The Oklahoma City Thunder do not have many flaws, but their offense can sometimes get stagnant and spacing can be a problem. If you're skeptical of the reigning champions repeating, you can point out how close they came to losing to the Denver Nuggets and Indiana Pacers last season, and that their 3-point percentage was 32.2% and 34.5% in the two respective series. You can also point out that Jalen Williams, their second-best player throughout the title run, is currently out with a hamstring strain, has only played in 24 games this season and, when he was on the floor, was uncomfortable and ineffective shooting from deep following two wrist surgeries. This time around, the burden on Shai Gilgeous-Alexander could be even heavier.

As of Wednesday afternoon, though, it's more difficult to pick nits with Oklahoma City. In exchange for a 2026 first-round pick (via Houston), a 2027 second-round pick (the most favorable of OKC, Houston, Indiana and Miami's picks) and two 2028 second-round picks (OKC's own and Milwaukee's), the Thunder are acquiring second-year guard Jared McCain from the Philadelphia 76ers at the 2026 NBA trade deadline. (ESPN's Shams Charania first reported the trade, PHLY's Kyle Neubeck reported the details of the picks.) McCain, in theory at least, gives Oklahoma City exactly what it needed.

Before I heap praise on Sam Presti, some caveats: McCain went scoreless in eight minutes in his final game with the Sixers. Coming off a torn lateral meniscus in his left knee and a torn UCL in his right thumb, he never consistently found his rhythm in Philadelphia this season. His most encouraging stretch of play as a professional took place under unusual circumstances: on a depleted roster, with the ball in his hands and a neon green light. If you're a McCain skeptic, you could make the case that Daryl Morey's front office has pulled off the biggest NBA heist in about a year, having gotten multiple picks for a guy averaging just 6.6 points, 2.0 rebounds and 1.7 assists in 16.8 minutes per game. McCain was in a crowded backcourt, but it's not as if the extremely deep Thunder have tons of minutes to go around. It's possible that, in the playoffs, he'll find himself out of the rotation, just like trade-deadline acquisition Gordon Hayward did two years ago.

I admit I liked the Hayward acquisition at the time, too. But this is not a bet on an aging former star playing a complementary, short-term role. It's a bet on a player who, before his knee injury 14 months ago, appeared to be on his way to winning Rookie of the Year. It's a bet on a player who is a couple of weeks away from his 22nd birthday. OKC has a strong track record with player development, and now the rich are getting richer, picking up a high-upside guard whose skill set happens to align with its most glaring weaknesses. Even if he doesn't help the team as soon as I suspect he will, he can help the team.

The appeal of McCain is obvious: He's an elite shooter who can also create off the dribble. As inconsistent as he's been this season, he has still made 40.8% of his catch-and-shoot 3s. His gravity alone can help the Thunder, and coach Mark Daigneault will surely weaponize it the way he did with Isaiah Joe, another former Sixer: screening for other guards, slipping out for open 3s, coming off flares. McCain is a clever playmaker, too, adept at attacking angles, changing his pace, absorbing contact and, when he's at his best, finishing below the rim. His off-ball movement and ability to initiate offense should make the league's fourth-best offense more dynamic.

This is a rare situation in which getting traded to the league's best team may afford a young player more touches than he had previously. In Philadelphia, McCain was stuck in a logjam that had to be resolved eventually, trying to find his form next to Tyrese Maxey, VJ Edgecombe and Quentin Grimes. Given that Gilgeous-Alexander will be out until after the All-Star break with an abdominal strain, McCain will immediately get to play much more of an on-ball role in OKC. And while there is no shortage of rotation-worthy guards on his new team, there is less skill duplication. McCain should get a chance to show what he can do in this environment, and he's going to love playing off Isaiah Hartenstein, one of the league's best passers and screeners at the 5 spot.

It has quieted down after the Thunder won the championship, but, for years before that, people speculated about them spending the draft capital they'd accumulated in a blockbuster trade. By not splurging for a star, they kept their options open, so they could capitalize on opportunities like this one, opportunities that they themselves couldn't have seen coming. When McCain was lighting it up as a rookie, making Philadelphia look brilliant for taking him with the No. 16 pick, it seemed unfathomable that it'd be interested in trading him the following season. The situation changed, though, and that gave Oklahoma City a chance to add precisely the type of firepower it could use. Presti's patience continues to pay off.