Raptors waive guard Patrick McCaw after new signings

The Toronto Raptors have waived guard Patrick McCaw, the team announced on Friday.

McCaw played sparingly in 2021, appearing in just five games this season. The moves comes after the shorthanded Raptors made a pair of transactions to shore up their frontcourt. The Athletic's Shams Charania first reported the news on Thursday.

The 25-year-old is a three-time champion, winning consecutive titles with the Golden State Warriors in 2017 and 2018, before getting a ring with the Raptors as a seldom-used reserve in 2019. By winning a title with the Raptors, McCaw became the first player since seven members of the 2002 Los Angeles Lakers – Shaquille O'Neal, Kobe Bryant among them – to be part of three consecutive title-winning teams.

McCaw was most effective during his rookie season, starting 20 games for a Warriors team that is among the greatest teams of all-time, while making 71 appearances total. He started in Kevin Durant's absence during the first round of their playoff series against the Portland Trail Blazers and was used as a secondary scoring option against the San Antonio Spurs in the Western Conference Finals, before playing sparingly in the 2017 NBA Finals against the Cleveland Cavaliers. For a brief moment, it appeared the Warriors had unearthed another gem from the second round of the 2016 NBA Draft.

However, McCaw rapidly fell out of favour with the Warriors during his second year, as Steve Kerr no longer trusted him in key situations. McCaw apparently misjudged his market value, declining Golden State's $1.71 million qualifying offer in October 2018, and reportedly rejected the framework of a two-year, $5.2 million deal. Steph Curry was equal parts concerned and bemused with McCaw's decision to reject the qualifying offer, and noted at the time that he hoped McCaw was receiving sound advice from his circle.

After playing three games with the Cavaliers, McCaw was waived and promptly joined the Raptors in January 2019.

It's been a fascinating journey for McCaw thus far in his professional career, and he could contribute in an end-of-bench role for another team willing to take a shot on a guard whose playing time evaporated after his rookie year.

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