Jared McCain has been successful in OKC. What type of return at No. 22 would make the Sixers trade a success?

Oklahoma City Thunder guard Cason Wallace grabbed an offensive rebound and did not consider looking at the rim. He instead shifted his focus to passing the ball to Jared McCain, former 76ers sharpshooter.

McCain, on his latest postseason heater, caught the ball and relocated behind the three-point line to knock down a contested shot during Game 5 of the Western Conference finals on Tuesday. Traded to the Thunder at the February deadline, he’d earned blind trust from Wallace, a knockdown shooter in his own right, in only a couple months. Similarly, MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander said it took him only a couple games to realize McCain would become a key cog in their title defense.

Moments like that have added more fuel for infuriated Sixers fans who continue to be puzzled at the franchise’s decision to “sell high” on a second-year guard who showed flashes after recovering from a torn meniscus in his left knee.

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McCain’s accomplishments have been treated as a referendum on the trade-deadline deal, which netted the No. 22 pick in the 2026 NBA draft and three future second-round picks.

And the list is getting longer every day. McCain has been the topic du jour in Philly on several occasions as he immediately cracked the Thunder rotation and averaged 10.4 points and knocked down 39.1% of three-pointers in 30 regular season games with the Thunder.

He’s only taken on a larger role in the postseason, shooting 63.2% in a four-game sweep of the Los Angeles Lakers to set a franchise record. Next came two 20-point performances and his first playoff start in the Western Conference finals.

This all comes after McCain struggled to crack the rotation in his final season with the Sixers. While he has clearly performed beyond the Sixers’ expectations, the franchise contends that the deal is still not finished until they select a player with the No. 22 pick.

So we decided to answer two questions: Why has McCain thrived in Oklahoma City and who is available to the Sixers in that range of the draft?

There are several layers to pull back here. We can start with the obvious fact that Sixers coach Nick Nurse runs a tight rotation and has clearly stuck with the belief that his stars should play heavy minutes and impact the game in meaningful ways. It’s hard to argue with that ethos when Nurse won a title using that formula, but it never fully fit the Sixers’ roster realities.

They are built around a player who is chronically unavailable. Joel Embiid played 19 games in the 2024-25 season and said he considered the 2025-26 season a success after he played in 38 contests. And while youth is on their side, it was clear that guards Tyrese Maxey and VJ Edgecombe were spent after ranking among the league leaders in minutes in the regular and post seasons.

What did that mean for McCain? Well, being on the brink of Nurse’s rotation is not ideal for a player returning from injury. Over three months, McCain either played heavy minutes or barely played at all, affecting his ability to gain rhythm as a shooter. And those minutes often meant initiating the offense and spacing the floor as a standstill shooter.

As he proved as a rookie, McCain is best when he’s on the move. He thrives in chaos as defenders rush through screens and lose open shooters. He was an adept ballhandler in screen and rolls and was always a threat to pull up on the other side of the screen. He’s gotten back to that style in Oklahoma City, and they also have a star in Gilgeous-Alexander whose pass-first approach trickles down to the rest of the roster.

On a more tactical level, the Sixers’ offense in rooted in a pick-and-roll approach that starts and ends with their stars. Maxey starts the offense with Embiid in mind and then moves down the line, looking for his own shot second and finding ancillary players as a last resort.

The Thunder — who even do postgame interviews as a team — are more egalitarian, with Gilgeous-Alexander as the engine. The back-to-back MVP is averaging 28 points and 8.2 assists during the playoffs, with responsibility cascading down to Jalen Williams, Chet Holmgren, Ajay Mitchell, Alex Caruso, McCain and more. Five Thunder players are averaging double figures this postseason, with McCain coming in at 9.6 points per game because of a quiet series against the Suns. He averaged 11.5 points against the Lakers and 13.4 points against the Spurs.

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When asked about the Sixers’ roster construction, Bob Myers, president of sports for Harris Blitzer Sports Entertainment, said the franchise’s current priority is nailing the No. 22 pick. The scrutiny for the draft pick will likely be higher than a typical late first round selection.

The Sixers do have recent success in that range and were especially successful in the 2020 draft, selecting Maxey 21st overall, Thunder rotation guard Isaiah Joe at 49, and Pistons forward Paul Reed at 58. That success continued with Spurs starter Julian Champagnie as an undrafted rookie in 2022 and McCain at 16th in 2024. Of course, they famously gave up on most of those players too early, and that overshadowed the selection process as they played well in the postseason while the Sixers bench struggled mightily.

Former president of basketball operations Daryl Morey always credited general manager Elton Brand for the selection of Maxey, and he’s still in place as the Sixers approach this draft. As is former NBA player and current Sixers assistant general manager Jameer Nelson.

Here’s who some of the country’s foremost draft experts have the Sixers selecting and do a quick and dirty evaluation of the fit.

The Sixers found lightning in a bottle when they added Dominick Barlow on a two-way deal and found a player who could credibly play the power forward position. But he was left out of the rotation at times in favor of a small-ball lineup during the playoffs. That said, the Sixers struggled to rebound and needed help defending the rim during the playoffs. They could use another traditional big and Graves measured in well at 6-foot-7 with a 7-foot wingspan at the NBA Combine. He can stretch the floor and averaged 11.6 points and 6.5 rebounds while shooting 41.3% from three. The Sixers need more athleticism and that could be a concern with Graves, according to Woo.

Another traditional big, Peat is a bit more versatile and can put the ball on the floor, finish at the rim, and create for others. But he lacks the ability to shoot from deep. He averaged 14.1 points, 5.6 rebounds, and 2.6 assists for an Arizona team that made the Final Four.

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The Sixers have needed a steady presence behind Embiid for years. The big man has only played 58 of 162 available regular-season games over the last two seasons. That’s enough reason to get an insurance plan. Add to that Andre Drummond’s struggles on defense and unrestricted free-agent status, plus Adem Bona’s limited ability on offense, and you have a lot of reason to look for a big. Suigo is a 7-3 big with shooting touch and passing feel who could fit well alongside Maxey and Edgecombe, O’Connor writes.

Stirtz was an NCAA Tournament darling, helping lead Iowa on an improbable run that ended against Illinois in the Elite Eight. Stirtz played a big part in that, averaging 19.8 points per game and hitting timely buckets. As Chau notes, this would be the Sixers’ chance to add shooting off the bench and get a bit of a mulligan on the McCain trade.