Sixers higher ups recount Jared McCain trade, talk luxury tax concerns

CAMDEN, N.J. -- The Philadelphia 76ers made a surprising move at the deadline when they sent promising second-year guard Jared McCain to the Oklahoma City Thunder in a deal that netted them three second-round picks and a first-rounder in this 2026 draft via the Houston Rockets--the No. 22 pick in the June 23 draft.

The deal was certainly a head-scratcher in the moment. The Sixers needed some reliable guards off their bench and McCain was beginning to really find his groove again with the Sixers after missing so much time due to a torn meniscus that ended his rookie season after just 23 games. He is playing well for the Thunder as he shot 12-for-19 from deep in Round 2 as the Thunder swept the Los Angeles Lakers on their way to the Western Conference finals.

As managing partner, Josh Harris and the interim head of basketball operations, Bob Myers, move ahead to finding a replacement for Daryl Morey, both men addressed the McCain trade.

"Well, I like Daryl. I'm not gonna disparage Daryl here today," Myers said. "I think he did a fine job, and I think he's a good person, and what I will say to your question, and I understand why you asked it, is that what I will tell you is that was a few months ago. Right now, we have the 22nd pick. Our job is to get that right. We have three second round picks from it. I know you're not criticizing. You're just asking the question. We should be graded on the ultimate result of transactions like that, but I understand."

Myers, the GM of the Golden State Warriors for 11-plus seasons, has had his fair share of negative reactions from moves he made whether it was in the draft or in trades. He knows what it's like, but he just wants to nail the pick at 22 to ensure Philadelphia gets somebody helpful on its end of the deal.

"I made draft picks where we got an ‘F’ right away," Myers laughed. "10 minutes after the draft! ‘F’ and I was like, how do they know it's an ‘F’? The guy hasn't even played. But your job, and everybody's job, is to react. I totally understand that. Our job is to make a trade. There'll be a reaction. It'll be positive or negative, but that trade isn't done, and our job is to make sure that on our end of the trade, we do a good job with drafting the best player at 22."

Even though the trade hasn't been completed yet, and it's not fair yet to completely judge the deal until it is completed with the picks the Sixers will use, it is still a bit confusing in the present. The Sixers had trouble getting much production out of their bench when it comes to the guards and they had to play Tyrese Maxey a ton of minutes due to the lack of depth at that position. McCain certainly would have helped in that respect.

"So, the way these things work, generally, with something like that, is the front office makes a recommendation, and then ownership—which included Bob at that point—we OK’d it," added Harris. "I think we were involved in it. It was part of a bigger plan. As Bob said, we don't know the outcome of that trade right now. We are sitting here with the 22nd pick, but I understand what you're saying, and I understand the question. Obviously, I understand the view of it here. So, I think that, right now we're focused on what do we do with all the assets we got in that trade? And we'll know whether that trade was a good trade or not a good trade over the next year or two, but yes. That's the way it worked."

Before the deadline, star big man Joel Embiid pleaded with the front office publicly not to "duck the tax". The luxury tax has been a big talking point with the Sixers as they have made moves at past deadlines to avoid being taxpayers. The last time Philadelphia ended the season as taxpayers was in the 2021-22 season and only twice during the Harris era have the Sixers paid the tax at the end of seasons.

"Yeah, I appreciate the question, because there's been a lot of chatter," Harris beamed. "It gives me a chance to answer directly. The front office absolutely has the green light to go into the luxury tax. In fact, we've been in and out of luxury tax and so it's not an issue. I mean, it's not an issue. We're building an arena here. I can tell you that the amount of dollars you spend on that versus the luxury tax--it's magnitudes more. We built this facility. We've signed a number of max deals, so there's no issue with the luxury tax."

To Harris' point, the Sixers have made big moves in the offseason in order to put themselves in the best position to contend, but moves at the trade deadline have proven otherwise. Either way, Myers then jumped in to further add to Harris' point.

"I'm just gonna add to that," Myers added. "I'm not, I don't know a lot of you (the media), but I just can't imagine a day where if I said to Josh, or leadership said to Josh, this deal makes us a contender, but you have to go into the tax. If he says no, which he won't, I wouldn't work for somebody like that, because look, to be honest, if you look at the history of teams that have won a championship, I was one of them. We were in the tax. It'd be great if you can win a championship by not being in the tax. Very hard to do, but it has to make sense, and so, I know, and again, I'm not worried about that part of the job, because if that comes up, I know what the answer will be."

The Sixers will head into the offseason looking to find the new leader of the basketball operations department who will align with what Harris and Myers want for the organization going forward.

This article originally appeared on Sixers Wire: Sixers higher ups recount Jared McCain trade, talk luxury tax concerns