Cleveland, OH (92.3 The Fan) – The NBA will launch a formal review of the Cavaliers' signing and release of Patrick McCaw according to Marc Stein of the New York Times.
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
McCaw, 23, signed a two-year, $6 million offer sheet with Cleveland on December 28. The Golden State Warriors declined to match the offer, which made him a member of the Cavaliers. The Cavs opted to release McCaw on January 6, after just three games with the team. Why would they would sign a restricted free agent, just to release him nine days later?
"It was really what we needed with Delly going down, we really didn't have a backup point," head coach Larry Drew said. "I had to throw Alec (Burks) in there as backup point and that wasn't really fair to him. We really needed another ball-handler in the worst way. That was our reason for bringing in Cameron. We needed somebody that was a true point guard at that position."
The Cavaliers signed Cam Payne to a 10-day contract following McCaw's release. The NBA will review this, but it's hard to argue the basketball reasons behind it.
McCaw's contract was going to become guaranteed on Monday afternoon. Instead of paying him for the rest of the year, the Cavs opted to move on and address a need in free agency.
