The Thunder and Pacers killed the trade deadline
And thoughts on the Grizzlies, Jazz, Wolves, and Bulls
The Bucks/Giannis unhappy family stayed together for now. The Grizzlies began a profound makeover. The Knicks found someone to play the minutes that used to go to the injured Miles McBride. The Cavaliers got James Harden, as we discussed at length, which already looked like a useful upgrade in a win against Nikola Jokić and the Nuggets. Teams like the Celtics, Suns, Magic, Raptors, and 76ers navigated out of the luxury tax. The net effect of that is savings for their billionaires, but also a real reduction in the total amount of tax money that will be distributed to teams under the cap thanks to the Suns and the Celtics exiting the game. (As of now, only seven teams will pay in.)
But when Henry asked me who won the trade deadline, my immediate thought was that as no one went all-in for 2026, the real answer is last year’s Finals teams. The Pacers and the Thunder made killer moves for 2027.
In Jared McCain, the Thunder somehow got a young, lights-out shooter with elite potential who’s still on a rookie deal. Sam Presti has managed the Thunder so masterfully that for now they have very reasonable payroll–14th in the league. By avoiding the tax, he doesn’t just save his billionaires money, he also keeps flexibility to make moves like adding Jared McCain.
But his future flexibility will go to hell. It’s a certainty that the Thunder can’t afford to keep all of their current players, and would do well to find cheaper replacements for Lu Dort, Isaiah Joe, and probably Isaiah Hartenstein. When will that happen? This summer is a sensible guess.
The good news is that the Thunder have talent for days. The rise of Ajay Mitchell can mitigate Dort’s departure, and might prove to be a major upgrade. On offense, Mitchell’s a real creator which means the world when Shai Gilgeous-Alexander sits. (The Thunder are 3-2 without SGA this season, but 3-6 without Mitchell.) On defense Mitchell is already among the best in the league. Take nothing away from the legendary Dort, but by every available measure, this season the Thunder are far better on defense when Mitchell plays in his place.
Joe is the Thunder’s designated sniper, with a green light at all times. He made 40-plus percent of his 3s for four straight seasons. It’s his role that I suspect Jared McCain can fill. McCain turns 22 this month, and has made 97 of his 255 3s in two seasons, which is 38 percent. I loved him his freshman year at Duke. The Sixers thought they had the perfect player to feature next to Tyrese Maxey when McCain shot so well his rookie season. They were better with him on court as opposed to off, rare for a young player. But then McCain got hurt and the 76ers got V.J. Edgecombe.
So far, McCain has looked like an average defender, which is good for his position and age. But it’s also way behind the level of the Thunder guards, who are almost all elite. Luckily, the shoes he has to fill are Joe’s, who is merely good on defense, not great. (68th percentile on Dunks and Threes.) McCain has room to grow and is on a very cheap deal for at least two seasons, music to Presti’s ears. Teams this good don’t make big leaps, they make incremental ones, and I see McCain as just that, making it easier to lose Joe while keeping costs under control.
So the Thunder have great ways to replace Dort and Joe.
Isaiah Hartenstein will be far tougher to replace.
