The Philadelphia 76ers are coming off an especially demoralizing 131-91 defeat to the San Antonio Spurs on Tuesday, with Philly putting up an embarrassing effort on national television in an NBC throwback game. And as is the case following these kinds of losses, emotions can get very much amplified.

After the game, 76ers guard Tyrese Maxey expressed how he feels about his team's decision to trade away Jared McCain, which 76ers president Daryl Morey defended by saying that they were selling high on their 2024 first-round pick.

“Jared was a close friend of ours. Great teammate. Great person. I definitely think we miss him. Of course. I ain't going to lie and say I don't miss Jared,” Maxey said, via NBC Sports Philadelphia. “But I'm happy for him. I watch him [in] OKC. Make sure I hope he does well every night.”

Nonetheless, Maxey said that the 76ers aren't focusing too much on what they cannot control, as this is simply the nature of the beast.

“I don't think we're dwelling on it. … [But] this is a business at the end of the day. I've seen many people get traded that I don't want to get traded. You can't dwell on that,” Maxey added.

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76ers could use Jared McCain right about now

Oklahoma City Thunder guard Jared McCain (3) walks onto the court during the first half
© Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images

The rationale behind the 76ers' decision to trade McCain isn't that hard to understand. They had so much guard depth, and with Maxey being entrenched as the main guard option for the team and VJ Edgecombe locked alongside him, McCain was going to top out as a sixth man for the team at best.

Nonetheless, the 76ers have contending aspirations, and having McCain, a guard who shoots well from beyond the arc, could have helped ease their depth concerns. Instead, they now have to watch McCain follow the footsteps of Isaiah Joe as another talented guard they lost to the Oklahoma City Thunder.