On the surface, the Oklahoma City Thunder made a move to bolster their depth in trading for Jared McCain.
McCain has struggled to crack the Philadelphia 76ers' deep backcourt rotation this season as he's returned from the hand injury that ended his rookie season early. Through 37 games, he's averaging just 6.6 points, two rebounds, and 1.7 assists on a diet of just 16.8 minutes per game.
Now, however, with the news of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander's abdominal strain, McCain will be walking into a high-pressure situation. He must immediately become a high-volume ball-handler for the Thunder, or they could be in trouble until their other guards return.
Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander sustained an abdominal strain and will be re-evaluated following the All-Star break.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) February 4, 2026
It's certainly a less-than-ideal situation for the young point guard.
Thunder injuries ramp up the pressure on McCain to immediately perform
Oklahoma City's injury woes over the past few weeks have been well-noted. They've missed Isaiah Hartenstein, Jalen Williams, Alex Caruso, and Ajay Mitchell for various lengths of time. Although Hartenstein and Caruso have returned, Williams and Mitchell remain out.
As mentioned above, Gilgeous-Alexander also suffered an abdominal strain in Tuesday night's win over the Orlando Magic. He will be re-evaluated after the All-Star Break.
This leaves the Thunder without two of their primary ball-handlers. The trade for McCain, therefore, represents both a swing on his upside as a scorer and an appeal to his immediate skill as a ball-handler.
Although it's unclear when the trade will become official, one would imagine the Thunder will be pushing for McCain's arrival to happen as soon as possible.
Even if Gilgeous-Alexander and Mitchell only remain out for a couple of weeks, that suddenly puts McCain in a significantly larger role than what he had in Philadelphia. And I mean significantly.
Playing behind Tyrese Maxey, Quinten Grimes, and VJ Edgecombe with the 76ers, McCain's role was primarily as a microwave bench scorer. He's started just one game this year after showing serious promise in his limited stint as a rookie.
Meanwhile, Oklahoma City sits atop the Western Conference currently, and they have a brutal slate ahead. Even excluding their matchup against the San Antonio Spurs tonight, they will play the Houston Rockets, the Los Angeles Lakers, and the Phoenix Suns before the All-Star Break.
McCain certainly won't start right away. Those duties will go to Cason Wallace.
But if McCain is taking on a massive rotational role for the Thunder, it would easily be the most pressure he's faced in his career. Let's just hope he's able to handle it.