Philadelphia 76ers fans may be having flashbacks of a brutal end to the 2024-25 season, as injuries have ravaged their roster, leaving them extremely vulnerable against the Cleveland Cavaliers on Monday night. Tyrese Maxey, VJ Edgecombe, Joel Embiid, and Paul George all sat out, and as expected, they were defeated by the Cavs, 115–101, in a game that was not as close as the final score line would indicate.
What makes matters worse is that the ghost of a transaction that could haunt the 76ers franchise for some time is making its presence felt. Earlier in the night, the 76ers jumbotron showed the team's almost unrecognizable starting lineup against the Cavs, with Cameron Payne starting at point guard amid the team's injury problems. The problem, however, is that they put Payne's photo on the graphic instead of showing it a picture of Jared McCain has been replaced in his place.
Yes – the same McCain the 76ers traded for with the Oklahoma City Thunder at the trade deadline last month.
Via Q Carlin of Sixers Wire:
I look at the jumbotron as the intro starts and...that's not Cam Payne #sixers pic.twitter.com/m8QOtpzFlg
- Ky Carlin (@Ky_Carlin) 9 March 2026
The 76ers could use Jared McCain right now
The 76ers believed they had enough safety depth to the extent that they were comfortable trading McCain to the Oklahoma City Thunder for some draft picks.
However, in today's NBA where injury problems are a daily occurrence, the 76ers could have maintained that depth at least until the end of the season. Instead, the 76ers decided to avoid the tax, trade some picks for McCain, and sacrifice a valuable young member of their core in the process.
Amidst the 76ers' injuries, someone like McCann could step up and take on leadership responsibilities just as he did when he flourished during his rookie campaign. But now, with the Thunder benefiting from McCann's excellent outside shooting, Philly has nothing but what they had, but no longer have.
