Amidst all the news surrounding the Warriors playoff run and pursuit of Kevin Durant, it was easy to lose sight of the Warriors draft picks. After taking Damian Jones of Vanderbilt in the first round, the Warriors executed a trade with Milwaukee to move up to the 38th pick to select Pat McCaw out of UNLV.
The 6-foot-7 point guard has been the bright spot for the Warriors in the Summer League so far, averaging 15.8 points per game, and displaying a broader skill set than anticipated. McCaw has been compared to Shaun Livingston, however McCaw’s range extends out past the three-point line. The point guard truly put his talents on display Thursday night when the Warriors took on the Raptors in the Summer League tournament in Las Vegas.
McCaw scored a game-high 28 points on 10-17 shooting, but what was more impressive was how he performed behind the arc. He made five threes for the Warriors, while the rest of the team combined for only one triple. McCaw’s effort kept Golden State in the game against a defensively sound Raptors team.
Even the Raptors twitter account was having a little fun with the rookie’s performance.
.@warriors McCaw looks tired, you should probably give him a rest.
— Toronto Raptors (@Raptors) July 15, 2016
McCaw appears to have slipped through the draft and people are already saying the Warriors got a steal and the guard flew under the radar to many teams.
Silver should have been lamenting how the Warriors were allowed to draft McCaw
— Ethan Strauss (@SherwoodStrauss) July 15, 2016
Even Warriors head coach, Steve Kerr barely knew who McCaw was. In an interview during a Summer League telecast Kerr said, “I’ll be honest, I didn’t know anything about Patrick (McCaw) because we played all the way up until about a week before the draft and I didn’t watch much college basketball, except for my alma mater.”
Kerr was happy with what he saw out of the second-round pick, adding, “I’ve watched him three straight nights and I think he can play for us this year. He’s smart, makes the easy play. He gets it. He understands the ball has to move. And that’s how we play.”
After losing Leandro Barbosa to the Phoenix Suns, McCaw has an opportunity to fill in and be a stronghold off the bench if he continues to perform like this. But competition will be much more stiff when the Warriors rally together for training camp.