Cavs Could Lose Draft Picks Over Signing Patrick McCaw

While the Cleveland Cavaliers’ 8-33 record is the league's worst, the one upside is they will end up with one of the top picks in the 2019 NBA Draft.

But that could now be in danger, too.

The NBA is opening an investigation into the Cavs’ signing and ensuing release of the Golden State Warriors’ former guard Patrick McCaw, according to the New York Times. The Cavs could be hit with severe penalties—including fines from $3 million to $6 million or even loss of draft picks—if the NBA deems this an unauthorized agreement.

Though finding guilt could be tough, the conditions of McCaw signing to the Cavs were peculiar. After the 2017-18 season, McCaw became a restricted free agent, giving the Warriors the ability to match any deal from other teams. The two opposing sides were at a stalemate until Dec. 28, when the Cavs locked McCaw in with a non-guaranteed two-year, $6 million offer.

McCaw officially joined Cleveland when Golden State refused to match a deal that would have hit them with almost $11 million in luxury tax penalties. After playing in only three games, the 23-year-old guard was subsequently waived by the Cavs, which permitted him to attain unrestricted free agency prior to his deal being completely approved.

“The whole thing was kind of strange,” Warriors head coach Steve Kerr said, according to the Associated Press. "I don't know that there's been a totally non-guaranteed offer sheet before."

Some in the league believe Cleveland only wanted to break up Golden State and McCaw without any interest in him as a productive member of Cavaliers. The Warriors requested that the league investigate this move, but Kerr said he wasn't aware that his team was involved.

Meanwhile, McCaw won't be out of a team for long. He's reportedly planning on signing a one-year contract with the Raptors, according to Adrian Wojnarowski.