Clippers president explains controversial signing

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.

Mike Finger of the San Antonio Express-News pointed out that the NBA said its investigation found Primo exposed himself to “women,” reports San Antonio Express-News’ Tom Orsborn. Orsborn confirms 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.

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, according to The Athletic’s Jovan Buha. In addition to LeBron James and Anthony Davis, Austin Reaves and D’Angelo Russell are entrenched as starters to begin the season. According to Buha, Rui Hachimura enters camp as the internal favorite to earn the third starting frontcourt spot, though Taurean Prince and Jarred Vanderbilt could also build their own respective cases.
• Coach Sarunas Jasikevicius will be with the Kings for the preseason, according to EuroHoops. Jasikevicius parted ways with FC Barcelona after the 2022/23 season, though he won 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 losing Jordan Poole is nothing to look over. Poole writes that the former Michigan guard was one of the quickest players on the team and that the Warriors may miss his burst and overall offensive production.