When Daryl Morey initially made his post-deadline declaration that he believes the Philadelphia 76ers were "selling high" on the Jared McCain trade, OKC Thunder fans and media pundits immediately saw it as a blasphemous shot at the guard.
Now, 12 games into his tenure out in the Sooner State, with him seemingly returning to his pre-injury form and averaging 11.9 points and 2.8 rebounds on 47.7 percent shooting from the floor and 41.8 percent shooting from deep, the widespread narrative has been that Oklahoma City may have, in fact, fleeced the Sixers in the exchange.
Zach Lowe seems to have a completely different take on the deal, however, as he recently made the case that both the 76ers and Thunder got exactly what they wanted from the transaction.
"I've had some people ask me, 'Where was the rest of the league on Jared McCain? If he was available, no one outbid Oklahoma City?' Oklahoma City traded legit draft equity, a first-round pick, and some seconds, and I don't think the Sixers were getting that for a guy who was on the fringes of their rotation and has played like 50 NBA games. This is the benefit of being Oklahoma City [because] they don't care about paying with draft picks. They're built to overpay with draft picks," Lowe said on his eponymous podcast.
Thunder have an embarrasment of riches when it comes to draft capital
Oklahoma City's treasure trove of draft assets has been discussed and praised ad nauseam for years now.
As a result of highly strategic, forward-thinking trades made by GM Sam Presti, it's been widely accepted that the Thunder have so many picks coming their way over the next several years that they legitimately can't use all of them for themself.
With this in mind, Lowe's point that the Thunder "don't care" if they overpay in a trade with draft picks carries significant weight -- given the position they find themselves in, coughing up three picks barely puts even a dent in their storied collection.
Sure, sometimes the decision to offload capital via trade can end in a flop, as it did just a few seasons ago when they shelled out two seconds to the Charlotte Hornets for Gordon Hayward.
However, times like these, where they part with three picks for a 22-year-old who's fresh off a should-have-been Rookie of the Year-winning campaign, make taking such leaps look like no-brainers.
Rockets pick is growing less valuable by the day
Lowe's claim that the Thunder objectively overpaid for McCain certainly holds true from a technical standpoint.
After all, considering the sophomore was less than a year removed from season-ending thumb surgery and was posting averages of 6.6 points and 2.0 rebounds on 38.5 percent shooting from the floor in his sophomore go-around, netting a return of four total picks that includes a 2026 first-rounder should objectively be seen as a win for Philadelphia.
However, from OKC's perspective, the picks they parted ways with are far from their most valuable. In fact, the first-rounder they gave up is losing its luster by the day.
Of all the 2026 first-round rights they possessed ahead of the deadline, next to their own, the Rockets' pick they gave to Philadelphia was undoubtedly their least valuable.
Roughly a month removed from the McCain trade, if the season ended today, that selection would fall in the mid-to-late 20s.
Even with three future seconds included, offloading such equity for someone who just went 16 overall last season and is playing as well as he is was well worth it.