76ers fans seemed to universally love the team's selection of Labaron Philon on Tuesday night. Getting a lottery-level talent like Philon with the 22nd pick is hard to argue with. Philadelphia took the best player available, and also one who fills a critical need that was exposed in the playoffs against the New York Knicks.
But that need was only made possible by the trade that netted the Sixers the pick that landed Philon to begin with.
At the NBA's trade deadline in February, the 76ers traded 2nd year pro Jared McCain to the Oklahoma City Thunder in exchange for what became the 22nd pick in this year's draft, along with three future second-rounders. McCain was the 16th overall pick by the 76ers in the 2024 draft and was the leading candidate for Rookie of the Year during his debut season before suffering a season-ending injury. He still finished 7th in voting despite only playing in 23 games.
McCain wasn't a key part of the rotation this past season in Philadelphia after the Sixers took VJ Edgecombe with the 3rd overall pick. McCain was thought to be expendable, and Philly moved on from before his 22nd birthday, much to the chagrin of fans in the City of Brotherly Love.
Behind Edgecombe and star Tyrese Maxey, Philadelphia had little to no depth at guard following the trade. That was exposed by the Knicks, with Maxey and Edgecombe having to carry way too much of the burden against the well-rounded, soon-to-be NBA Champions.
The Philon selection was made to try to fix that.
Labaron Philon can flip the narrative on the much-maligned Jared McCain trade
The McCain trade didn't look great when it was made. It looked even worse when the former Duke star was a significant part of the Thunder's playoff rotation, coming up with clutch buckets and big performances in the Western Conference Finals against the San Antonio Spurs.
Philon is an elite talent. He was one of the best players in college basketball last season at Alabama, averaging 22 points and 5 assists per game while knocking down 39.9% of his three-point attempts. He'll add the element of shot creation and making that the Sixers sorely missed in a post-McCain environment.
But he'll walk into a situation where he'll immediately be compared to a standout young player that the organization gave up on too early. If he struggles, that will be exacerbated. Philadelphia sports fans are among the most passionate on the planet. But they are also unforgiving. They won't shy away from criticizing the Crimson Tide product if he has a slow start to his NBA career.
Philon is built for it, though. He's exceeded expectations his whole career thus far. He came to Alabama with many believing he could even redshirt his freshman season. It only took one practice before Nate Oats dismissed that idea. As a freshman, Philon carved out a prominent role on an Elite Eight team despite fighting for minutes in an elite backcourt that featured Mark Sears, Aden Holloway, and Chris Youngblood.
He had to shoulder a massive burden for Alabama this past season with Sears moving on. He didn't flinch.
He won't flinch in Philly, either.
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