League launches probe into McCaw signing, release
OAKLAND >> The NBA has launched a formal review into Cleveland signing former Warriors guard Patrick McCaw to a two-year, $6 million deal and subsequently waiving him before his contract would become guaranteed, sources confirmed to Bay Area News Group. The New York Times first reported the news.
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. McCaw’s representatives say that is not the case. Cleveland may have found the terms enticing so they could evaluate a young wing player without any risk. The Cavaliers then waived McCaw on Sunday to sign free-agent guard Cameron Payne to a 10day contract.
McCaw cleared waivers and is now an unrestricted free agent. He averaged 4.0 points in 128 regularseason appearances with the Warriors in the 201617 and 2017-18 seasons. He scored five points in the three appearances with the Cavaliers.
The NBA plans to interview various parties to determine the situation. The Warriors declined to comment on the incident and if they asked the league to investigate.
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 million to $6 million as well as the loss of 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 he signed nearly seven months after rejecting the team’s $1.7 million qualifying offer and twoyear, $5.2 million deal, which included a nonguaranteed deal his second year. They wanted to keep Alfonzo McKinnie as well as keep their 15th roster spot open.
• The PGA Tour has pulled the plug on a proposed new tournament hosted by Stephen Curry because of negotiations with potential title sponsor Workday Inc., and changes to the golf course, the San Francisco Chronicle reported.
Members at Lake Merced, which hosts an LPGA Tour stop in May, had approved spending more than $3.6 million on upgrades. But time was running short, with the tournament scheduled for eight months away and not even a tournament director hired.