Joshua Primo Addresses His Surprise Release From Spurs

The former San Antonio guard explained his release to ESPN on Friday night.

Second-year shooting guard Joshua Primo was placed on waivers by the Spurs on Friday night, just weeks after San Antonio picked up the third-year player option for the 2023-24 season to fully guarantee his $4.3 million salary.

The 19-year-old Primo appeared to carve out a solid role in the San Antonio rotation after a strong rookie season and a decent start to his 2022-23 campaign. After being ruled out due to left glute soreness on Friday for the second consecutive game, the Spurs surprisingly waived Primo before Friday’s game vs. the Bulls tipped off.

Primo addressed his release in a statement to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.

“I know that you all are surprised by today’s announcement,” Primo said. “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. I hope to be able to discuss these issues in the future so I can help others who have suffered in a similar way. I appreciate privacy at this time.”

The Spurs remained tight-lipped on the situation, other than CEO RC Buford’s comments that the hope was that the decision would “serve the best interest of both the organization and Joshua” in the long run.

Primo averaged 7.0 points and 4.5 assists on 34.6% shooting this season for the Spurs.