Golden State Warriors: Patrick McCaw’s payday pursuit was a mistake

As it turns out, Patrick McCaw made a very bad decision when he decided to turn down the Golden State Warriors’ qualifying offer last offseason.

Patrick McCaw gambled and took another loss after the Cleveland Cavaliers announced that they would be waiving the young wing. In three games with the defending Eastern Conference champs, McCaw averaged 1.7 points, one rebound, and 0.7 assists in 17.7 minutes while shooting 22 percent from the field and 25 percent from 3-point range.

McCaw, 23, is in his third year in the NBA, winning championships with the Golden State Warriors in his first two seasons. Disappointed with his inconsistent role on the star-studded roster and his pay, McCaw declined the Warriors’ qualifying offer of $1.7 million.

As a restricted free agent, McCaw made it clear that he didn’t like his situation in Golden State. Taking advice from his father, per Anthony Slater of The Athletic, McCaw made the decision to stand his ground and hold out.

More from Golden Gate Sports

• Raiders: Rookie stock report following Week 3 performance
• 49ers sign new long snapper amidst a flurry of roster moves
• Oakland Athletics win Game 2 of Wild Card round with late-inning drama
• 49ers: George Kittle and Deebo Samuel cleared to return to practice
• 49ers expected to place DE Dee Ford on injured reserve

The Warriors wanted McCaw and planned to match any offer that came his way for the majority of the year. Though he struggled to find his footing in his sophomore season, Golden State’s shortage of wings didn’t leave them a lot of options. As a result, keeping McCaw was seen as important. That is, until Alfonzo McKinnie fell into their laps.

McKinnie has played well since signing with Golden State, showing a willingness to take 3-pointers and chase every offensive rebound opportunity. He’s shooting 37.5 percent from beyond the arc and gives the Warriors’ second units–often led by Stephen Curry–some much-needed spacing.

So when the Cavaliers came knocking on McCaw’s door with a two year, $6 million offer sheet, he accepted it and the Warriors did not match. McCaw’s money became guaranteed if he stayed with the team until January 7th, but Cleveland did not see enough out of him, choosing to let him go before that deadline.

Now his NBA career hangs in the balance. There are reports that several teams, including Cleveland, would be interested in bringing him on, for a smaller price.

While McCaw’s frustration with not playing is fair and his desire to maximize his earnings in the aftermath of his scary injury after being undercut by the then-Sacramento Kings‘ forward Vince Carter is completely understandable. His fall could have been career-ending and after being that close to losing everything, you want to make sure that you make as much as you can while you can.

Still, McCaw seems to have made the wrong call. Now he’s in limbo, waiting for a team to take a chance on him. The good news for McCaw is that someone will. He’ll play somewhere because he’s young, battle-tested, and has shown flashes of high-level skill.

As of right now though, giving up guaranteed money to play with the NBA’s premier organization is looking like a bad decision. He wanted more and, unfortunately for him, currently has nothing.

You could say he fumbled the bag.

Hopefully, Patrick McCaw can find a home somewhere that will bear with him as he works to get back into game shape and he can land a payday.