In February, the Sixers traded Jared McCain to the Oklahoma City Thunder for what wound up being the No. 22 overall pick in the 2026 NBA draft and three future second-rounders. The deal was… not well received.
To defend the controversial trade, then-team president Daryl Morey told reporters that McCain’s path in Philadelphia was “a little bit muted relative to where his path could be on another team” due to the presence of Tyrese Maxey and VJ Edgecombe blocking him in the starting lineup. Morey conveniently left out that McCain’s new team, the then-reigning-champion Thunder, had an even more crowded backcourt.
Despite that, McCain carved out a significant role in OKC’s rotation, especially in the playoffs. He averaged 12.5 points in only 21.5 minutes per game between the conference semifinals and conference finals.
The Sixers thus entered this year’s draft under enormous pressure to hit on the No. 22 pick to help justify the McCain trade. They spent that pick on another small guard in Labaron Philon Jr.
Some Sixers fans are questioning the wisdom of replacing an undersized guard with another undersized guard. The Athletic draft expert Sam Vecenie is not one of them.
“Essentially, Morey traded McCain to the Thunder for Labaron Philon Jr. and three second-round picks, a value proposition that I think is strong, even as a fan of McCain’s game. Philon is a terrific playmaker out of ball screens who had an elite season at Alabama. I had him as a top-20 player in the class, and I was on the lower end of his evaluations. He improved drastically as a shooter, can pass and also displayed much improved finishing ability around the rim while averaging 22 points and five assists.”
Philon did routinely go before No. 22 in mock drafts, for whatever that’s worth. In a year where the draft was relatively chalky, that seems notable.
During his introductory press conference, new team president Mike Gansey said that he’d pursue a combination of best player available and fit at No. 22. After the draft, he told reporters that the Sixers had needs at all five spots around their Big 4, and Philon was the highest-ranked player on their board when they were on the clock.
“He’s got some toughness,” Gansey added. “I think he’s gonna fit Philly. He plays with an edge, plays with a swag. He’s not afraid.”
Gansey made clear that Philon’s talent was the top reason why the Sixers drafted him. But he also stressed that he envisions Philon fitting into the culture that he’s hoping to build.
“I just love his competitiveness. Especially in Philly, you want guys who wanna compete, and guys that aren’t afraid. He’s gonna be with Maxey and VJ, and I think that’s another thing, that he can learn from those guys. Because VJ and Tyrese are some of the best people, but they’re also really good players. So, learning from them will be really good for him.”
“… His mentality fits the way I want guys, and especially with Coach Nurse. Because Nick wants some guys that will fly up and down and play the right way and play with some edge and toughness, and I think he fits that.”
Vecenie seems bullish on Philon’s chances of at least playing McCain to a standstill in the coming years.
“I’d rather have Philadelphia’s end of this deal than Oklahoma City’s. Philon has four years left on a rookie scale deal versus McCain’s two, and while we haven’t seen Philon play in the NBA yet, I think he’s a good bet to provide at least a strong presence as a backup lead guard behind Tyrese Maxey on a 76ers team in desperate need of ballhandling.
“There is also some upside beyond that. McCain will be a terrific player for Oklahoma City, and he provided positive moments in the playoffs. This isn’t a shot at McCain or the Thunder, who were in the middle of a title chase and clearly needed another shooter and ballhandler, as we saw in the playoffs. But he and Philon are pretty equivalent in terms of value, and the three second-rounders tip this over the line into Philadelphia’s favor.”
Now, it’s fair to wonder what the reaction would have been if had Philon gone earlier and the Sixers took Jayden Quaintance—who said he’s expecting to get another knee procedure and miss at least part of next season—or Karim López instead. Both would be seen as fair-value picks, albeit far riskier than Philon.
There is undeniable irony in replacing McCain with a similarly sized guard, but the Sixers can’t help how the board fell. Philon was 16th in the consensus mock draft across five major outlets. Granted, Cameron Carr, who was also still on the board, was 14th.
Carr is a bit larger than Philon, although both need to fill out their frames to become above-average defensively. Gansey noted that Philon took a step back on that end of the floor this past season, but he was far better on defense as a freshman since he had a smaller offensive role. Philon isn’t likely to supplant Maxey or Edgecombe anytime soon, so he could become a sparkplug off the bench a la Lou Williams.
Even if Carr winds up being the better shooter between the two, Philon is a far better ball-handler and playmaker. These days, NBA teams can’t have enough ball-handlers and playmakers, particularly ones who can score at all three levels.
Heading into the offseason, the Sixers had exactly two guards under contract: Maxey and Edgecombe. One would hope the Sixers aren’t planning on playing them all 48 minutes per game next year. Ergo, they needed to add guards at some point this offseason, whether via the draft, trades or free agency.
Philon should have plenty of opportunity right away behind Maxey and Edgecombe even if the Sixers do re-sign Quentin Grimes. He might top out as a high-end bench guard, but the same could still be said about McCain for now.
From a best-player-available perspective, the Sixers got lucky that Philon fell right into their laps. He might not be the cleanest fit with Maxey in particular, but the same went for McCain as well.
If Philon and McCain wind up being relatively breakeven players, the three-second round picks that the Sixers acquired in the McCain trade will tip the scales in their favor. That outcome was hard to imagine a few months ago, but Philon’s unexpected drop could help the Sixers save face on one of their most controversial moves in recent years.
Unless otherwise noted, all stats via NBA.com, PBPStats, Cleaning the Glass or Basketball Reference. All salary information via Spotrac and salary-cap information via RealGM.
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