The San Antonio Spurs made a surprising move last Friday when it was announced that they waived point guard, Josh Primo. Primo was the No. 12 overall pick in the 2021 NBA Draft, so it certainly shocked a lot of people when the Spurs moved on from him. Many assumed there was more to the story and they would be correct.
It was revealed that there were several allegations made against Primo for exposing himself to women. One of the women worked for the Spurs who Primo reportedly exposed himself to and she has since retained attorney Tony Buzbee, who is also representing multiple women in their sexual misconduct cases against Cleveland Browns quarterback, Deshaun Watson.
Primo said, in a statement to ESPN on Friday, that he has suffered “previous trauma” and “will now take this time to focus on my mental health treatment more fully.” It will likely be some time until we see Primo back on an NBA team, but there is a good chance he does return at some point.
The 19-year-old Alabama product has since cleared waivers, meaning the Spurs are responsible for what is left of his $4.1 million contract and the $4.3 million he is owed next season. That sounds like it was the only thing keeping a team from claiming him on waivers, as Primo is generating a lot of interest around the league.
“There is significant interest in monitoring Primo’s future among numerous NBA teams, team executives told ESPN, but claiming the 19-year-old on waivers would have committed a team to paying him $8 million-plus in salary through the 2023-24 season — a significant risk given the uncertainty surrounding his situation.”
LATEST NBA NEWS & RUMORS: Josh Primo & San Antonio Spurs Updates
A lottery pick being waived early in his second season in the NBA is certainly something that doesn’t happen often and teams will want to take advantage of that. Time and time again professional sports franchises have proven talent and production outweigh everything and this is yet another example of it.
In 54 games with the Spurs, 16 starts, Primo averaged 5.9 points, 2.3 rebounds and 1.8 assists in 19.6 minutes per game. Once the uncertainty dissipates around his playing future, it sounds as if he is going to be given another chance by a franchise to get his career back on track.
LATEST NBA NEWS & RUMORS: Josh Primo & San Antonio Spurs Updates
This has been a few dark days, weeks and months in the NBA when you consider what has occurred with Primo and what is going on with the Brooklyn Nets. It followed a tumultuous summer in which numerous Charlotte Hornets were arrested and the investigation into the Phoenix Suns eventually led to Robert Sarver beginning the process of selling the team.
