2 potential replacements for Jared McCain after season-ending surgery

Today at 08:31 AM

As you may or may not have heard, Philadelphia 76ers guard Jared McCain announced on YouTube that he will be out for the remainder of the season after having successful surgery on his left meniscus.

After rocketing off to an incredible rookie campaign, hitting 3s open and contested, repositioning himself like a mini-Steph Curry, and providing some additional pop as a pesky defender and secondary passer, McCain’s season has presumably come to an end, with a return come playoff time dashed until a team official says otherwise.

Now, for the Sixers, this is the latest crushing blow in a decade of crushing blows, predictable and not. Suddenly, Philadelphia had another ascending young star on a rookie-scale contract one year after Tyrese Maxey cashed in on his rookie-scale contract extension, and while there were some questions about how the two players fit together on the court, they were slowly but surely figuring it out. Even if McCain is still a member of the 76ers, his ceiling is still sky high, and Philadelphia can account for him as a part of their future moving forward, he won’t be knocking down 3s for Embiid as an outlet pass option any time soon, which, quite frankly, sucks.

So, with McCain out of action moving forward, what can the 76ers do to help replace him moving forward? Should they target another guard, point or shooting, to help ease the blow in the short and/or long term? Or does Philadelphia have enough depth to weather this storm but could use the additional roster spot to add a player at another position of need? Well, let’s take a look at the market, at the roster, and see what Daryl Morey, Elton Brand, and company can put together in order to keep Philadelphia alive and kicking in McCain’s honor.

2 potential replacements for Jared McCain

1. Trade for Vasilije Micić

If the 76ers want to acquire a veteran point guard who can play either guard spot, defend across multiple positions, and dish out dimes to everyone from Tyrese Maxey to Joel Embiid, they should trade for Lonzo Ball.

On paper, Ball is a perfect fit; he can hit 3s both on and off the ball, is a savant passer who can set his teammates up at a – dare I say – James Harden-level, and made his bones in the NBA as a defense-first guard, capable of going against guards 1-through-3 with ease. Play him next to Maxey in 2024-25, deploy him in a three-man platoon with McCain in 2025-26, and who knows, maybe there’s a three-guard look down the line where all three can co-exist like Dennis Schroder, Chris Paul, and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander in OKC back in 2019-20?

The problem? Ball is making $21 million, and unless the 76ers trade four players to make the deal work or part way with one of their big three, there just isn’t a world where he’s going to land in Philadelphia before the 2025 NBA trade deadline.

Fortunately, there is a player who can do some of the things Ball can do and would likely be gettable for basically nothing in Carolina Hornets guard Vasilije Micić, the Spanish point guard who actually has some interesting ties to Philadelphia.

Originally drafted by the team in 2014 when Sam Hinkie was still calling the shots, Morey threw in Micic NBA rights when he traded Al Horford and a protected 2025 first-round pick to the Thunder for Danny Green, Vincent Poirier, and a second-round pick.

From there, Micic played for the Thunder for 30 games starting in 2023 before being traded to the Hornets in February of 2024 alongside Davis Bertans, Tre Mann, and two seconds for the rights to Gordon Hayward. While that trade didn’t really work out for the Thunder or Micic, he has played well when his number gets called, most recently scoring 20 points on the 76ers in their most recent showdown on December 20th.

Standing 6-foot-5, 200 pounds, Micic isn’t a great defender, but he can score, he can pass, and most importantly of all, he’s being wasted in Charlotte, where he’s only appeared in 17 games with eight starts. If the Hornets are willing to move on from Micic for cap filler and a second-round pick, say, Eric Gordon and Andre Drummond, then the 76ers should at least consider it. If, however, they want to expand the deal out even further and get another player of note back in the deal, someone like Grant Williams, Josh Green, Cody Martin, or Nick Richards in the deal, then that is most certainly an option, too.

2. Sign Markelle Fultz

If Markelle Fultz began his career playing for any other team in the NBA but the 76ers, he would probably be a member of the team right now.

On paper, Fultz pretty much fits every bill the 76ers have been looking for, even before McCain went down with a season-ending injury. Now sure, technically, he still can’t put up 3s at a respectable clip, hitting a high water mark of 31.0 percent back in 2022-23 for the Magic, but the pride of Upper Marlboro is still a good defender, has position versatility across both guard spots, and bringing a scoring pop off the bench. While Fultz is still more of a combo guard than a true point, he’s taken a step forward as a passer and a rebounder during his run in Orlando, averaging 4.8 assists, 3.4 rebounds and 1.2 steals per game during his run in the Magic Kingdom.

Currently unsigned after failing to find a home during free agency, Fultz could sign a 10-day contract or agree to a non-guaranteed deal to stick around in Philadelphia conditionally, with the potential to be waived should a better option become available or the 76ers need his roster spot for one reason or another.

The problem? There are so many feelings about Fultz already in Philadelphia, from being a wasted pick to the disappointment of how his career shook out to the enjoyment over the fact that the pick the 76ers acquired from Orlando for his services ended up being used to select Maxey out of Kentucky. His old number, 20, has been taken by McCain, another player who looks like a home run 76ers draftee, and his play — or lack thereof – will be under a bigger microscope than Player X with no other ties to Philadelphia.

Bring back Seth Curry? Sure. Trade Eric Gordon for Jaden Springer? Why not? He’s still a good defender, even if Boston won’t play him. Heck, most would even welcome back Mattise Thybulle now that he’s added a 3 point shot to his elite defensive game as a member of the Portland Trail Blazers. But Fultz? The player the Colangelo’s drafted over Jayson Tatum? Goodness, no matter if he plays well, poorly, or somewhere in between, fans will have an inflated opinion on it, which might just produce too much drama than it’s worth.

If the 76ers deem the risk worth it, however, then yeah, why not give him a 10 day contract and see how he plays alongside Maxey? If it works out, Philadelphia will look like geniuses. And if it doesn’t? Well, Trust The Process, baby.

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