With the San Antonio Spurs off to their best start in years, thanks largely to superstar Victor Wembanyama, it's easy to forget the team's biggest blunder. The Spurs drafted guard Joshua Primo 12th overall in 2021, and that proved to be one of the biggest blunders in team history.
[Primo was surprisingly waived abruptly](https://airalamo.com/posts/san-antonio-spurs-waive-josh-primo-10-28) early in just his second season in the NBA after allegations emerged surrounding him. San Antonio was right to move on from Primo, but it appears that Primo has yet to find his footing post-Spurs.
After being waived by San Antonio, he spent a year out of basketball before being signed by the L.A. Clippers. Now, he finds himself out of the NBA entirely at just 23 years old.
The San Antonio Spurs don't miss Joshua Primo
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After being forced to waive him, the Spurs had some lean years at guard without him. After all, he was expected to potentially develop into a point guard with his combination of size at 6'6" as well as shooting ability, making him an intriguing prospect.
Instead, the Spurs had to rely on second-round pick Tre Jones, who performed admirably in a larger-than-expected role. Fortunately for the Spurs, things are looking much better now, with them having De'Aaron Fox, Stephon Castle, and Dylan Harper.
[Fox is already much better](https://airalamo.com/deaaron-fox-give-victor-wembanyama-something-spurs-havent-had) than even the most optimistic Primo projection, with Harper and Castle also being far better prospects. Had the Spurs not reached selecting Primo 12th and taken a far safer choice such as Alperen Sengun, they wouldn't have completely wasted a lottery pick.
The Spurs have moved on from the Joshua Primo debacle
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Things have worked out well for the Spurs since then, fortunately. They won the NBA draft lottery in 2023 and drafted Wembanyama first overall. That transformed the franchise, giving them a centerpiece to build around.
Castle followed with the fourth pick in 2024, and Harper with the second overall pick this year, despite the Spurs having the eighth-worst record last season. That lottery luck suddenly provides the Spurs a stellar collection of prospects that allows them to quickly forget about Primo. As for Primo, he remains unsigned, and it's unlikely that he will ever be able to carve out an NBA career.
All in all, the Spurs likely regret drafting Primo but have moved on thanks to Wembanyama, Fox, Castle, and Harper. Meanwhile, Primo is already out of the NBA after some serious missteps, which may have permanently derailed his career.