Sergio Estrada-USA TODAY Sports
The marriage between Patrick McCaw and the Golden State Warriors looks like it may be very close to falling apart. McCaw has not appeared at a single Warriors preseason practice this season and has not accepted the $1.71 million qualifying offer extended to him by the Warriors.
Once the clock strikes midnight on October 2nd, McCaw will officially become a restricted free agent, meaning the Warriors will have the opportunity to match any offer another team makes.
According to Anthony Slater, this could mean McCaw is trying to force a move elsewhere:
If Patrick McCaw doesn’t take the QO by the time it expires tonight, gotta think he’s trying to force himself off the Warriors. Drag it so long that they have to move on without him, hoping they won’t match offer sheet once his roster spot is committed to someone else.
— Anthony Slater (@anthonyVslater) October 1, 2018
McCaw’s holdout comes after he suffered a terrifying back injury in a 112-96 win over the Sacramento Kings March 31. He was diagnosed with a lumbosacral bone bruise in his back, which held him out until game six of the Western Conference Finals against the Houston Rockets May 26.
While it was hoped that he would return with the Warriors, and general manager Bob Myers said on media day that discussions with McCaw’s camp were had throughout the offseason, no resolution appears close. Head coach Steve Kerr said he thinks and discusses the situation which is largely out of his control.
Steve Kerr on the Patrick McCaw situation: “We think about it. We talk about it.” Added that they are just going about their business.
— Connor Letourneau (@Con_Chron) October 1, 2018