The Clippers signed guard Joshua Primo to a two-way contract on Friday, the same day the league suspended him for four games after the league determined he “engaged in inappropriate and offensive behavior by exposing himself to women.” Andrew Greif of The Los Angeles Times writes that the Clippers felt comfortable with signing Primo after meeting with him for months and hearing from specialists who spent time with him.
Lawrence Frank, the Clippers’ president of basketball operations, said that the decision to sign Primo came with “a great deal of conversation with people throughout the organization,” according to Greif. Frank also said that female employees who most frequently interact with players were consulted on the decision, per Greif.
“We took many steps to make sure that we could feel very confident that we will be able to create a safe and comfortable workplace,” Frank said.
The specialists who met with Primo worked in mental health fields, Frank said, according to Greif.
“We’re not disputing allegations or condoning the alleged conduct, but why we’re here is because of all the work he’s put in since those allegations,” Frank said.
Primo was drafted with the 12th overall pick by the Spurs in the 2021 NBA Draft but was waived four games into his second season after a psychologist who worked for the Spurs, Dr. Hillary Cauthen, alleged in a civil complaint against the Spurs that Primo exposed himself to her nine times during individual private sessions.
A source tells San Antonio Express-News’ Tom Orsborn (Twitter link) that, in addition to Dr. Cauthen, Primo exposed himself to two other women, with all incidents occurring while he was with the Spurs. Orsborn adds that it’s possible that charges could arise in other counties like they did in Bexar County (Twitter link).
In addition to being suspended for the first four games of the season, Primo is ineligible to appear in the NBA’s preseason, Greif writes.
We have more notes from the Pacific Division:
- The Lakers have four of their five starting positions relatively locked in, with LeBron James, Anthony Davis, Austin Reaves and D’Angelo Russell expected to start. According to The Athletic’s Jovan Buha, Rui Hachimura will enter camp as the favorite to earn the third starting frontcourt spot, though Taurean Prince and Jarred Vanderbilt could also build their own respective cases.
- Veteran coach Sarunas Jasikevicius will be with the Kings for the preseason, according to Eurohoops. Jasikevicius parted ways with FC Barcelona after winning the ACB championship in 2021 and 2023, along with the Copa del Rey in 2021 and 2022. Jasikevicius holds 138 games played during his stint as a player in the NBA, playing for the Pacers and the Warriors.
- While getting Chris Paul is an overall positive, Monte Poole of NBC Sports Bay Area writes that Jordan Poole‘s departure shouldn’t be glossed over. The former Michigan guard was one of the quickest players on the team, according to Poole, who says that the Warriors may miss his burst and overall offensive production.
warrior fans will not miss Poole’s bad passes, double dribbling and unable to defend on switches. They will only miss his 3 point shooting and occasional spurts to the basket.
Correct. You saw the Andre Iguodala interview and the way he explained why Poole needed to go? A lot of it was the bad shot selection and of course the spurting.
As a side note this is why the Warriors could not use Mac McClung a year or two ago. He’s Jordan Poole. He’s flashy, he’s a scorer, and he gets it done. He’s very good.
But as I said 2 years ago you don’t want your third string point guard out there proving he belongs in the NBA and not doing what he’s paid to do, which is set up the other four guys who are getting a little burn. Iguodala explained it perfect.
Iguodala was the guy who was in Poole’s ear 2 years ago telling him that he needed to get to the free throw line more so that he could get some easy points that would boost his PPG over 20 and help him “get his bag”. That is when Poole ramped up his out of control drives to the basket and his slip and slide turnover show. Iguodala has made no secret that he thinks players need to think of their money first. His new analysis of Poole’s game with the Warriors is his usual hypocritical blather.