CAMDEN, N.J. — The Philadelphia 76ers made a selection on Wednesday with the No. 16 pick. With that selection, the Sixers decided on Duke guard Jared McCain who President of Basketball Operations Daryl Morey stated was the best player available at No. 16.
McCain certainly brings what the Sixers are looking for on the offensive end of the floor. He shot 41.4% from deep on 5.8 attempts per game and he is somebody who can lead the second unit or maybe even play with Tyrese Maxey in some lineups.
However, with both Maxey and McCain standing at 6-foot-3, it is also fair to wonder whether they will be able to work on the defensive end.
“I think that’s a valid concern,” Morey said on Wednesday night. “Obviously, your backcourt, in a perfect world, you’d have taller, but I think you have to compensate (for) that with strength. He’s got a strong frame — very strong. Good rebounder. We think he’ll be a solid defender in the league over time.”
To the rebounding point, McCain did average 5.0 rebounds in his freshman season with the Blue Devils. Despite his smaller stature, he was not afraid to battle in the paint and grab some big rebounds for his team.
Also, over time, he did improve as a defender by using his strength. While McCain can take on some of the defensive responsibility one-on-one, Maxey can play the passing lanes a bit.
“He was being targeted at Duke and as the season went on, he became someone that was actually one of their better defenders,” Morey acknowledged. “He’s got the attitude that coach (Nick) Nurse likes to bring, which is just get a little bit better every day. He’s got a 95th percentile approach to the game — teammate, work ethic. We’ve had some good luck with taking the kids with a real base of potential and a strong work ethic. We were really happy. I’m excited for Philadelphia to get to know him.”
On top of the defensive ability that he would be able to bring to the table, McCain and Maxey are volume shooters. Maxey shot 8.1 3-pointers per game in the 2023-24 season while McCain took 5.8 in college with both knocking them down at a high percentage. That type of production works in today’s NBA.
“He’s already putting up a high volume of 3s and being able to shoot 3s at a high volume and be in the high 30s, low 40s is maybe the most valuable skill in the NBA,” Morey added on McCain. “It’s on the list of the top few so that’s a big, big part of the calculus with Jared. 100%. Absolutely.”
Time will tell, but it will be interesting to see if McCain and Maxey will be able to play in the same backcourt for Philadelphia.
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