Jared McCain suffers UCL tear in right thumb during workout Thursday

Jared McCain and the 76ers cannot catch a break.

McCain suffered a UCL tear in his right thumb during a workout on Thursday. He and the team are working with specialists to decide how they will proceed.

ESPN’s Tim Bontemps first reported the news.

McCain was on pace to become the fourth Sixer to win the Rookie of the Year award last season. Through 23 games, he was averaging 15.3 points on 46% from the field, along with a three-point percentage of 38.3%, and roughly two assists and rebounds per game, respectively. The at-the-time 20-year-old was the one saving grace of a dreadful Sixers team last season.

This was until he suffered a torn lateral meniscus in his left knee, which required surgery and ended his season. It was one of the many inadequate moments of last year’s 24-58 season.

The expectation was that McCain would be ready to go for opening night this season. However, that will likely not be the case. Recovery from a right thumb UCL tear depends on the severity of the tear, ranging from four to six weeks of immobilization in a splint or cast, followed by hand therapy. Severe tears often require surgery and can have a recovery period of eight to 12 weeks. The process involves immobilization to facilitate healing, physical therapy to regain range of motion and strength, and activity modification to prevent reinjury, according to OrthoVirginia. 

It now feels more important than ever for the Sixers to resign Quentin Grimes. Last year, in 28 games in Philadelphia post-trade deadline, he averaged 33.7 minutes a game with 21.9 points, including a 47% field goal percentage and 37% from beyond the arc.

Grimes entered the summer as a restricted free agent, and he has not received many offers that are considerable.

The Sixers want to work out a long-term, four-year deal with Grimes, which is something that he would be willing to do, Tony Jones of The Athletic wrote. The issue is financial, and right now, the two sides are far apart on that.

Grimes has until October 1 to sign the qualifying offer. If he does not sign by then, he will remain a restricted free agent, the qualifying offer would no longer be on the table, and the Sixers would head back to negotiating with Grimes to bring him back.

Now, without McCain for the beginning of the year, the Sixers seemingly do not have a better alternative than returning the 25-year-old guard, even if that now requires an over-pay.

The Sixers’ media day will take place on Friday at the practice facility over in Camden. Training camp opens on Saturday. It was reported that Grimes will not be in attendance at either of them. The team’s first preseason game is this upcoming Thursday, October 2, against the Knicks in Abu Dhabi.

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