The NBA will formally investigate the Cleveland Cavaliers’ signing of Patrick McCaw, according to a report.
McCaw was a restricted free agent of the Golden State Warriors who pretty clearly did not want to play for the team. He rejected their contract offers, instead waiting to see if someone would sign him to an offer sheet Golden State wouldn’t match. After sitting out several months of the season, McCaw finally received an offer sheet from the Cavaliers that the Warriors did not match.
McCaw signed with the Cavs at the end of December, played three games for them, and then was waived before Monday’s deadline that would make contracts guaranteed. McCaw’s contract with the team was for two years at $6 million, but it was not guaranteed.
Cleveland’s bizarre handling of McCaw made us wonder whether they had done him a favor, signing and then waiving him so he could become an unrestricted free agent as he desired.
According to The New York Times’ Marc Stein, the NBA will investigate the situation at Golden State’s request.
The NBA will launch a formal review into Cleveland’s signing and near-immediate release of restricted free agent Patrick McCaw at the request of Golden State, @NYTSports has learned
— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) January 8, 2019
The situation seems like the Cavs did McCaw a favor and helped him reach unrestricted free agency earlier than he should have, which harms a team like Golden State, which should have retained his rights for the season. The league generally would not want tricks like this to be done to circumvent the rules, which is why they will investigate.
