Thunder Draft Report: Duke's Jared McCain

Jared McCain could provide additional playmaking for the Thunder bench unit.

Mar 24, 2024; Brooklyn, NY, USA; Duke Blue Devils guard Jared McCain (0) celebrates his three point / Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports

Despite battling for a top spot in the Western Conference, the OKC Thunder still have an absorbent amount of picks, including a projected lottery pick in the 2024 NBA Draft.

Let’s take a look at Jared McCain and how he would fit in the Thunder system.

Draft Profile 

• Height: 6'3
• Weight: 195
• Wingspan: N/A
• Age: 20.3
• School: Duke

Quick Scouting Report

McCain will provide a steady hand to any team's secondary unit. With a great shooting touch and high-level playmaking, the Duke product will be an instant impact player at the NBA Level.

Strengths and Weakness

Strengths

McCain has some of the best feel for the game you will find in this class. Rarely does he get sped up by opposing defenses and his play style can work with any team.

The Duke guard has the ability to make every pass, great anticipation skills to put cutters in advantageous situations and navigates the pick-and-roll at a high clip.

Coupled with that playmaking comes his shooting, which McCain can do in a multitude of ways as seen by the Blue Devils beat down of James Madison in the round of 32. The 20-year-old guard can fill it up from beyond the arc, shooting 41 percent from deep this season.

McCain can knock down catch-and-shoot looks consistently, converting at a 42 percent clip ranking in the 91st percentile. While he can thrive as an off-ball guard that forces you to chase him around screens, he can also rise up and knock down jumpers off the dribble at a 38 percent clip.

The Blue Devils guard loves to get out in transition running the floor and making the right reads posting 1.309 points per possession in that setting. In the half-court, you can count on a steady pick-and-roll threat who ranks in the 94th percentile in that category which will seamlessly translate to the NBA.

He is not scared to bring physicality and mix it up. Whatever is required for defending bigger matchups. From flying into the action to diving for loose balls it is easy to see his relentless motor that makes McCain look like the Energizer Bunny at times.

The Duke product always feels in control and never overwhelmed. There is not a stat to back this up necessarily but he passes the eye test as a mature guard that can help you mount comebacks or provide a spark by his lack of panic. His low turnover rate is a good nod to this even in the cramped and sloppy college game.

Weaknesses

Despite his success at the rim this season, shooting 63 percent at the cup, can he find a way to master his crafty and shifty style at the NBA level against high-level rim protectors? This is something he will likely struggle with at first and a hard skill to teach.

With this rim finishing comes size concerns that may not be able to be corrected. Short of a wacky growth spurt, McCain has done a great job of maximizing his frame to this point. Sure, being in an NBA building can not hurt, but how much more size can you put onto his body? This is just who the scrappy guard is.

That size will limit him defensively at the next level, despite being willing to defend with effort and intensity he will be outsized and less athletic than those around him often. He needs to be surrounded by high-end defenders who can allow him to hide off-ball and jump passing lanes within the construct of a team defense.

Availability

• Draft Digest: 22
• Ringer Guide: 16
• ESPN Mock: 20
• The Athletic: 19
• Bleacher Report: 30
• CBS: 17
• Draft Net: 26
• Tankathon: 23

Thunder Fit

Future Role 

McCain will make some general manager extremely happy. At worst, he will be the prototypical sixth man. There is just no way the Corona, CA native fails to make an impact as a bench guard that ties together secondary and staggered lineups. At best, he can be a starting-level guard in this league surrounded by ultra-talented wings.

Where he likely lands is in contention for the best backup guard in the NBA that can be used as a swing starter if a star goes down. The luxury of the ship not sinking when your starter goes down is worth a high pick alone, especially in a weak 2024 NBA Draft. The sure thing will be more important than ever.

Jalen Brunson in Dallas is a good example of this. Spending his first few years being a calming guard for the Mavericks' bench units and finishing fourth in the Sixth Man of the Year Award race in 2020-21. In the 2022 NBA Postseason, the Villanova product won the Mavericks two playoff games without Luka Doncic to avoid being ousted by the Jazz.

While McCain will likely never reach Brunson's star status, the early level of impact with the right team feels like a safe bet.

For the Thunder, he would instantly be the best playmaker on the bench and help make life easier on the Jalen Williams and Chet Holmgren lineups that start the second and fourth frames.

Rotation Fit 

McCain helps elongate the Thunder's depth and ties together every lineup. While Cason Wallace finishes the first and third quarters with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, McCain can lead the charge for Williams and Holmgren to start the second and fourth periods.

Wallace still has untapped playmaking chops that can be developed over the summer and change the nature of what this team needs. While many will comment "Another guard?" at the thought of McCain, trading back for the Duke playmaker could be the best choice. When Vasilije Micic was in Bricktown he helped those stagger units tenfold, as could McCain.

In a weak 2024 NBA Draft class, it is hard to find a slam dunk can't miss prospect. It is hard to find ways McCain is not at worst a cheap, controllable, impact player something Oklahoma City will quickly need as contracts get thrown around to their core members.

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