PHILADELPHIA – Of the 14 active players on the Oklahoma City Thunder's standard roster, 13 were part of last season's NBA Finals victory. But on Monday morning at Xfinity Mobile Arena, a swarm of reporters and cameras lingered, searching for the new guy. "I haven't seen [their championship rings]," he said. "Hopefully this year, I'll see one for myself."

Alex Caruso was the first member of the defending champions to notice the massive media presence for a road shootaround. He turned to a Thunder official and inquired.

"This is for Jared?"

About a half-dozen cameras and many more media members behind the basket close to the visiting bench stood and watched Jared McCain while Oklahoma City finished its shootaround. Lu Dort walked by and joked that the assembled media had come to talk to him. Isaiah Hartenstein's eyes widened. Once McCain began fielding questions, reigning NBA MVP and NBA Finals MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander stood behind a few cameras and listened to the 21-year-old's answers. McCain, predictably, was all smiles as he reunited with familiar faces. In the latest Sixers soundbites, hear from McCain:

• McCain on the emotions of returning to Philadelphia:

"It was definitely different, never done it before. Even just arriving here was very weird, just going to the hotel and being on the opposing side. But I'm happy to be back, very nostalgic feeling. Yeah, it feels nice."

• McCain on the moment he found out he was being traded:

"We were on the bus, headed back to – I think it was after the Golden State game, headed to the airport to go back to LA. And then my agent had called me and said things might happen, and I was kind of shocked, I was confused. And then, like five minutes later, [Sixers President of Basketball Operations] Daryl [Morey] called me and told me I was traded. Got emotional pretty quick and then told the team. I still traveled with the team after, to go back to LA, and then from LA [I] flew to OKC to get everything going."

• McCain on what sort of reception he expects to receive:

"I’m hoping positive. I’m hoping positive. My friends and family, they check me in on what's going on and stuff, so I know [about fans’ continued support]. They’re excited to be back too, so it'll be fun, hopefully."

• McCain on how often he is keeping in touch with his former teammates:

"Pretty often. I mean, those are my guys. Those are my brothers for life. Like, I've built such a bond with them over the past year and a half, two years. I was just talking to [Adem] Bona last night, so very, definitely excited to see them."

• McCain on the outrage that has transpired among Sixers fans over the last several weeks as a result of him being traded away:

"I mean, it means a lot. I always loved the Philly fans. They were always super nice to me whenever I went out, whenever – like, when I got hurt, everything coming back from it, they were always just super positive and super helpful in my opinion. So shout out to them for having my back, I guess, through this process, and always just being there for me. You know, the DMs I've gotten, just super, super nice and just saying they miss me and stuff. So yeah, definitely, definitely love the Philly fans for life, for sure."

• McCain on landing with the defending champions:

"Right when [Morey] first told me, I didn't really even understand what team he sent me to. I heard ‘traded,’ and that was kind of it. But once I understood it was OKC, it was one of those moments where you're like, ‘Okay, they won a championship, why do you want me?’ It’s almost a scary feeling of not knowing what's going to happen next. You have no clue. It's just the unknown. But they've been nothing but welcoming for me, and it's been so awesome being around this team, and the vibe's amazing. Just the culture of the organization, they’ve helped me, this process has been so smooth for me. And I finally moved into a place, so I'm happy about that."

• McCain on what has enabled him to look more like the best version of himself since the trade:

"I credit my teammates, I credit the coaching. They allow me to just be confident out there, and it was a very seamless process. Being able to play with [Hartenstein], these bigs, it's really cool, and awesome to play with [Isaiah Joe], being able to relocate with shooters. So, yeah, just credit to the teammates and coaches for just allowing me to be out there playing myself."

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• McCain on how he feels physically right now:

"I feel great. We've been joking about it, but I think I'm almost at 82 games, or at 82 games soon. So it's just weird to even look at this as like – they told me, ‘Look at this as your rookie season almost,’ because I still haven't finished the full season. I tried not to put that pressure on myself when I was coming back from injury and, definitely it took a while longer than in your mind, and that kind of always happens. I felt like I was on the right path right before I got traded, and so just to come into a new situation, trying to still be confident in where I was at, and figure it out in a new situation."

• McCain on his biggest lessons and takeaways from his time with the Sixers:

"To be drafted here – when I first got drafted, it's obviously the greatest day of my life to be drafted. So I'll always be thankful for Philly, for Daryl for drafting me. It’s a once-in-a-lifetime thing. And so I'll never have any regret of being here or any attitude towards this organization, because they drafted me. This is the best feeling, and [I was] so grateful to be here, and I'm still grateful to be back now. But I've learned so much from – from all the vets that I've had, you know, Kyle [Lowry], everyone, the team, the coaches. [The] medical staff helped me through both my injuries. There's so many little things that don't go out to the media that this organization has helped me with, and I'll forever be grateful for them – trying not to get too emotional – I've been very thankful for the Sixers for allowing me to be who I am."

• McCain on wanting to reward Oklahoma City's faith in him:

"When you first get traded, that's kind of what you want. You want a ‘prove to everybody that you belong’ kind of thing. And especially [going] to a championship team, it's like, what can I do to just be helpful to this team? That's kind of the only thing I came in with, with no expectations, just go in there and compete, and I feel like that's what I've been trying to do and continue to do, and still just asking questions because these guys are champions. So whatever I can do and being able to see another MVP up close, it's really cool to just be around it, be around this team and continuing to prove and continuing to just always play with a chip on my shoulder."

• McCain on if he expects to be covered a bit more tightly by his former teammates:

"Maybe a little bit. Definitely going to be – when I step on the court and see some of these players, I'm probably going to start laughing, just playing against them. It's going to be really weird. It's going to feel like training camp or something."

• McCain on what it has been like to team with Gilgeous-Alexander:

"It's really awesome. Everything that he talks about in the interviews, the consistency, the discipline with everything, it's cool to see up close and see how he works, and you can easily see how it translates to on the court. So being around him, being able to ask questions, getting to know him more – went shopping with him the other day, that was fun – but it's been really cool to be up close and personal with him and be able to get to know him."

• McCain on if he is now grateful for the trade:

"When I first got traded, it's obviously something that you don't necessarily want to happen. You always want to be where you were drafted. It's that place that – it's like your first love, you know? And so now, it's a breakup and going through that. But now, looking back on it, everything happens for a reason. I really trust in my faith, in God, and the universe, and everything happens for a reason. So I think now, I'm grateful for what has happened, and whatever's in my path going forward, I'm just trusting everything that happens. And yeah, still grateful for everything here, but grateful for the trade."

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