If the season ended today, the Philadelphia 76ers would receive the No. 25 pick in the 2026 NBA Draft from the Thunder (via Houston) as the return for Jared McCain. Of course, star players can be found anywhere in the draft, and the Sixers finding a star in the late first round wouldn't be a shock; Tyrese Maxey was the 21st pick in 2021, after all.
But the team traded Jared McCain — who already was a draft success — for the chance to find another draft success from a worse draft slot. That is completely nonsensical.