TORONTO — You can see what the Toronto Raptors like in their newest addition, the well-traveled, former Golden State Warrior Patrick McCaw. This front office loves its long wings — loves athletic defenders that can be deployed at, and guard, a variety of positions. It loves upside — loves project players with untapped potential and unique physical attributes, such as the 6’7 McCaw’s 6’10 wingspan. And it loves high-character, quiet professionals — grinders who just want to leave drama behind, get in a gym, and lock the door behind them. So you can see why the Raptors were one of the first teams to express interest in McCaw when he became a free agent earlier this week. And you can see why McCaw jumped at the opportunity to come to Toronto. “It’s a great team, a great organization. They reached out to me and I felt like it was a great fit for me,” McCaw said Friday, after officially joining the Raptors on a rest-of-season deal. “I’ve been watching the team play all year. They get after it on both ends of the floor. They like guys who are long, can defend and play multiple positions, and I think I fit in well.” Stream Raptors on Sportsnet NOW Stream all Sportsnet games of the NBA Finals as the Toronto Raptors take on the Golden State Warriors for the Larry O'Brien Trophy. Plus, get the Stanley Cup Final, MLB, IndyCar and more. McCaw’s 2019 has been an interesting one, if your interests include the minutia of NBA’s collective bargaining agreement and the bureaucratic structures through which the league’s owners control costs. After earning $1.86-million while filling a complementary yet valuable role on Golden State’s back-to-back title-winning teams the last two seasons, McCaw refused a one-year, $1.71-million qualifying offer as a restricted free agent this past summer, and reportedly declined a two-year, $5.2-million offer from the Warriors in October, beginning a holdout that extended well into the current season. The reason for McCaw’s decision is ultimately unknown. Some reports indicate McCaw sought a longer, more-lucrative contract from the Warriors. Others say McCaw felt his development was being hindered by his erratic playing time with Golden State, and that the best thing for his future would be a more consistent, involved role. McCaw will only elaborate so much. “It was just a personal decision for me to move on,” McCaw said Friday. “I loved my time there. The whole organization — coaches, players — helped me grow and develop as a young man coming in at 21-years-old to the NBA. There was no better situation for me to learn and grow. There’s no bad blood. It’s nothing but love for Golden State and what they did for me.” During the holdout, any NBA team could have offered McCaw a contract which the Warriors would have had the right to match. But that didn’t happen until late December, when the Cleveland Cavaliers extended him a non-guaranteed, two-year, $6-million offer sheet. The Warriors declined their option to match it and retain McCaw, so off he went to Cleveland, where he appeared in three games earlier this month. But Monday was an important day for non-guaranteed players like McCaw. If teams retained those players past Monday, their deals would become guaranteed. If teams didn’t want to be on the hook for the remainder of the contract, they would have to waive the non-guaranteed player. And so, after playing only 53 minutes for the Cavaliers, McCaw was waived and released, becoming an unrestricted free agent. That’s when the Raptors swooped in and signed McCaw for the remainder of the reason at the $786,000 league minimum for veteran players, replacing Lorenzo Brown, who the Raptors waived and released Monday. It was a shrewd bit of roster-fringe management for the Raptors, as they replaced the dependable yet limited Brown with a younger, higher-upside wing with championship experience in McCaw. “He’s got some interesting background, that’s for sure. He’s played in some pretty big games and played pretty well. Pretty versatile type player,” said Raptors head coach Nick Nurse. “Seems like a nice kid, very good family, nice background. So, we’ll see.” Controversy remains when it comes to McCaw’s exit from Golden State, which the NBA is said to be currently investigating at the request of the Warriors. If it’s found the Cavaliers signed and waived McCaw so quickly in order to help the player free himself of his restricted status, the move could be interpreted as salary cap circumvention and punished by the league. In that case, the Cavaliers would face a fine or even the loss of a draft pick. Of course, the result of that investigation will have no bearing on McCaw, whose holdout gamble has seemingly paid off, or the Raptors, who will have the athletic defender at their disposal going forward. McCaw’s brief NBA sample doesn’t tell you much, as he averaged only 16 minutes per night with the Warriors, picking up four points, 1.4 rebounds, 1.2 assists, and 0.6 steals per game. He played to a minus-3.8 net rating and shot 41 per cent from the field in the 2017-18 season, but again, the sample’s small. His performance, and therefore his playing time, was inconsistent throughout his sophomore season, as he bobbed in and out of Warriors head coach Steve Kerr’s rotations. A fractured left wrist held him out for 13 games at one point, and he finished the season with double-figures scoring in only three of his 57 games played. His season was also hampered by a lumbosacral bone bruise suffered in a scary spill during a game in late March that resulted in McCaw being stretchered off the floor. He missed two months with the injury, finally returning for garbage time run during Game 6 of the Western Conference finals. He played a few minutes here and there in the NBA Finals, as the Warriors romped to a second-consecutive championship. “It put everything into perspective — about basketball, about life in general. Looking back on it, it was one of the scariest moments of my life,” McCaw said of the freak injury. “Things could be a lot different for me right now. I’m just so appreciative that things went the right way for me.” Between the wrist injury, the spine injury, and the holdout, McCaw has played only 15 games of NBA basketball since February 12, 2018. Now, 11 months later, he’ll try to wrest his career back on track with the Raptors. “Everything kind of happened pretty fast. Going from patiently waiting for an offer sheet and it happening so quickly, getting that call, and I was just back working,” he said. “The past couple weeks have just been all over the place. But it’s exciting because I know I’m back working, I know I’m back getting the opportunity that I feel like I deserve.” Free Association If there is a podcasting odd couple, this might be it. Donnovan Bennett and JD Bunkis don’t agree on much, but you’ll agree this is the best Toronto Raptors podcast going. Of course, Toronto has plenty of wing depth as is, and barring injury or an excess of garbage time minutes, it’s unclear where McCaw’s playing time will come. It could make sense for him to spend some time with Raptors 905 in the foreseeable future, especially considering how little he’s played over the last year. But it remains to be seen how the Raptors plan to work McCaw in. “Hopefully he can space and attack, and handle the ball — and he can defend. Those are the things he’s supposed to be able to do,” Nurse said. “I think he sees the game pretty well from what I’ve watched, film-wise. He’s a little bit of a risk-taker defensively, but that’s okay. We like that. So, we’ll just see. We’ll throw him in there, play the one, two, three — wherever he fits in.” How the Raptors handle McCaw beyond this season will likewise be interesting to watch. He’ll be back in restricted free agency limbo with his new team this summer, and the Raptors will be able to retain his rights with a qualifying offer just like the Warriors did months ago. McCaw had the option to sit out the remainder of the season and become an unrestricted free agent after the NBA Finals. But clearly something incentivized him to sign with Toronto and forego that option. “It’s exciting just to be back in the flow of the NBA,” he said. “Regardless of if it’s a day, if it’s a year — just being back in the atmosphere around coaches and players who know the game and can help you grow. And that’s all I’ve been waiting for these past couple months. So, it’s exciting I’ve gotten this opportunity. I’m ready to get to work.”<doc-sep>The Toronto Raptors recently acquired free-agent swingman, Patrick McCaw. Should he be inserted into the rotation immediately? We argued both sides. The Toronto Raptors have officially signed Patrick McCaw to a one-year veteran’s minimum contract. The 6’7″ athletic wing has major defensive upside but is somewhat of a liability on the other end. His fit with Toronto is complicated, and although he was recently added, there’s no guarantee McCaw will immediately be given a spot in the rotation. Free-agent signings have more stipulations than what is released to the public. We weren’t present during the negotiations, and it’s possible Masai Ujiri promised McCaw at least a temporary role with the team. I’m skeptical that promise would be made to an unproven free-agent, so for the time being, we will be operating under the idea nothing was promised. Here’s the case arguing for and against adding McCaw to the rotation right away: Case for: The Toronto Raptors just added a 6’7″ rangy wing with boatloads of upside. They didn’t add him for no reason. Of course, he’s going to play right away. Case against: Upside? Upside isn’t what the Toronto Raptors are looking for right now. They’re looking for a consistent two-way player, something Patrick McCaw hasn’t been so far in his career. Why take minutes away from a valuable member of your rotation for a poor offensive player? Case for: Upside doesn’t have to develop six years down the road. There’s a good possibility McCaw has already made a significant jump, particularly in three-point shooting. We saw the leap Pascal made from his second to third year as a shooter. McCaw is a far more natural shooter than Pascal, what if he made a similar leap? Case against: So if one player makes a giant leap as a three-point shooter, another one is bound too? That’s a huge fallacy. Chances are McCaw is a very similar shooter to what he was the previous two seasons. That guy wasn’t good enough to receive consistent minutes for Golden State who is thinner — thinner, not worse — than Toronto on the wing. If he’s not good enough for the Warriors rotation, he’s good enough for the Raptors. Case for: Chances are he is a similar shooter to what he was the past two seasons. But you won’t know until he spends real minutes on an NBA court this season. He needs to play in order to do that. Also, yes, he didn’t play consistent minutes for Golden State last season. He still was offered a $5.2 million extension this summer. Considering their tax concerns, that’s a sizeable commitment. He was going to receive some time this year. Case against: Golden State didn’t sign him for his present value, they wanted to develop McCaw. He had the possibility of a long-term role within the organization, a possibility that doesn’t exist with Toronto. As it presently stands, McCaw is a good but not great defender and a non-threat from the perimeter. Why not give those minutes to Delon Wright or Norman Powell? Defensively, they’ll make a similar impact and can actually contribute on the offensive end. Case for: Yes, because Delon and Powell have been so great offensively. McCaw could never replicate less than seven points per game on below-average efficiency. Case against: At least they can shoot. Their ability to space the floor is extremely valuable in comparison to McCaw. McCaw hasn’t shown the ability to shoot as well as either player and that significantly impacts his value. Case for: If McCaw can shoot similarly in practice, would you be willing to provide consistent minutes until a proper valuation can be made? Case against: Deal.<doc-sep>
* * * Subscribe to the Mercury News and East Bay Times for $40 a year and receive a free Warriors championship coffee table book Former Warriors guard Patrick McCaw plans to agree to a one-year deal with the Toronto Raptors, a league source confirmed to Bay Area News Group. ESPN first reported the news. Shortly after the Cavaliers waived him this week, McCaw sought interest from about eight other NBA teams, a source said. McCaw agreed to a deal with Toronto shortly after clearing waivers on Wednesday. The NBA has continued its formal review into Cleveland signing McCaw to a two-year, $6 million deal and subsequently waiving him three days later before his contract would become guaranteed. The league plans to speak to McCaw’s representatives on Thursday to probe into if McCaw and the Cavaliers reached an agreement to waive him so he could become an unrestricted free agent, sources said. The Warriors encouraged the NBA to investigate the situation. The NBA immediately had suspicions that McCaw and the Cavaliers reached an agreement to waive him so he could become an unrestricted free agent, sources said. It might be hard for the NBA to make a case against Cleveland for various reasons. Cleveland may have found the terms enticing so they could evaluate a young wing player without any risk. With McCaw averaging only 1.7 points on 22.2 percent shooting in 17.7 minutes through three games, the Cavaliers then waived McCaw on Sunday to sign free-agent guard Cameron Payne to a 10-day contract. The Cavaliers also do not benefit from Toronto acquiring a 22-year-old wing player that could add bench dept amid its hopes to make an NBA championship run. Still, under the terms of the league’s Collective Bargaining Agreement, the NBA forbids teams and players to make any “unauthorized agreements” that involve making any deals “express or implied, oral or written, or promises, undertakings, representations, commitments, inducements, assurances of intent, or understandings of any kind” that are “concerning any future Renegotiation, Extension, or other amendment of an existing Player Contract.” The Cavaliers could face punishments if the NBA finds any wrongdoing. Fines could range anywhere between $3 to $6 million as well as the loss of future first-round draft picks. The Warriors would not receive anything in return, per terms of the NBA’s labor deal. But if the NBA voided McCaw’s contract, he could become a restricted free agent again. That would give the Warriors an asset in a potential trade since they would have the ability to match any offer McCaw receives. The Warriors declined to match McCaw’s offer sheet nearly seven months after rejecting their $1.7 million qualifying offer and two-year, $5.2 million deal, which included a non-guaranteed deal his second year. They wanted to keep Alfonzo McKinnie, whose contract became guaranteed on Monday as well as keep their 15th roster spot open to acquire another center. The Warriors also had no interest in paying an additional $11 million in luxury taxes to retain McCaw, who had averaged only 4.0 points on 40.9 percent shooting in 16.9 minutes through 57 games in his second season with the Warriors. McCaw also suffered a spinal contusion on March 31 in Sacramento that sidelined him for six regular-season games and 15 playoff appearances. The Warriors selected McCaw at No. 38 overall out of UNLV in the 2016 NBA draft after paying $2.2 million to the Milwaukee Bucks for their pick. WARRIORS HQ PODCAST: Be sure to visit our podcast page at mercurynews.com. You can also get notified of new episodes on iTunes, Google Play Music, Spotify, Stitcher and SoundCloud. * * * Follow Bay Area News Group Warriors beat writer Mark Medina on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.