Sixers trade Jared McCain to Oklahoma City Thunder for 4 draft picks, AP reports

The Philadelphia 76ers have traded guard Jared McCain to the Oklahoma City Thunder for a 2026 Houston Rockets first-round draft pick and three second-round picks, a person with knowledge of the move said Wednesday.

The Sixers will receive the most-favorable second-round pick in 2027 from Oklahoma City, Houston, Indiana or Miami; one from Milwaukee in 2028 and another from the Thunder in 2028, said the person who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the trade has not yet been made official.

McCain, 21, was considered a bright piece of the Sixers' future after they made him the 16th overall pick out of Duke in the 2024 draft. McCain was off to a fantastic start last season in his brief career before he suffered a meniscus tear in his left knee in December 2024.

He had averaged 15.3 points in 23 games for a Sixers team that entered last season with championship aspirations before injuries sank them into the draft lottery. He started eight games and was an instant fan favorite out of Duke in large part after amassing millions of followers as a TikTok sensation.

McCain earned Eastern Conference rookie of the month honors for November.

But McCain averaged only 6.6 points in 37 games this season. He goes to a Thunder team reeling from the loss of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander to an abdominal strain expected to sideline him until after the All-Star break.  

McCain struggled to regain his place in the rotation as the Sixers returned to playoff contention behind No. 3 overall pick VJ Edgecombe.

Trading McCain will allow the Sixers to get under the luxury tax threshold this season and receive a first-rounder for McCain. The trade also comes days after Paul George was suspended for 25 games for violating the NBA's anti-drug policy.