Former 76ers' Success with Thunder Puts Philly's Mistakes Under the Microscope

When the Philadelphia 76ers took Isaiah Joe, a lanky, sharpshooting guard out of Arkansas in the 2020 NBA draft, general manager Elton Brand had high hopes for him, even for a guy they took with the 19th pick of the second round. Joe was given a three-year contract with two seasons fully guaranteed — quite the rarity for a guy that wasn’t taken high, even for second-round standards. 

However, after two quiet seasons from their second-round pick, Brand and Daryl Morey opted to release Joe in 2022 in favor of cap space flexibility and roster space for veteran players.

In hindsight, the move to waive a young guard who’s not getting minutes in favor of pieces that can help the team win now isn’t a strange one, but looking at what has become of Joe, Philadelphia definitely wishes it had made a different move. 

The Oklahoma City Thunder pounced on the opportunity to pick up Joe, signing him to a contract just three days after the Sixers handed him his walking papers.

As his fourth regular season with Oklahoma City is approaching its end,  Joe is averaging roughly 10.9 points per game, shooting 44.5% percent from the field and 42.6% from beyond the arc in four seasons with the Thunder, and was a crucial role player for OKC en route to its championship last season.

One would think that Morey and Brand would use Joe as a case study on not giving away young players after just two seasons, but another transaction involving the Thunder proves they haven’t learned their lesson. 

76ers Watch as History Repeats Itself with Thunder Benefiting from Philly's Mistakes

As to why Morey would trade with the Thunder, a team that has routinely paid off on the mistakes of other front offices, is a true mystery. First, it was the waiving of Joe that helped the Thunder get rich, and now, in 2026, Philadelphia gave OKC a tax break in the form of a trade deadline deal involving Jared McCain. 

In just 10 games with the Thunder, McCain has already found himself a nice role on an already stacked team, and has put up about 11.8 PPG on .477/.429/.889 shooting splits.  Against the Brooklyn Nets on Feb. 20, McCain led the team in scoring with  21 points off the bench and guided OKC to a 105-86 victory without Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Jalen Williams. 

The return package for McCain, Houston’s first-round pick in this year’s draft and three second-round picks across the next two drafts, is decent compensation for a guy who was struggling to find minutes in a loaded backcourt and had struggled with injuries.

But OKC is looking to become the first team to repeat since the Kevin Durant-Stephen Curry Golden State Warriors, and those draft picks mean nothing (especially considering Houston won’t be a lottery team) if you’re getting a player like McCain back. 

Morey and the Sixers have a lot to be happy about, and if Joel Embiid comes back looking healthy, then the already wide-open Eastern Conference will have to prepare for a dark-horse Philadelphia team that can make some noise come May. But as V.J. Edgecombe blossoms into the star we all think he’ll become, then how sweet would it have been to see Joe and McCain along with him? 

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