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Unless you have been living under a rock for the last couple of months, you are aware that Patrick McCaw no longer plays for the Warriors.
Why isn't he suiting up for Golden State? How did things get to this point? Well, that is complicated. But we did learn something on Friday morning that sheds some light. It has to do with what happened in July 2017.
As Marcus Thompson of The Athletic writes:
Apparently, whatever good feelings McCaw took with him into the offseason were short-lived. News leaked that the Warriors had agreed to terms with free-agent guard Nick Young. Immediately, McCaw's role was up in the air. Also: the Warriors re-signed Iguodala for three more years.
When training camp opened, coach Steve Kerr, without knowing it, might have made the situation worse by declaring an open competition for the backup shooting guard spot. According to insiders, this was the first grievance McCaw had with the Warriors and it is about the only tangible issue that has been vocalized.
Did McCaw expect Kerr to announce to the world that he was the solidified backup shooting guard? Is that even a thing? Did McCaw think that he flat out earned that distinction because of a rookie season in which he averaged 4.0 points per game and shot 33.3 percent from deep?
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The Warriors needed shooting off the bench so they signed a guy in Nick Young who the previous season made over 40 percent of his 3-pointers on 7.0 attempts per game. Were they supposed to not add somebody like that?
In the summer of 2017, the Warriors also re-signed Shaun Livingston to a three-year contract. There was a recent rumor that McCaw wants the opportunity to play point guard moving forward, so perhaps Livingston's presence also irritated McCaw and impacted his view on his future in Golden State...?
Last week, McCaw told reporters in Cleveland that he simply "wanted a new opportunity to move on." Now, he is a member of the Toronto Raptors -- who are pretty loaded in the backcourt and on the wing.
Nobody is rooting for McCaw to fail. It would be awesome if he ends up having a long and successful NBA career. But as Steph Curry said back in late September:
"I hope he's got good people in his corner giving him some sound advice."
The 23-year old was willing to take a big gamble on himself, and only time will tell if he won the bet.
Drew Shiller is the co-host of Warriors Outsiders. Follow him on Twitter @DrewShiller
