Sixers thrilled to draft Jared McCain as crucial offseason kicks off: ‘He’s pretty special’

Daryl Morey said weeks ago that “all options [were] on the table” as the 76ers entered the NBA draft.

So much so that, before they made their pick at No. 16 Wednesday night, the lead executive said he was considering trading for an established player that was “pretty interesting.”

But the Sixers valued Jared McCain too highly to pass on him, especially after the prior selections broke in a way Morey had hoped. So they chose the Duke sharpshooting guard, creating a relatively tame draft night to begin what is poised to be an active offseason.

“As everyone says, we were pretty surprised [McCain] was there,” Morey told reporters late Wednesday. “We were looking at a lot of scenarios with trade out, trade back. And they all sort of went away when Jared made it [down to 16].

“There were a couple key picks there in the early teens that we needed to go our way … for us to be thrilled with the draft.”

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Even though this draft class was considered weaker at the top, Morey said last month that he was intrigued by the players that could be available to the Sixers at 16. But that pick was also a possible trade chip during a crucial summer, when Morey is tasked with building a championship contender around 2023 NBA Most Valuable Player Joel Embiid and All-Star Tyrese Maxey. The Sixers are expected to have enough salary-cap space to sign or trade for another max-contract star, and must fill out the roster with 10 players entering free agency.

There were also some league-wide fireworks in the hours leading up to the draft, especially in New York City. Late Tuesday, the Knicks traded for standout two-way wing Mikal Bridges, before fellow perimeter defensive stalwart OG Anunoby on Wednesday afternoon agreed to return to New York on a five-year, $212.5 million contract.

So Morey thought about making his own deal for an unnamed player, whom the executive teased the Sixers still “might be able to acquire later, potentially.” He also considered trading back for “quite a few” additional picks, which could have been utilized in future moves.

Simultaneously, the Sixers’ front office was also “really sweating the pick right before us, actually,” when the Miami Heat took Indiana center Kel’el Ware at 15. That officially allowed the Sixers to take McCain, whom Morey said was rated in the top 10 on their draft board.

McCain is already a dynamite shooter, making 41.4% of his three-point attempts during his one college season. He also averaged five rebounds per game at Duke, a strong mark for a 6-foot-3 guard. And Morey praised McCain’s rare blend of possessing an immediately translatable skill and projected upside, noting his defensive improvement while at Duke. McCain also boasts a joyful personality flashed on his popular TikTok account, and strong work ethic.

Though Morey believes McCain has the potential to be “rotation-ready at a very young age,” however, the executive also cautioned that type of role might not arrive as a rookie. Even Maxey, who recently won the NBA’s Most Improved Player award and is set to sign a max contract this summer, got much spottier minutes during his first NBA season in 2020-21.

“[McCain is] pretty special for a guy to get sort of in the middle of the first round,” Morey said. “I don’t want to put any tough expectations on him, but we really think this guy’s going to be a 76er for a very long time.”

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Before Morey met with media assembled at the Sixers’ practice facility in Camden, he and general manager Elton Brand had already begun looking ahead to the draft’s second round. The Sixers are next projected to pick 41st overall, which will happen Thursday evening following a league change to split the draft into two days.

Though Morey called this schedule shift a “much better process” — “there would be literally hundreds of millions of decisions made back-to-back, and with two minutes on the clock,” he said — he does not believe the draft will inform the Sixers’ looming free-agency approach “too much.”

Morey was just pleased that this offseason checkpoint resulted in McCain falling to the Sixers.

“He’s just been a winner everywhere,” Morey said. “He’s going to be someone Philly loves.”