Today, the Raptors 905 official PR account on X announced a trade involving Patrick McCaw, a player from the 2019 championship roster who could potentially be headed for a reunion in Toronto.
Patrick McCaw returning to Raptors franchise as a member of the 905?
McCaw might be one of the oddest NBA players to record a three-peat, being part of the Golden State Warriors' championship squads in 2017 and 2018, and striking gold once again in 2019 as a late addition to the Toronto Raptors after a failed stint with the Cleveland Cavaliers that same year. The ex-UNLV product was not a standout contributor to the Raptors' title campaign, but he was okay in limited minutes, averaging 44% field goal shooting and 33% from three in a small 2018-19 sample size.
It wasn't until a year later in the 2019-20 season, post-Raptors title, that McCaw surprisingly became one of head coach Nick Nurse's darlings in the rotation, skyrocketing to an average of 27.5 minutes played per game that year. However, despite the uptick in on-court run, McCaw did not live up to the hype, averaging only 4.6 points on 41% field goal shooting, 32% from three, 2.3 rebounds, 2.1 assists, and 1.1 steals per game.
Eventually, after a string of seasons riddled with constant injury, the Raptors waived McCaw in April 2021, bringing his chapter up North to an end.
Now if you came across this news, I bet it caught you off guard. That’s totally understandable — most people (including myself) assumed that chapter of Raptors history was pretty much over after Chris Boucher and Masai Ujiri, the last remaining pieces from that era, left in the offseason. Maybe with this new development — possibly reconnecting McCaw with the Raptors franchise — we thought it was all over, but it turns out, it’s not.
The specific details of this G League transaction are Kennedy Chandler of the Raptors 905 headed to the Delaware Blue Coats in exchange for the returning rights to Patrick McCaw and a first-round pick in the 2025 G League draft. Take note of that line there, "in exchange for the returning rights," as it doesn't quite indicate that McCaw is for certain going to stick around with the 905 squad, but as Blake Murphy highlighted in his own X post, the now 29-year-old has made a name for himself down in the G League as a consistent winning player, showcasing his worth as a "positionless super-vet."
Only time will tell if the Raptors 905 decide to keep Patrick McCaw for a little nostalgia trip.