The Golden State Warriors have been proven right for their decision to trade Jordan Poole given how his career has panned out in the three years since, but that doesn't mean they're not missing some of the shot-making and offensive juice the 26-year-old was once able to give them.
The Warriors haven't been able to find a similar-type player since, yet one was sitting there as a long overdue Poole replacement at the mid-season trade deadline in the form of Jared McCain.
Warriors had perfect Jordan Poole replacement available in Jared McCain
McCain provided a reminder of why the Warriors and other teams should have chased him harder at the deadline, going for 18 points in less than 18 minutes off the bench to help the Oklahoma City Thunder to a 125-107 Game 2 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers.
McCain shot 7-of-11 from the field and an electric 4-of-5 from 3-point range, giving the Thunder a timely boost off the bench as they play without star forward Jalen Williams due to a hamstring injury.
It was no fluke either given just 48 hours earlier, McCain went for 12 points on...you guessed it...4-of-5 shooting from 3-point range in a 108-90 Game 1 victory. It's almost unfair that the Thunder, who've also seen another young guard in Ajay Mitchell emerge this season, were handed McCain practically on a silver platter by the Philadelphia 76ers.
The Thunder traded the Houston Rockets' 2026 first-round pick (now 22nd overall), along with three second-round picks to the 76ers -- not bad for a 22-year-old drafted 16th overall just over 18 months earlier.
The bigger regret for Golden State and other teams is that McCain had flashed this potential right away, averaging 15.3 points on 38.3% 3-point shooting in the first 23 games of his rookie year before injury prematurely ended his season.
Warriors could have utilized Jared McCain
In hindsight and with some forecasting of their dire circumstances after Jimmy Butler's torn ACL, the Warriors might have been able to convince the 76ers to hand McCain to them for a lottery-protected first-round pick.
Given Golden State's reliance on 3-point shooting, yet their wayward rank of only 20th in 3-point percentage this season, they could have utilized a player like McCain over the latter months of the season and going forward. That's especially the case when you consider the 6'3" guard is under a cost-controlled rookie contract for the next two seasons, and would have had an incredible shooting mentor in Stephen Curry.
This is just another example of the Warriors preserving their draft capital for an all-in move that may never come, rather than paying a relatively small price for a player who could have been a legitimate Poole replacement.
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