The Oklahoma City Thunder came on the road and stole Game 3 of their Western Conference Finals series against the San Antonio Spurs with a commanding 123-108 win after a rough start that saw them in a 15-point hole without even scoring a point in the first quarter.
Jared McCain was a pivotal second option tonight with the scoring leader Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (26 points, 12 assists, two rebounds, 6-17 FG, 35.3 FG%) as he dropped 24 points, four rebounds, and one assist while coming off the bench and shooting 10-21 from the field (47.6 FG%).
Following the game, McCain spoke to the media and addressed whether his solid performance from the bench was fueled by wanting to prove Daryl Morey, the former 76ers general manager, wrong about having ‘sold high’ on McCain.
“Oh, I talk about this a lot. I think [my performance is] never to prove anybody wrong. Like a lot of my stuff, I try to keep a positive outlook, and uh, I like proving my support system right. The people who really believe in me, I like proving them right.”
“And so no matter what it is, like you know, I got traded. I’m always trying to keep a positive outlook. And no matter what, like Daryl’s still the guy that drafted me. And so I always have love for him for that,” McCain said.
“He trusted me, believed in me enough to take me at the 16th spot. So I’m forever grateful for that, no matter what. So it’s never about proving anybody wrong for me. It’s always proving somebody right, proving the people who believe in me right.”
In a recent conversation with NBA insider Marc J. Spears, the 22-year-old Thunder guard opened up about his trade from the 76ers to join the defending champions midseason.
“I was on the bus with the Sixers, and we were heading to the airport in San Francisco. We just played Golden State,” McCain said.
“I texted my agent for a gym in L.A., and he called me, and I think he’s calling me about the gym. He is like, ‘They’re about to trade you.’ Then [then-Sixers president Daryl Morey] called me five minutes later and told me I was traded. It was pretty wild, and I started crying immediately.”
“Those are my brothers and still are my brothers to this day. It was definitely tough. They thought I was joking when I told them, and then I started crying. Then they were like, ‘Oh, this is serious.’”
“Then we got off the bus, and they all came up to me, and I still went on the plane with them to L.A. I still miss Philly to this day. I was never able to see my house again because we were on the road. It’s little things like that. I miss my routine, but I’m definitely blessed to be here.”
Daryl Morey recently parted ways with the 76ers, and amid the reporting for the reason behind his departure, sources claimed that players like Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey were very unhappy with the front office for trading McCain.
Even after tonight’s surprising contributions off the bench, Tyrese Maxey took to social media with a delighted response to McCain’s 24-point game. So the biggest what-if now remains: what if the 76ers never traded him to the Thunder?
It is still too early to determine if Daryl Morey was right or wrong, since we are too early in McCain’s career to know if he can replicate this performance when all the pressure of being a starter potentially comes on his shoulders.
Moreover, we still don’t know what the 76ers would do with the assets they received in the trade for MCain. It will be interesting to see how things turn out for both sides.
