The Spurs shocked the NBA world on Oct. 28 when they announced they would waive 19-year-old guard Joshua Primo.
Primo was selected 12th overall by the Spurs in the 2021 NBA Draft but just four games into his sophomore season, San Antonio elected to cut ties with its lottery pick.
The news caught even some of the biggest names in NBA media by surprise, leaving everyone wondering why the Spurs would waive a young, developing player.
It was later reported by ESPN that Primo’s release “stemmed from multiple alleged instances of Primo exposing himself to women,” and more details were revealed in the ensuing days.
For more on why the Spurs waived Primo, The Sporting News has you covered below.
Why did the Spurs waive Joshua Primo?
On Oct. 28, the Spurs announced they have released Primo, the No. 12 overall pick in the 2021 NBA Draft.
The Spurs have waived guard Josh Primo.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) October 28, 2022
This news came as a shock to everyone, as the 19-year-old had shown flashes during his rookie season and 2022-23 preseason. On the evening of Oct. 28, Spurs CEO RC Buford issued a statement on the situation and Primo, himself, submitted a statement to ESPN (See below).
The next day, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski and Ramona Shelburne reported that Primo’s release “stemmed from multiple alleged instances of Primo exposing himself to women.”
The Athletic’s Shams Charania added to that report, stating that “a former Spurs female employee has alleged that guard Josh Primo exposed himself to her.”
Charania also mentioned that the employee would be hiring attorney Tony Buzbee, who represented the women in the sexual misconduct lawsuits against NFL star quarterback Deshaun Watson.
Statement from Spurs on Joshua Primo
Spurs CEO RC Buford
“It is our hope that, in the long run, this decision will serve the best interest of both the organization and Joshua.”
Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich
Popovich declined to comment on the situation.
Statement from Joshua Primo
Prior to more details being released on the situation, Primo issued this statement to ESPN.
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
Statement from Joshua Primo’s attorney
Statement from Josh Primo’s attorney, William J. Briggs, II: pic.twitter.com/V6IxRvoOLM
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) November 3, 2022
What did Joshua Primo’s accuser say during press conference?
On Nov. 1, local San Antonio news station KENS5 received an email from Buzbee’s law firm announcing that Buzbee and his client, Spurs consulting psychologist Dr. Hillary Cauthen, would hold a press conference on Thursday, Nov. 3 to answer questions about the allegations on Primo.
Both Buzbee and Cauthen spoke on the situation, and Cauthen has “sued the Spurs and Primo and is filing a criminal complaint over alleged incidents involving indecent exposure by Primo, alleging Primo exposed himself nine times to her beginning in Dec. 2021 and the franchise failed to act,” according to Charania.
You can find more of Buzbee and Cauthen’s statements below, all via KENS5’s Tom Petrini.
“It took the Spurs 10 months to do the right thing and that is too long,” Cauthen said of the situation.
Buzbee said the Spurs told Cauthen they wanted to do “what they called a facilitated discussion with Dr. Cauthen and Primo so they could figure out what it was that was compelling him to expose himself to her.”
Joshua Primo contract
Earlier in October, the Spurs exercised the third-year option on Primo’s contract. According to Spotrac, he earned $3.95 million as a rookie and $4.14 million for the 2022-23 season.
According to Charania, the Spurs still owe Primo $8.4 million over the next two years despite his release and clearing waivers.
As this is a developing story, The Sporting News will continue to provide updates as they become available.