By Dhruv Menon

July 14th, 2026

On February 4th, 2026 in the midst of the NBA trade deadline in a shocking move we saw the Philadelphia 76ers trade former 2024 16th overall pick guard Jared McCain to the reigning champions the Oklahoma City Thunder in exchange for a Houston Rockets 2026 1st round pick, and 3 future second round picks. After getting drafted in his rookie season McCain averaged 15.3 PPG, 2.4 rebounds, and 2.6 assists while becoming the favorite for the rookie of the year award, before suffering a meniscus tear that would end his rookie season early. While his return the following seasomn would be subpar as McCain averaged only 6.6 PPG, 2 rebounds, and 1.7 assists, the young guard still had all the potential in the world, which is why many fans asked why in the world would you trade him? The answer to that question most likely was that the 76ers were just above the NBA's luxury tax by 1.9 million, and trading McCain at the deadline got them under the luxury tax. While 76ers owner Josh Harris was most likely happy that he did not have to pay the luxury tax bills, the fans and star center Joel Embiid were outraged because trading a young high potential guard and doing nothing else for a package that seemed pretty subpar for what fans thought his value was did not go over well. After a dissapointing end to the season the 76ers fired their GM Daryl Morey, and one can only assume this trade had a big part to do in the firing. The 76ers ended up hiring a cavs executive and former West Virginia University basketball player Mike Gansey, and while most fans had no clue who he was, that was all about to change soon. That 2026 Houston Rockets first ended up landing at pick 22, and with that pick Gansey selected Alabama guard Labaron Philon Jr, a projected top 10 pick who fell all the way down right into the 76ers lap. Fans and ownership were ecstatic that they basically replaced McCain with that first round pick and most people calmed down the hate on that trade. Not only did trading Jared McCain net the 76ers Labaron Philon Jr, it also allowed them to use the non taxpayer mle which granted them 15 million dollars to spend in free agency because when they traded McCain they ducked the tax. With this 15m, Gansey brought in Cavs F Dean Wade on a 4 year 39 million dollar contract to be the new starting power forward, and Bulls G Anfernee Simons on a 2 year 12.6 million dollar contract to be the 6th man off the bench. Both of these additions filled massive holes in the 76ers roster and these moves put Gansey on the map for most casual fans, but there was one move left to be made. The 76ers ended up agreeing to send Paul George, 2 first round picks, and 2 second round picks to the Boston Celtics for disgruntled superstar G/F Jaylen Brown. One of those two second round picks they sent the celtics was one of the three seconds they acquired in the McCain trade. What was once mocked as "the worst trade in nba history" netted the 76ers franchise altering guys like Mike Gansey, Dean Wade, Anfernee Simons, Labaron Philon Jr, and helped to get Jaylen Brown. This trade might end up becoming the trade that saves the 76ers franchise and draws them out of NBA purgatory, all stemming from this trade.