TheSan Antonio Spurs waived guard Joshua Primo on Friday without offering an explanation.
Primo, 19, was selected by San Antonio in the 2021 NBA draft with the 12th overall pick.
Releasing a lottery pick just one year after drafting him is practically unheard of, hence why everyone was very surprised, especially because Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich has praised Josh Primo in the past.
In 54 career games for San Antonio, the guard averaged 5.9 points and 1.8 assists while shooting 37% from downtown. Primo was seen as a key piece of the Spurs’ rebuilding plan. One would have to wonder if the player himself asked for a release in order to focus on getting his head right.
The 19-year-old’s best days of basketball are still ahead, therefore it’s likely better he’s putting his mental health first at this point. There is no question many teams will be interested in signing the former Alabama standout in the future because he possesses loads of potential.
The 6-foot-6 guard was averaging seven points off the bench through four games this season despite battling minor injuries.
Spurs Sports & Entertainment CEO RC Buford was vague and mysterious in his statement regarding Primo.
"It is our hope that, in the long run, this decision will serve the best interest of both the organization and Joshua," Buford said.
The franchise did not offer any other details regarding Primo, with San Antonio head coach Gregg Popovich arriving 30 minutes late to his scheduled pregame press conference.
"We're going to stick by what we told you," Popovich said. Popovich, 73, arrived to the media session just minutes after the organization released the statement of Primo's waiver.
San Antonio exercised the third-year team option on Primo earlier this month, so it's probable that the Canadian did something off-the-court that got him in hot water.
Primo, who was selected 12th overall in the 2021 NBA Draft, was suddenly waived by the Spurs on Friday afternoon. It came as a shock to the whole NBA since not only is he 19 years old and developing nicely for San Antonio, but the team also recently exercised their team option on him for his third year in 2023-24.
San Antonio looked committed and excited to making Primo a big part of their future, until they weren’t. Even media personalities like Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN and Marc J. Spears of Undefeated couldn’t help but point out the odd nature of the decision.
“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,” Woj wrote.
Spears added: “Josh Primo is a great young talent. Scores easy. Just 19 years old. Spurs had been developing this kid. The small market Spurs don’t just drop a player like that unless something detrimental happened off the court. Not sure what. Coach Pop declined comment. Very odd situation.”
Like Woj and Spears, a lot of fans are also pointing out how Joshua Primo might have committed a serious violation off the court that led to his release. After all, the Spurs didn’t even suspend him or imposed discipline on him and instead cut him right off the bat.
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