Did the Cleveland Cavaliers do Patrick McCaw a big favor? It seems that way.
McCaw was a restricted free agent and refused to sign a deal with the Golden State Warriors, to the point he missed the first several months of the season. Instead, he was hoping to receive an offer sheet from another team that the Warriors wouldn’t match. He finally got that when the Cavaliers stepped up at the end of December and signed him to a two-year, $6 million offer sheet that was non-guaranteed.
The Warriors declined to match, so McCaw became a Cavalier. However, his time with Cleveland was brief — he played in three games before they waived him. Had he been on the roster as of Monday, his contract would have become guaranteed.
Now here’s the weird part: The Athletic’s Shams Charania says the Cavaliers are hoping to sign McCaw back if he clears waivers. Charania says many other teams have interest in signing McCaw if he clears waivers.
Cleveland, along with several playoff contenders, are expected to express interest in signing McCaw (unrestricted free agent) if he clears waivers. Guarantee deadline for McCaw (two years, $6M) — and other players on non-guaranteed deals around NBA — is Monday. https://t.co/QgZOUiPLVz
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) January 6, 2019
The thinking is that the Cavs might be able to get McCaw back on a cheaper deal. If not, maybe McCaw lands with another team. But it seems clear that McCaw really did not want to be with the Warriors any longer, and the Cavaliers signing him to the offer sheet and then waiving him helped him achieve his goal of becoming an unrestricted free agent.
