76ers, sending over a 2026 first-round pick (via Houston) and three second-round picks, ESPN's Shams Charania reports.
Philadelphia is retooling around a promising backcourt of Tyrese Maxey and rookie VJ Edgecombe, and added more draft capital in what projects to be a strong 2026 class. But the main takeaway from this deal is that the rich got richer.
OKC may no longer be on their historic win pace this season, but should be considered the heavy favorites to defend their title. McCain provides them with a combo guard skillset and floor spacing, offering a defensive-minded team a bit more offensive firepower.
Philadelphia should be excited about adding a first-round pick, but to the Thunder, that's chump change. That's why the Western Conference teams, such as the Portland Trail Blazers, should be concerned about this trade.
Blazers' path to contention just got longer
Not only did Portland miss out on a prime trade target who would've been an ideal addition to their uncertain backcourt, but their path to contending just got that much more difficult.
That's the double-punch aspect of this deal for Portland and essentially any other team out west that could've used McCain.
The Blazers have made progress this season with an ascending young core of their own, but they know eventually their path to contention is going to run through OKC. That's a scary thought, as this Thunder team is loaded with assets that can make one phone call and land just about any player in the league they want. The only reason they're making a relatively minor trade is that they have no reason to shake up a roster that already appears to be on track to become the NBA's next dynasty.
Portland wants to end a four-year playoff drought and realistically could now that the Los Angeles Clippers have traded James Harden. But there's a wide gap between simply making the postseason and defeating a team like the Thunder four times in a seven-game series.
Portland still needs to find a way to elevate its ceiling if they ever want to be considered a legitimate contender. Deni Avdija's All-Star selection is a promising step in the right direction, but this team needs to add more star power.
This McCain trade needs to serve as a wake-up call for Portland's front office, which has made no other moves besides bringing in Vít Krejčí this Trade Season.