Every move in the NBA tends to spark ripple effects. Said effects from the Jared McCain deal between the OKC Thunder and the Philadelphia 76ers last season arguably surfaced a few months later in the form of LeBron James' free agency decision.
During a recent edition of the Third Apron Podcast, host Sam Quinn made the argument that the McCain exchange was perhaps the most mutually beneficial trade in the NBA last season.
While most Thunder fans likely view the deal as a lopsided win for OKC, as the club essentially parted ways with a few lower-value draft picks in exchange for a high-upside young stud still on his rookie deal, Quinn seemingly feels as if the benefits of the transaction were more or less even.
As he put it, the McCain trade may very well have been the final nail in the coffin of Daryl Morey's tenure as president of basketball operations in Philadelphia, and without his departure from the organization, it's believed LeBron would not have ended up signing with the Sixers this summer.
"Getting Daryl Morey fired is probably what set up the offseason that [Philadelphia] just had. I don't think LeBron James is going to sign with Daryl Morey's team," Quinn speculated.
Although Quinn seemed to base his claims solely on business operations, outside of basketball-related matters, LeBron's lack of interest in joining a Morey-led team could have also stemmed from the superstar's past track record of publicly criticizing the executive for off-the-court quandaries.
All things considered, Quinn seems to believe that without McCain's trade to the Thunder, Philadelphia's pursuit of James might not have ended as it ultimately did.
Jared McCain helped make Thunder shakeups more managable
While the aforementioned trade may have helped influence Philadelphia's summer decision-making, it seems to have done so for the Thunder as well.
This offseason, Oklahoma City parted ways with a number of beloved figures from their title-winning core, most notably Lu Dort, Aaron Wiggins, and Isaiah Joe.
This trio served as staples within the team's backcourt rotation throughout their respective tenures and averaged north of 20.0 minutes a night just this past season.
On the surface, moving on from such contributors seems risky, given just how heavily they were relied upon in coach Mark Daigneault's scheme.
However, the only reason the Thunder could have afforded to offload them was that they had guys like McCain waiting in the reserves.
McCain, along with the likes of Ajay Mitchell and Cason Wallace, will now be looked to as the direct heir apparents to Dort, Wiggins, and Joe in OKC's rotation. Considering how they all fared when called upon during last year's regular season and playoff run, the Thunder should be more than confident they can thrive in their newly expanded roles.
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