Guard Patrick McCaw plans to sign with the Toronto Raptors, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, three days after he was waived by the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium reports the one-year deal will be for the veteran’s minimum of $786,000.
McCaw, 23, played three games with the Cavaliers after signing a two-year, nonguaranteed contract in December. Cleveland waived him before the guarantee date of Jan. 7, making him an unrestricted free agent.
Per Marc Stein of the New York Times, the Golden State Warriors have asked the league to look into McCaw’s signing and near-immediate release with the Cavs. Stein notes that Cleveland could face “serious penalties” if found guilty of any wrongdoing. According to WKYC’s Ben Axelrod, a multi-million dollar fine or loss of draft picks could be in play.
A member of the Warriors’ rotation during his first two NBA seasons, McCaw held out two months into the 2018-19 campaign to maneuver his way out of restricted free agency. The Warriors had given him a qualifying offer and a two-year, $5.2 million contract offer, both of which he turned down.
When the Cavs handed him the two-year offer sheet, which Golden State did not match, it seemed more like an avenue to unrestricted free agency than anything. McCaw admitted he wanted to move on from the Warriors in his introductory press conference with the Cavs.
“I loved playing in Golden State,” McCaw told reporters. “My teammates, the coaches, it was nothing really … nothing stands out to me to say I didn’t want to go back. Think it was just a personal thing where I was just like, I think it was time for me to move on for a new opportunity within myself. Nothing against Golden State, front office, coaches, players, the environment, it had nothing to do with any of that. It’s just a personal thing, and I wanted a new opportunity to move on.
McCaw was clearly a bit rusty during his short stint with the Cavs, producing just five points on 2-of-9 shooting while playing 53 minutes. Cleveland has been experimenting with its lineups all season following the departure of LeBron James and adding McCaw on the fly was clearly a work in progress.
Toronto will have more time to integrate McCaw, who will have to hope this fiasco to get him out of Golden State pays off in the long run.