Former Spurs Employee Files Lawsuit Against Joshua Primo, Team
A sports psychologist formerly employed by the Spurs has filed a lawsuit against Joshua Primo and the team, contending that Primo exposed himself to her on nine separate occasions during their sessions and that the Spurs did nothing about it after she informed team management, according to reports from Tom Orsborn of The San Antonio Express-News and Tim MacMahon of ESPN.
The Spurs unexpectedly waived Primo last week, and word broke shortly thereafter that he had been accused of exposing himself to multiple women, including a former Spurs employee. That employee, Dr. Hillary Cauthen, became the first accuser to go public on Thursday, alleging that the earliest incident occurred during a counseling session with Primo in December 2021.
Cauthen’s suit indicates she requested a meeting with Spurs management in January 2022 and reported the incident to general manager Brian Wright. However, the club didn’t take any tangible action and Primo continued to expose himself in subsequent sessions, including once in a public setting, according to the lawsuit.
The lawsuit states that the Spurs’ legal department didn’t get involved until May, with Cauthen allegedly being told that Primo would continue to participate in all team activities despite her complaints, and that she could work at home if she felt uncomfortable. After more meetings with the Spurs and their legal counsel, Cauthen’s contract expired on August 31 and wasn’t renewed.
Orsborn’s story and a report from Diana Moskovitz of Defector have more information on the timeline of events provided in the lawsuit, which accuses the Spurs of being “willing to tolerate abhorrent conduct” by prized athletes.
Spurs CEO RC Buford issued a statement today indicating that the Spurs “disagree with the accuracy of facts, details and timeline presented” in the suit.
“While we would like to share more information, we will allow the legal process to play out,” Buford said. “Our organization remains committed to upholding the highest standards and will continue to live by our values and culture.”
Meanwhile, Primo’s attorney William J. Briggs, II issued a strong denial of the allegations against his client, referring to Primo as someone who has “suffered a lifetime of trauma and challenges” and accusing Cauthen of fabricating or embellishing her claims.
“Josh Primo never intentionally exposed himself to her or anyone else and was not even aware that his private parts were visible outside of his workout shorts,” Briggs claimed (Twitter link via Shams Charania of The Athletic).
According to Orsborn, attorney Tony Buzbee – who is representing Cauthen – said today that he has been in contact with the Bexar County District Attorney’s Office about the possibility of filing criminal charges against Primo for indecent exposure.
Primo is an unrestricted free agent after being waived by the Spurs and is unlikely to catch on with another team anytime soon while the legal process plays out.
Southeast Notes: Heat, Butler, Young, Murray, Banchero, Bol
The Heat stumbled a little out of the gate this season, losing five of their first seven games, including three of four at home. However, star swingman Jimmy Butler was unfazed by the team’s slow start, as he told Sam Amick of The Athletic.
“We’re still going to win the championship, and I don’t care what nobody says,” Butler said before the Heat beat Golden State on Tuesday. “Count us out. We’re going to win the f—ing championship. I’m telling you. I don’t give a damn that we started 2-5.”
While the Heat didn’t have much roster turnover this offseason, Butler said the team is still “different” this year, with P.J. Tucker gone and several players taking on new roles. According to Butler, some “growing pains” are to be expected.
“Y’all will look back at this, and be like, oh man, they started 2-5 and they ended the season f—ing 77-5,” he joked.
The Heat are 2-0 since Butler spoke to Amick, beating Sacramento on Wednesday without him in the lineup — he sat out due to left hip tightness.
Here’s more from around the Southeast:
- Hawks star Trae Young was scratched in the left eye during Wednesday’s win over New York, but doesn’t think he’ll miss any time due to the injury, as Tim Bontemps of ESPN relays. “I think I’ll be able to play through it,” Young said, noting that Atlanta doesn’t play again until Saturday. “It’s more just letting the swelling go down. … I’ll probably have to wear goggles or glasses for some games, but it’ll be all right.”
- With Young banged up, Dejounte Murray enjoyed his best game since joining the Hawks, racking up 36 points, nine assists, and five steals in a 13-point win. As Lauren Williams of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution writes, Murray has been emerging as one of the team’s leaders despite having only played eight games with Atlanta so far.
- In an appearance on teammate R.J. Hampton‘s podcast, Magic rookie forward Paolo Banchero said that he intends to represent Italy in international competitions, according to Orazio Cauchi of BasketNews.com. Banchero wasn’t born or raised in Italy, but is of Italian descent on his father’s side. “I’m planning to play for the Italian national team, I’m not sure when,” Banchero said. “I haven’t been out there yet, but man, the amount of love I’m getting from there it’s crazy, man. It’s crazy. I can’t wait to go to Italy.”
- It came as a bit of a surprise when the Magic re-signed Bol Bol to a two-year contract with a guaranteed 2022/23 salary after acquiring him in what seemed to be a salary-dump deal at last season’s deadline, but the oft-injured big man has been playing and producing so far this season. Nekias Duncan of BasketballNews.com celebrates that fact and takes a closer look at the role Bol is playing in Orlando.
Adam Silver Intends To Meet With Kyrie Irving In Person
NBA commissioner Adam Silver doesn’t appear satisfied with the steps Kyrie Irving has taken since publishing a social media post last week promoting an antisemitic film, issuing a statement today to announce that he intends to meet with the Nets star in person to discuss the situation.
“Kyrie Irving made a reckless decision to post a link to a film containing deeply offensive antisemitic material,” Silver said. “While we appreciate the fact that he agreed to work with the Brooklyn Nets and the Anti-Defamation League to combat antisemitism and other forms of discrimination, I am disappointed that he has not offered an unqualified apology and more specifically denounced the vile and harmful content contained in the film he chose to publicize.
“I will be meeting with Kyrie in person in the next week to discuss this situation.”
After Irving posted a link to the film in question on Thursday, he faced increasing scrutiny in the days that followed and had a combative exchange with reporters on Saturday about the issue. He removed the post on Sunday and the Nets held him out of media sessions on Monday and Tuesday.
On Wednesday, Irving, the Nets, and the ADL issued a joint statement announcing that Kyrie and the Nets would each donate $500K “toward causes and organizations that work to eradicate hate and intolerance in our communities.”
Irving said in that statement that he opposes “all forms of hatred and oppression” and stands with marginalized communities, adding that he took responsibility for the impact his post had toward the Jewish community and didn’t believe everything in the film he publicized. However, as Silver’s announcement today notes, the Nets guard didn’t apologize for promoting the film or for the harm he caused the Jewish community.
There has been no indication in the last week that the Nets or the NBA intend to fine or suspend Irving for his actions, and today’s statement from Silver doesn’t suggest that will change. Still, it seems that the league isn’t prepared to sweep the issue under the rug so quickly.
Bulls Notes: LaVine, Dosunmu, Williams, Drummond, White
Bulls star Zach LaVine played in both games of a back-to-back set for the first time this season on Tuesday and Wednesday, suiting up in Brooklyn vs. the Nets and then at home vs. the Hornets. LaVine scored just 10 points on 4-of-16 shooting on Wednesday, but said after the win that his surgically repaired knee wasn’t an issue, as Rob Schaefer of NBC Sports Chicago writes.
“I felt good. My legs were tired. A couple of my shots were short,” LaVine said. “But, you know, it was one of them games.”
Given how carefully the Bulls have managed LaVine so far this season coming off left knee surgery, it’s a cause for optimism that he logged a total of 69 minutes across those two games and came out feeling OK. Still, head coach Billy Donovan said the team will continue to take a day-to-day approach to how it handles LaVine’s workload and availability, according to Schaefer.
“I think the thing for him is it’s the cumulative,” Donovan said on Tuesday, per Joe Cowley of The Chicago Sun-Times. “That’s really where I think (the medical staff is) concerned, like the cumulative buildup of things. He could be totally fine today, come out of this game totally fine. Then let’s say he plays tomorrow. He can wake up the next day and be in some discomfort.”
Here’s more on the Bulls:
- Ayo Dosunmu, who has emerged as the Bulls’ starting point guard in his second NBA season, has impressed his teammates with his leadership, as Schaefer details in another NBC Sports Chicago story. “He steps up to the challenge all the time. Ayo even in his second year is a vocal leader,” LaVine said on Tuesday. “He helps pick up our energy, offensively, defensively, just the way he carries himself.”
- There have been questions about whether Patrick Williams should keep his spot in the Bulls’ starting lineup, but the former No. 4 overall pick had his best game of the season on Tuesday in Brooklyn. According to K.C. Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago, Donovan essentially challenged Williams to do it again, and he responded with an even better performance on Wednesday vs. Charlotte, scoring a season-high 16 points on 7-of-9 shooting and posting a positive net rating (+19) for the first time this season.
- Following Wednesday’s game, Donovan praised Williams for starting to produce more consistently and urged fans to be patient with the forward’s ongoing development. “I get everyone wants to see this progression. But in fairness to him, he hasn’t had a normal two-year NBA schedule like a lot of guys have had. It’s taken him some time,” Donovan said, according to Johnson. “And every player develops and evolves at a different rate.”
- Andre Drummond (shoulder) and Coby White (quad) have both missed multiple games due to their respective injuries, but the Bulls don’t view either as a long-term concern, Cowley writes for The Sun-Times. According to Donovan, MRIs on both players came back clean.
NBA G League Salaries Increase For 2022/23
The salaries for players in the NBA G League will increase again for the 2022/23 season, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic, who reports (via Twitter) that players who spend the season in the NBAGL will earn $40,500.
As we reported last fall, the G League’s annual salary rose from $35K to $37K for the 2021/22 season, so it has now increased by more than 15% in the last two seasons and is over $40K for the first time. NBAGL players formed a union in 2020, which has given them more leverage to negotiate those pay bumps.
Unlike in the NBA, the G League pays a flat base salary to all players, so there’s no gap between minimum and maximum salaries or anything in between. However, there are ways for players in the G League to earn more than $40,500.
Players who signed Exhibit 10 contracts with NBA teams during the offseason or preseason with an eye toward joining that team’s G League affiliate will receive bonuses worth up to $50K, depending on the specific terms of their contract. That could push a G League player’s earnings up over $90K for the ’22/23 season.
Additionally, players who are on two-way contracts will earn flat salaries of $508,891 (half of the NBA’s rookie minimum), even if they spend most of the season in the G League. Players on NBA rosters who are assigned to the G League will earn their full NBA salaries, rather than the NBAGL rate.
Details on the G League’s format and schedule for 2022/23 can be found here, while this year’s NBAGL draft results are right here.
Jared Butler Joining Nuggets’ G League Affiliate
Former Jazz guard Jared Butler is joining the Grand Rapids Gold, the Nuggets‘ G League affiliate, reports Marc Stein (Twitter link).
Butler didn’t sign with Denver at all after being waived by Utah last month, so the Gold didn’t previously have exclusive G League rights to the former second-round pick — he likely signed an NBAGL contract and then was claimed by Grand Rapids.
Butler was a key member of the national champion Baylor Bears in 2021, averaging 16.7 PPG, 4.8 APG, 3.3 RPG and 2.0 SPG while shooting 41.6% from 3-point range as a junior. However, questions about his health hurt his draft stock and he slipped to No. 40 overall in last year’s draft after having been considered a likely first-rounder.
Although the Jazz raved last fall about Butler’s performance in training camp, he appeared sparingly in 42 games as a rookie, averaging 3.8 PPG and 1.5 APG on .404/.318/.688 shooting, and didn’t survive a roster crunch in Utah during the 2022 preseason. The team cut him despite the fact that his $1.56MM salary for this season was guaranteed.
NBA teams who may be in need of backcourt help will be keeping a close eye on Butler with the Gold, according to Stein. As Stein observes, Grand Rapids’ new head coach is longtime NBA point guard Andre Miller, who should be a good mentor for the 22-year-old.
Darius Garland Set To Return For Cavaliers
Cavaliers point guard Darius Garland will return to the team’s lineup on Wednesday vs. the Celtics, sources tell Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).
Garland has been on the shelf since being inadvertently poked in the eye by Gary Trent Jr. in Cleveland’s first game of the regular season on October 19 in Toronto. The All-Star guard left that game early due to a lacerated left eyelid and has spent the last two weeks recovering.
Even without Garland available, the new-look Cavaliers have looked terrific in the early going this season. They lost that opener vs. the Raptors by just three points, but haven’t dropped another game. Cleveland has a 5-1 record and holds the No. 2 seed in the East.
With Garland and Ricky Rubio (ACL recovery) sidelined, Donovan Mitchell and Caris LeVert have been the Cavaliers’ primary ball-handlers, with Raul Neto also averaging about 10 minutes per game as a backup point guard. Mitchell and LeVert will likely play off the ball a little more starting on Wednesday — it’s unclear whether or not Neto (who didn’t enter the opener until after Garland went down) will remain in the regular rotation.
Celtics Notes: Smart, Udoka, Mazzulla, R. Williams, G. Williams
Celtics guard Marcus Smart remains frustrated that he and his teammates don’t know the whole story about why head coach Ime Udoka was suspended for the entire 2022/23 season, and he was surprised to learn on Tuesday that Udoka might be headed to the Nets, writes Adam Himmelsbach of The Boston Globe. Smart said that he had been given the impression that Udoka would be back with the Celtics next season.
“I guess it was deemed that whatever happened was enough for him not to be the coach here, but I guess not enough for him (not) to be a coach anywhere else, obviously,” Smart told Himmelsbach. “… (Udoka’s) name got slandered and slaughtered and it was, ‘He’ll probably never coach again.’ And a couple of months later now he’s possibly going to be the coach of one of our biggest rivals? It’s tough. It makes no sense. But we can’t control that. We have to control what we can and I love the team here. I love the coaching staff. I love Joe (Mazzulla).”
Smart acknowledged that he recognizes why Celtics management can’t necessarily be fully open about the circumstances of Udoka’s suspension, but said that doesn’t make the situation any easier or any less confusing.
“It really doesn’t matter what we say (to the front office),” Smart said. “We can voice our opinion, but I’m sure it’s going to be, ‘Yeah, we hear you.’ And that’s it. I’m sure they know how certain people feel. But it is tough, because there’s only so much that they can say. It’s a tough spot for everybody. It just sucks all around.”
Here’s more on the Celtics:
- The Celtics’ brass is “fully invested” in Mazzulla and is happy with the work he has done as the head coach since replacing Udoka, tweets Gary Washburn of The Boston Globe. That’s a key reason why the team seems comfortable moving on from Udoka.
- Jared Weiss of The Athletic considers what’s next for the Celtics and Udoka if the team lets him leave for Brooklyn. As Weiss notes, the C’s would be able to get Udoka’s contract off their books and would no longer have to worry about what to do when his suspension ends, but the team would probably have to prepare some turnover on its coaching staff, especially if Mazzulla wants to bring in some of his own assistants.
- The Celtics had the NBA’s top defense a year ago, but only rank 22nd so far this season. While that number should improve, Boston’s ceiling on defense is limited until Robert Williams returns, writes Steve Bulpett of Heavy.com. “Without Rob Williams, they’re a very good team, but they’re in that second tier,” a source told Bulpett. “With Rob Williams, they’re a top defense and a championship level team. That’s what he does for them.”
- Celtics forward Grant Williams sat down with Shams Charania of Stadium (video link) to discuss several topics, including not signing a rookie scale extension before the regular season began.
Special Trade Eligibility Dates For 2022/23
In a pair of previous articles, we took a closer look at the trade restrictions placed on two groups of players who signed free agent contracts this past offseason. The smaller of the two groups featured players who can’t be traded by their current teams until January 15, having re-signed on contracts that met a set of specific criteria. The other offseason signees we examined aren’t eligible to be traded until December 15.
In addition to those two groups, there are a few other subsets of players who face certain trade restrictions this season. They either can’t be traded until a certain date, can’t be traded in certain packages, or can’t be traded at all this season.
Listed below are the players affected by these trade restrictions. This list, which we’ll continue to update throughout the season as needed, can be found on our desktop sidebar under “Hoops Rumors Features,” or in our mobile menu under “Features.”
Players who recently signed as free agents or had their two-way contracts converted:
A player who signs a free agent contract typically becomes trade-eligible either three months after he signs or on December 15, whichever comes later. That means a player who signs on September 22 would become trade-eligible on December 22.
Similarly, players who have two-way pacts converted to standard contracts can’t be dealt for three months after that happens.
Here are the affected players, who signed free agent contracts or were converted from two-way deals after September 15, along with the dates their trade restrictions lift. Players marked with an asterisk (*) have the ability to veto trades:
December 16:
- Dennis Schröder (Lakers)
December 17:
- Ryan Arcidiacono (Knicks) *
December 18:
- Svi Mykhailiuk (Knicks)
December 23:
- Dennis Smith Jr. (Hornets)
December 26:
- Andre Iguodala (Warriors) *
January 2:
- Bruno Fernando (Rockets)
January 3:
- Blake Griffin (Celtics)
January 16:
- Isaiah Joe (Thunder)
Players who sign free agent contracts or have their two-way deals converted to standard contracts after November 9 this season won’t become trade-eligible prior to the 2023 trade deadline, which falls on February 9. The following players (listed in alphabetical order) fall into that category:
- Stanley Johnson (Spurs)
Players who recently signed veteran contract extensions:
A player who signs a veteran contract extension can’t be dealt for six months if his new deal includes a raise greater than 5% and/or puts him under contract for more than three total years (including his current contract). An extension that meets either of those criteria would exceed the NBA’s extend-and-trade limits.
A player can sign a veteran extension and remain trade-eligible as long as his new deal doesn’t include a raise of more than 5% and doesn’t lock him up for more than three total seasons. Pistons forward Bojan Bogdanovic, for instance, remains eligible to be traded after signing a two-year extension that features only a 2.3% raise.
Here are the players whose recent veteran extensions exceed the extend-and-trade limits, along with the dates their trade restrictions lift:
December 28:
- Ivica Zubac (Clippers)
January 7:
- John Konchar (Grizzlies)
January 9:
- Damian Lillard (Trail Blazers)
January 18:
- Pat Connaughton (Bucks)
January 20:
- Kenrich Williams (Thunder)
Ineligible to be traded before this season’s February 9 deadline:
- LeBron James (Lakers)
- Maxi Kleber (Mavericks)
- CJ McCollum (Pelicans)
- Larry Nance Jr. (Pelicans)
- Dean Wade (Cavaliers)
- Andrew Wiggins (Warriors)
Additionally, when a player signs a super-max contract extension, he becomes ineligible to be traded for one full year. That means the following players also won’t be trade-eligible during the 2022/23 season, despite signing their new deals near the very start of the league year:
- Devin Booker (Suns)
- Nikola Jokic (Nuggets)
- Karl-Anthony Towns (Timberwolves)
Players who were recently traded:
Players who were recently traded can be flipped again immediately. However, unless they were acquired via cap room, they can’t be traded again immediately in a deal that aggregates their salary with another player’s for matching purposes.
For instance, after acquiring Kelly Olynyk from Detroit on September 22, the Jazz could have turned around and traded Olynyk and his $12.8MM salary right away for another player earning about the same amount. But if Utah wanted to package Olynyk and, say, Mike Conley ($22.7MM) in a deal for a big-money player, the team would have had to wait two months to do so.
There are only a few trades that currently fall within the aggregation restriction window, and nearly all of the players involved in those deals have since been waived or were acquired via cap room. However, there are a handful of players affected.
Here are the dates when players traded this season can once again have their salaries aggregated in a second trade:
November 3:
- Ochai Agbaji (Jazz)
- Lauri Markkanen (Jazz)
- Donovan Mitchell (Cavaliers)
November 22:
- Kelly Olynyk (Jazz)
November 27:
- Vit Krejci (Hawks)
Any player who is traded after December 9 (without being acquired via cap room) won’t be eligible to be flipped before the trade deadline in a second deal that aggregates his salary with another player’s.
Note: Only players on standard, full-season contracts are listed on this page. Players who sign 10-day contracts can’t be traded. Players who sign two-way deals can’t be traded for up to 30 days after signing.
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