Over the six weeks since the passing of the 2026 NBA trade deadline, the acquisition of Jared McCain has only looked more like a heist of a deal pulled off by the OKC Thunder.
Tuesday, the sophomore guard shed light on why this may be.
During a shoot-around media session, McCain highlighted how Oklahoma City has used him as a primary option off screens set by the club's big men when on offense, and specifically hinted at the fact that he always wished the Sixers used him in such sets during his time in the City of Brotherly Love.
"When I was in Philly, Joel [Embiid] would do that with Tyrese [Maxey] and I was like 'Damn, that's really cool right there.' So to be able to be a part of it [in OKC] is really fun. Playing with Hart, Jay Will, and Chet [Holmgren], they're all elite bigs so I'm excited to play with them," McCain said.
Thunder using Jared McCain in ways Sixers seemingly refused to
A large portion of coach Mark Daigneault's offensive system relies on creating looks off screens. It's no wonder they rank fourth in the league in points per possession and boast the third-best effective field goal percentage of 56.2 off such plays.
For McCain specifically, this kind of approach to offense has clearly worked wonders, as he ranks fourth in the league in points per possession when serving as the handler off screens dating back to his time with the Sixers and, since joining the Thunder, sports a ludicrous effective field goal percentage of 69.4 on catch-and-shoot opportunities.
Of course, his efficiency on the hardwood has benefited not only his own level of play but also that of many of his running mates.
Isaiah Joe, in particular, has been a major beneficiary of McCain's arrival, as he's been an absolute beast in the scoring department since his debut back on February 7, posting stellar averages of 14.1 points on 46.6 percent shooting from the floor and 43.9 percent shooting from deep.
With both of them on the hardwood, the Thunder find themselves placing in the 100 percentile in both opponent points per 100 possessions (95.8) and, arguably even more impressive, point differential (plus-23.7).
Needless to say, the union of the guard and OKC has been nothing but sensational up to this point, and, frankly, it all seems to be the result of coach Daigneault knowing how to use him in ways 76ers headman Nick Nurse seemingly refused to.
With every passing day, Daryl Morey's "selling high" claims only seem to look worse.