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On their voyage for hopeful back-to-back championships, the Oklahoma City Thunder picked up a new passenger on their way to the NBA playoffs. They acquired Jared McCain from the Philadelphia 76ers in a trade deadline deal that's been universally loved.
Dissecting the first two-thirds of the season, it was obvious the Thunder needed another go-to scorer. The offense plummets when Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is off the floor. It dives even deeper into the floor when Ajay Mitchell isn't out there. In comes McCain, hopefully.
Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault will earn his new few paychecks. While McCain certainly has some juice as a scorer and shooter, the defense will be a work in progress. He will also need time to adjust to his new spot after being buried on the Sixers' bench all season.
That's a lot to ask with just one-third of the regular season left. But as most know, NBA trade deadline additions could spark a playoff run — the Dallas Mavericks adding PJ Washington and Daniel Gafford in 2024.
"Jared’s a really good kid. We spent a lot of time with him in the draft process. Our scouts liked him back then and continue to like him in his NBA career," Daigneault said. "He’s always been somebody that Sam and the rest of the group have their eyes on.”
This move also helps them in the long-term future. The Thunder get a borderline lottery pick for two-plus seasons on a team-control salary. Essentially, they added another young guard who's dealt with recent injury concerns but has real-life NBA tape of putting up 30-plus points that's barely a year old.
"He’s got great shooting gravity, obviously. It’s something he’s had his entire career. Even prior to college, in college and he’s shown that in the NBA," Daigneault said. "Off the catch and off the dribble. Creates a dynamic skill set and gravity. Which tends to be important to us because we got guys that can create."
It's easy to envision McCain's best-case scenario in OKC. He could be a microwave scorer off the bench that the league-best defense could hide in their schemes. He also is provided with the best resources and teachers to improve on that end of the floor — ask Aaron Wiggins and Isaiah Joe about it. They can vouch for their system.
We'll see how McCain helps out the Thunder in the immediate future. Considering Gilgeous-Alexander's absence for the next four-plus games with an abdominal strain, he could be asked to pinch-hit sooner than expected. But that beats not even getting into games like he was in Philadelphia this year.
"Better question for Sam. Obviously, these are all Sam’s decisions. What I would say is we have a team that we have a lot of confidence in. With good reason, these guys have a lot of time and equity together with a lot of success. When you add somebody, you never take that for granted," Daigneault said. "The idea is to hope he can strengthen our team. He’s only 21 years old and in his second year.”
This article originally appeared on OKC Thunder Wire: Mark Daigneault reacts to Jared McCain's addition to OKC Thunder
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