Appreciate the unwavering support for the player but in my opinion there is nothing McCain did last year at full health that could lead anyone to reasonably think he will be a top player in the NBA. The fact is he was on a very bad team last year with multiple starters hurt and was given a green light to shoot more than the average rookie. He went on a good run and got people excited so they didn’t have to face the ugly truth about the Sixers being beyond terrible. I think it’s a touch of optimism bias and instead of recognizing the possible bias at play Spike is doubling down.
IF McCain gets back to normal health will he replace VJ? Hell no. So, on the Sixers he’s at best a 3rd option guard. In what future scenario with Maxey and VJ healthy does McCain ever start for the Sixers let alone become a top NBA player as Spike predicts? It just doesn’t add up.
I hope I’m wrong but it seems that McCain’s ceiling wasn’t sky high to begin with and with the injury it definitely got smaller. If he was more athletic at full health I could maybe buy into an All Star future at some point but with his real size, speed, and strength I wouldn’t bet on it.
I remember at the start of last year when word from training camp was that MCCain was a standout. At first I thought it was BS, a way to pump his trade value, but after I saw him play, I thought the hype was just people saying what they saw. I'm high on McCain and like you I think his offensive firepower will return, but...
Let's say he becomes a top 50 NBA player--someone who can contend for an all star spot even if some years he doesn't make it. That' s a player you want on the court when the game is on the line. But if you're the sixers, you also want Maxey and VJ on the court at those times. The league is becoming more guard driven, but will that line-up work?
Maxey becoming a more stout defender helps. McCain will need to do the same. I think of Lowry as a good defensive player for McCain to model himself after. Someone crafty and strong though not overly athletic, fast, or tall. It will be tough for a Maxey McCain VJ line-up against teams with two tall athletic guards but I think that's the hurdle. To do it, they'll need great defenders at the 4 and 5.
If a Maxey McCain VJ line-up can't survive being on the court together when things get tough, then the team probably needs to think about how to cash one of those players in for an equally good player who is a better fit (but don't sell low on McCain 2026!). My hope is that the league's tilt towards guards and long range shooting may make the sixers a model for the nba that's (hopefully) around the corner--the one where three guard line ups dominate--but that nba isn't quite yet here.
Agree with everything here. It would be stupid to trade him and he has a ton of upside.
One small nitpick though: he is a year or so older than most people think (and than you note). He turns 22 in less than a month. He wasn’t 19 at any point during his rookie season.
That doesn’t actually mean anything major about what you side. Just that he was a sneaky old one-and-done.
Appreciate the unwavering support for the player but in my opinion there is nothing McCain did last year at full health that could lead anyone to reasonably think he will be a top player in the NBA. The fact is he was on a very bad team last year with multiple starters hurt and was given a green light to shoot more than the average rookie. He went on a good run and got people excited so they didn’t have to face the ugly truth about the Sixers being beyond terrible. I think it’s a touch of optimism bias and instead of recognizing the possible bias at play Spike is doubling down.
IF McCain gets back to normal health will he replace VJ? Hell no. So, on the Sixers he’s at best a 3rd option guard. In what future scenario with Maxey and VJ healthy does McCain ever start for the Sixers let alone become a top NBA player as Spike predicts? It just doesn’t add up.
I hope I’m wrong but it seems that McCain’s ceiling wasn’t sky high to begin with and with the injury it definitely got smaller. If he was more athletic at full health I could maybe buy into an All Star future at some point but with his real size, speed, and strength I wouldn’t bet on it.
I remember at the start of last year when word from training camp was that MCCain was a standout. At first I thought it was BS, a way to pump his trade value, but after I saw him play, I thought the hype was just people saying what they saw. I'm high on McCain and like you I think his offensive firepower will return, but...
Let's say he becomes a top 50 NBA player--someone who can contend for an all star spot even if some years he doesn't make it. That' s a player you want on the court when the game is on the line. But if you're the sixers, you also want Maxey and VJ on the court at those times. The league is becoming more guard driven, but will that line-up work?
Maxey becoming a more stout defender helps. McCain will need to do the same. I think of Lowry as a good defensive player for McCain to model himself after. Someone crafty and strong though not overly athletic, fast, or tall. It will be tough for a Maxey McCain VJ line-up against teams with two tall athletic guards but I think that's the hurdle. To do it, they'll need great defenders at the 4 and 5.
If a Maxey McCain VJ line-up can't survive being on the court together when things get tough, then the team probably needs to think about how to cash one of those players in for an equally good player who is a better fit (but don't sell low on McCain 2026!). My hope is that the league's tilt towards guards and long range shooting may make the sixers a model for the nba that's (hopefully) around the corner--the one where three guard line ups dominate--but that nba isn't quite yet here.
Agree with everything here. It would be stupid to trade him and he has a ton of upside.
One small nitpick though: he is a year or so older than most people think (and than you note). He turns 22 in less than a month. He wasn’t 19 at any point during his rookie season.
That doesn’t actually mean anything major about what you side. Just that he was a sneaky old one-and-done.
my bad, not Spike's!
LOL was about to blame you for this year. Thank you.