Patrick McCaw had quite an eventful season for the Golden State Warriors. He suffered a horrific back injury and persevered to return during the team’s postseason run.
So soon after his inspiring recovery, McCaw now faces some more uncertainty regarding his future heading into this offseason.
The talented perimeter defender was famously praised by Jerry West after the Warriors acquired him in the 2016 NBA Draft.
His offensive game remains raw, and it’s going to be fascinating to learn exactly how other teams around the league view his potential.
The Warriors would like McCaw to remain on the team but are also realistic about other opportunities that can be presented to him.
Mark Medina of the San Jose Mercury News has a great story about an important transactional step the Warriors have taken with McCaw.
The Warriors extended a qualifying offer of about $1.6 million to McCaw, which makes him a restricted free agent. The team now has the right to match any offer that McCaw receives from another team after the free agency period starts.
McCaw has a huge upcoming choice to make. He has stated he wants to remain with the Warriors because of their recent success, but he’s also a young player who could probably maximize his earnings elsewhere.
This isn’t like a veteran who has already made a fortune in this league and feels like they have the luxury to sacrifice money to be on the Warriors.
McCaw was a second-round pick and has yet to really capitalize on his earning potential, especially given how intriguing his skill set is.
His defensive ability is really impressive, although his aggressiveness on offense has been sporadic at best, and his shooting percentages regressed this season.
It’s going to be really interesting to see how much the Warriors truly value McCaw going forward, and if they’d ultimately match a sizable offer given to him by another team.