The Golden State Warriors are requesting the NBA investigate the signing and then releasing of former Warriors’ restricted free agent Patrick McCaw.
For Patrick McCaw and the Cleveland Cavaliers, this is getting serious. The suspicious signing and waiving of the Warriors’ former guard has drawn red flags which have led to the Golden State Warriors reportedly asking for an investigation, according to Marc Stein of the NY Times.
It makes perfect sense why the Warriors would consider an investigation necessary.
McCaw, who had been out for months, was seeking multi-years with multi-millions attached. The Warriors were not giving him that deal, and neither was any other NBA team. However, it was then reported that the Cleveland Cavaliers, currently last place in the East, would offer him said deal.
McCaw accepted the offer sheet, and the Warriors then were given the option to match it. They opted not to match the two-year, $6 million offer sheet, making McCaw a Cavalier. Just three games into his Cavaliers’ career, McCaw was cut by the team.
Now, McCaw, per The Athletic’s Shams Charania, has interest from several contenders after becoming an unrestricted free agent. This seems a bit sketchy and has collusion written all over it.
This is basically the short version of how the Cavaliers may have been in the wrong.
Cavs interest in re-signing Patrick McCaw isn't technically illegal, but it feels like circumvention – signing him to big non-guaranteed offer sheet they seemingly had no intention to keep b/c they knew GSW couldn’t match it, then going after him with contract GSW may’ve matched.
— Albert Nahmad (@AlbertNahmad) January 6, 2019
The penalty may cost the Cavaliers a first-round which could be devasting. The pick would, per the CBA, be lost. Whether or not the NBA can figure out if there was a deal beforehand made is still up in the air and will be an issue that the investigation should answer.
If the Cavs were convicted and lose their 2019 first-round pick, the entire landscape of the NBA could be shaken up. The Cavs, who could have the No. 1 overall pick, could lose out on the generational talent that is Zion Williamson.
From a sideline perspective, collusion could certainly be likely. Now, if a loss of pick in on the horizon, things will certainly start to get interesting surrounding McCaw. It’s also reportedly the Cavs might re-sign McCaw, making his non-guaranteed deal seem even sketchier.
We’ll keep you updated on how this story plays out over the next few weeks.