The Philadelphia 76ers are coming off a particularly disappointing 131-91 loss to the San Antonio Spurs on Tuesday, in which Philly gave an embarrassing effort on national television in the NBC Throwback Game. And as is often the case after this type of loss, emotions can run high.
After the game, 76ers guard Tyrese Maxey expressed how he feels Regarding his team's decision to trade Jared McCann, which 76ers president Daryl Morey defended by saying they were selling high on their 2024 first-round pick.
"Jared was a close friend of ours. Great teammate. Great guy. I definitely think we miss him. Absolutely. I won't lie and say I don't miss Jared," Maxey said via NBC Sports Philadelphia. "But I'm happy for him. I look up to him." [in] Ok. Sure I expect him to perform well every night.
"I'm not going to lie and say I don't miss Jared." pic.twitter.com/qjHNT9hJpT
- NBC Sports Philadelphia (@NBCSPhilly) 4 March 2026
Still, Maxey said the 76ers aren't focusing too much on what they can't control, because that's just the nature of the beast.
"I don't think we're considering it. ... [But] It's a business at the end of the day. I have seen a lot of people trading, but I don't want to trade. You can't pay attention to that," Maxie said.
The 76ers could use Jared McCain right now
The reasoning behind the 76ers' decision to trade McCain isn't so hard to understand. They had a lot of guard depth, and with Maxey established as the main guard option for the team and VJ Edgecombe alongside him, McCain was going to perform best as the sixth man for the team.
Nonetheless, the 76ers have contending aspirations, and McCann, a guard who shoots well from beyond the arc, could help ease their depth concerns. Instead, they now have to look at McCann as another talented guard following in the footsteps of Isaiah Joe who they lost to the Oklahoma City Thunder.
