What happened to Josh Primo? Why did the San Antonio Spurs waive him?
The player was dismissed despite being seen as a young asset for the Spurs, but then stories began to emerge.
The San Antonio Spurs’ abrupt release of Josh Primo on Friday night was a bit of a surprise. Now the reason for it is beginning to be understood a little better.
Josh Primo was the youngest player in the 2021 NBA Draft when selected 12th to the Spurs. His on-court development absolutely had the organization excited about his NBA future. Waiving Primo so abruptly without explanation is fairly unprecedented -- and jarring.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) October 28, 2022
As ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski and Ramona Shelburne revealed, the franchise’s decision was based on several complaints about the player stripping in front of women without their consent.
It didn’t initially seem logical that, as a team looking for reinforcements, the Spurs would cut ties with a talent they had chosen a year earlier without something serious behind it that they did not want to share.
The San Antonio team had exercised its option to renew Primo for the 2023/24 season, which speaks clearly that they had no intention of cutting him before these extra-sporting problems occurred. The player had been picked 12th in the 2021 Draft, considered quite a steal at the time, and the departure of Dejounte Murray to the Atlanta Hawks had given him and Tre Jones the option to step up at the point guard position.
Reporting with @wojespn The San Antonio Spurs’ release of guard Josh Primo – the No. 12 pick in the 2021 NBA Draft --- stemmed from multiple alleged instances of Primo exposing himself to women. https://t.co/4qV7FzmkNI
— Ramona Shelburne (@ramonashelburne) October 29, 2022
He has now been released and is at the mercy of another team signing him, although the priority now seems to be clearing up what has happened within the Texan franchise.
Primo issues statement over Spurs situation
In the wake of this situation, Primo gave a statement to ESPN hinting at the problem:
Josh Primo statement to ESPN in the aftermath of his release from the Spurs tonight: pic.twitter.com/H1n3k3IIcn
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) October 29, 2022
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‘I’ve been seeking help to deal with previous trauma I suffered and will now take this time to focus on my mental health treatment more fully,’ it read. ‘I hope to be able to talk about this issue in the future.’
Coach Gregg Popovich has already esponded angrily to the franchise’s official statement after the news broke. And now we also know that a Spurs employee, one of those who raised the alarm, has hired the services of lawyer Tony Buzbee, who dealt with NFL star Deshaun Watson’s lawsuit for indecent behaviour.