Rationalizing the Jared McCain Trade
On the Jared McCain trade, why it wasn't simply a tax savings move for the Sixers, and how it could inform the Thunder's roster and apron crunch. Also, thoughts on Nuggets, Suns, and Magic tax dumps.
A significant piece of non-trade news kicked off the 2026 trade deadline week: Paul George’s suspension. George received a 25-game suspension for violating the league’s anti-drug policy. He joins a list of players that includes Jodie Meeks, Wilson Chandler, Deandre Ayton, John Collins, Didi Louzada, Tristan Thompson, and Bobby Portis to receive such a suspension.
This impacted the Sixers’ trade deadline plans, but not in an effort to target a replacement wing. The team was likely going to get under the luxury tax line for a fourth consecutive season. They were $7.1 million above that threshold, meaning they likely needed to move multiple important rotation players to get under.
George’s suspension made it significantly easier for the Sixers to get under the tax. Since it was a league suspension, the Sixers would receive a luxury tax variance credit worth half his docked salary. It doesn’t reduce his salary, but it’ll retroactively decrease their proximity to the luxury tax at the end of the season.
Per the Collective Bargaining Agreement, a suspension that exceeds 20 games results in the player losing 1/110 of his base salary.
$51,666,090 x 25/110 = $11,742,293. This is how much George will forfeit.
$11,742,293 / 2 = $5,871,147. This is the amount the Sixers will have credited at the end of the season.
This functionally reduced the Sixers’ proximity to the tax from $7.1 million above it to just $1.3 million above it. It became much easier for them to get under the luxury tax. They’d get to keep all their top rotation players like Quentin Grimes, Kelly Oubre, and Andre Drummond. They could get underneath by trading two minimum-salaried players, and still have enough room to convert two-way players Dominick Barlow and Jabari Walker to standard contracts while remaining under the tax.
While the Sixers kept all those players mentioned, it did not deter them from trading Jared McCain. In one of the more unexpected trades of the trade deadline, they traded him to the Thunder for a 2026 first-round pick and three second-round picks. They also got under the luxury tax since they didn’t take back any players.
The move is polarizing among Sixers fans because of the financial implications, the subtraction or lack of an addition to their rotation, and what some feel is an underwhelming return for one of the more exciting young guards in the league. But when you put those factors aside, there’s a strong rationale behind this move.
