Rams

Former San Antonio Spurs guard Joshua Primo has been suspended four games without pay for "conduct detrimental to the league," the NBA announced today.
Primo was waived by the Spurs on Oct. 31, 2022, following an NBA investigation into his inappropiate behavior.
"The league conducted its own investigation and consulted with relevant experts. Following that process, the league found that Primo engaged in inappropriate and offensive behavior by exposing himself to women," the NBA's statement reads.
"Primo maintains that his conduct was not intentional, and the league did not find evidence that he engaged in any sexual or other misconduct apart from these brief exposures. Nevertheless, this behavior does not conform to league standards and warrants discipline."
Shortly after the NBA announced Primo's suspension, ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski <a href="https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/38520462/former-spurs-guard-joshua-primo-suspended-4-games-conduct" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a> that the Los Angeles Clippers are signing Primo to a two-way contract.
This comes after "a former Spurs sports psychologist had sued the team and Primo over the player's actions, and the complaint was settled out of court," Wojnarowski <a href="https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/38520462/former-spurs-guard-joshua-primo-suspended-4-games-conduct" target="_blank" rel="noopener">notes</a>.
&ldquo;It is our hope that, in the long run, this decision will serve the best interest of both the organization and Joshua,&rdquo; Spurs CEO RC Buford said in a statement at the time of his release.
"I know that you all are surprised by today's announcement. 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," Primo said in <a href="https://twitter.com/wojespn/status/1586180446873743362?s=46&amp;t=M_FDB3xXdVyQQAV0FGbg9Q" target="_blank" rel="noopener">a statement</a> to ESPN at the time. "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."
During the 2022-23 season, Primo averaged 7.0 points, 4.5 assists, 3.3 rebounds and 0.5 blocks in 23.3 minutes per game. As a rookie, he appeared in 50 games (including 16 starts), averaging 5.8 points, 2.3 rebounds and 1.6 assists in 19.3 minutes per game.
Primo was the No. 12 overall pick in the 2021 NBA Draft and the youngest player in his class.

The Clippers signed Joshua Primo to a two-way deal shortly after the NBA suspended him four games for "exposing himself to women."

Clippers sign Joshua Primo on two-way deal after NBA suspends him 4 games

PHILADELPHIA (AP) &mdash; Jimmy Butler hit an&nbsp;acrobatic reverse layup in the final minutes, and his 23 points led five Miami players in double figures as the Heat edged the Philadelphia 76ers 101-99 on Monday night.
Butler was an assist shy of a triple-double, adding 11 rebounds and nine assists. He also had four steals. His spinning move and finishing layup while driving between the Sixers&rsquo; Joel Embiid and P.J. Tucker gave the Heat a 100-99 lead with 1:28 to play after Philadelphia rallied from an 11-point deficit in the fourth quarter. He added a free throw with 8.1 seconds left.
&ldquo;I work on that kind of stuff every day,&rdquo; Butler said of his highlight-reel basket. &ldquo;I love to play this game and I love to compete, but it&rsquo;s always much more fun when we win.&rdquo;
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How, Jimmy? 🤯<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/CenterCourt?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#CenterCourt</a> <a href="https://t.co/5UXBZuMGsY">pic.twitter.com/5UXBZuMGsY</a>
&mdash; NBA TV (@NBATV) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBATV/status/1630393261381541889?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 28, 2023</a></blockquote>

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James Harden had a chance to win the game for the 76ers, but his 3-point try at the buzzer bounced off the back of the rim.
&ldquo;You have to expect things to be a little bit gnarly on the road,&rdquo; Miami coach Erik Spoelstra said. &ldquo;You have to weather a bunch of different storms. &hellip; Sometimes you just need the ball to bounce the right way. Harden had a window there and was open, but we contested so many shots tonight that sometimes when you do get an open shot you don&rsquo;t have a great rhythm.&rdquo;
Gabe Vincent scored 14 points and Bam Adebayo added 13 as the Heat snapped a four-game losing streak.
Embiid led all scorers with 27 points and 12 rebounds. Harden finished with 20 points and 12 assists.
Max Struss hit a pair of free throws with 7:10 to play in the fourth quarter, giving the Heat an 11-point lead. But the 76ers mounted a furious rally, erasing the deficit and taking the lead on a pair of Harden free throws.
The Sixers rally was keyed by Tyrese Maxey, who scored 19 of his 23 points in the second half before fouling out with 3:21 to play.
The Heat did a nice job on Philadelphia defensively, forcing 18 turnovers. However, the 76ers also missed several layups, especially in the second half.
&ldquo;I just think we were really sloppy tonight, sluggish,&rdquo; Philadelphia coach Doc Rivers said. &ldquo;It happens, but you still have to find a way to win the game. Tonight, we didn&rsquo;t.&rdquo;
Miami also got help from the bench as Struss scored 13 points and Victor Oladipo added 11.
The 76ers have lost back-to-back games. Philadelphia hasn&rsquo;t lost three in a row since the first week of December. They look to avoid the skid in a rematch with the Heat on Wednesday in Miami.
TIP-INS
Heat: There was a thought that G Kyle Lowry would return to the lineup Monday after he was upgraded on the injury report to questionable on Sunday. However, the Heat downgraded Lowry just as quickly on Monday and he missed his ninth straight game with knee soreness. Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said there&rsquo;s no timetable for his return, but that he was making progress. ... G Tyler Herro was also listed as questionable Sunday with a rib contusion, but he was in the starting lineup.
76ers: Philadelphia played its final home game before heading out on a five-game trip. More than that, it is facing an incredibly daunting March schedule. The 76ers will play 17 games in 31 days and 12 of the first 15 will be on the road. If that weren&rsquo;t enough, the Sixers will play four sets of games on consecutive nights, with all eight contests on the road in eight different cities.
HAMLIN CELEBRATED&nbsp;
<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://twitter.com/sixers/status/1630375205490008066" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin was in attendance</a>, sitting with 76ers owner Joshua Harris and Fanatics owner Michael Rubin. He was wearing a No. 3 Sixers jersey and received a nice ovation from the sellout crowd when introduced during a second quarter timeout.
UP NEXT
The teams play again at Miami on Wednesday night.

Jimmy Butler hit an acrobatic reverse layup in the final minutes, as the Miami Heat edged the Philadelphia 76ers 101-99 on Monday.

Jimmy Butler’s acrobatic layup, 23 points lead Heat past 76ers

Nearly two weeks into the 2022-23 NBA season, there have been plenty of surprises.
The Portland Trail Blazers (5-1), Utah Jazz (5-2) and San Antonio Spurs (4-2) have gotten off to hot starts, while the Brooklyn Nets (1-5) and Miami Heat (2-5) have struggled early on.
There have been some shockers from a fantasy-basketball standpoint too. To help us break down the early fantasy returns, I reached out to <a href="https://twitter.com/MikeSGallagher" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Michael Gallagher</a> of <a href="http://establishtherun.com/nba/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Establish the Run</a>, who&rsquo;s one of the top fantasy-basketball analysts in the business.
Gallagher shared his early surprises, must-adds, sell-highs, buy-lows and more!
It&rsquo;s still early, but which players have surprised you so far?
Michael Gallagher: &ldquo;Ja Morant. There was so much buzz on him improving his jumper to cut out some of the noise, and so far he&rsquo;s caught fire from the perimeter and from the line. I had a fade on him, and it&rsquo;s looking quite bad.
&ldquo;Andrew Wiggins has looked even better than postseason Wiggins. Earlier in his career, he was just a points-only guy, but the championship run of filling up the stat sheet has carried over.
&ldquo;Jaden McDaniels was a guy I was high on every year, but it just didn&rsquo;t seem like he could put it together with his constant foul trouble and lack of usage. This year, he went to P3 to work on his jumper, and it&rsquo;s translated to better shooting numbers.&rdquo;
Who are some players that should be owned in significantly more leagues?
Gallagher: &ldquo;It makes no sense that Trey Murphy III is only on 61% of Yahoo rosters. Sure, he&rsquo;s getting a nice boost from no Brandon Ingram and no Zion Williamson, but the coaching staff and players have been talking him up like crazy. I want to bet on this offense, and Murphy is a cheap way to do that.
&ldquo;Joshua Primo isn&rsquo;t on the Spurs anymore, so Josh Richardson is going to find plenty of minutes as long as he&rsquo;s on the roster (there&rsquo;s been some buzz about a possible trade). Devin Vassell will return at some point to take the upside case off him, but he should still produce. Keep an eye on Blake Wesley too.
&ldquo;Deni Avdija had a quiet game on Friday, but he&rsquo;s expected to pick up some extra ball-handling while Delon Wright (hamstring) is out.&rdquo;
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Are there any players that you are trying to buy-low or sell-high on?&nbsp;
Gallagher: &ldquo;Evan Mobley is off to a bit of a slow start, but he&rsquo;s just popped on the defensive end. Coach JB Bickerstaff had mentioned that he&rsquo;s still in preseason mode after he missed time in the preseason due to an ankle injury, so I would expect him to trend up quickly.
&ldquo;Jamal Murray is off to an extremely slow start, which is certainly expected given all the time off. ACL injuries aren&rsquo;t as debilitating these days, and it shouldn&rsquo;t be too long before he&rsquo;s starting to trend up.
&ldquo;Brook Lopez is absolutely rolling to start the year with his 4.0 blocks per game in four games. There&rsquo;s an outside chance he leads the league in blocks (I have a 150:1 ticket that he does!), but his injury history has been extensive [so he&rsquo;s a potential sell-high].
&ldquo;Jonas Valanciunas has also run very hot to start the year, but Zion Williamson&rsquo;s injury is really boosting him. We saw him lose closing duties earlier this year, and that&rsquo;ll happen more often as Willie Green gets his options back.&rdquo;
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Who are some players to keep an eye on as this season progresses that could become a decent add down the road?
Gallagher: &ldquo;Jalen Williams is out after suffering an eye injury in his NBA debut, but the role was so good in the preseason. He played 1-through-4, and we&rsquo;ve already seen Mark Daigneault go to a small-ball four in Aaron Wiggins. Williams can do it all on the stat sheet, so I would want him on my team ASAP.
&ldquo;Not enough people are buying Jeremy Sochan. He&rsquo;s not going to score much, but the Spurs are going to use him as one of their defensive staples. The playing time should be there all year, and they&rsquo;re even letting him shoot three-pointers.
&ldquo;Markelle Fultz is still in a boot, but the Magic are getting nothing out of their point guards right now &ndash; partly because nobody is healthy at guard, but the fit with Cole Anthony and Jalen Suggs has been weird (although it&rsquo;s not a big sample, of course).&rdquo;
What are your thoughts on this rookie class and what they have shown thus far?
Gallagher: &ldquo;Paolo Banchero is just unfair. He was 2:1 for ROY, and now he&rsquo;s close to -200. His offensive game is on another level.
&ldquo;Bennedict Mathurin can score with the best of &lsquo;em. He gets to the basket at will, and the minutes have been climbing. We should see the Pacers thin out their roster, and it won&rsquo;t be long before coach Rick Carlisle is turning him into the clear No. 2 option behind Tyrese Haliburton. Plus, Haliburton is dropping dimes like crazy to possibly boost him even more.&rdquo;
Be sure to check out <a href="https://establishtherun.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Establish the Run</a> for the most in-depth fantasy analysis.

Fantasy-basketball expert Michael Gallagher shares his must-adds, buy-lows, sell-highs, early surprises and more.

Fantasy basketball advice: Must-adds, sell-highs, buy-lows and more

A female former San Antonio Spurs employee has alleged that now-former Spurs guard Josh Primo exposed himself in her presence, a person with knowledge of the matter said Saturday night.
The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because no details had been revealed publicly by the Spurs, Primo or the accuser.
Attorney Tony Buzbee confirmed to AP that he has been hired by &ldquo;a former contractor&rdquo; with the Spurs. He is the attorney who represented 24 women who sued Cleveland Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson, then of the Houston Texans, accusing him of sexual assault or harassment.
Watson is serving an 11-game unpaid suspension and was fined $5 million by the NFL.
Primo was waived by the Spurs on Friday in a surprising move, given that the 19-year-old was considered to be an important part of the team&rsquo;s future. ESPN, citing sources, reported Saturday that the Spurs parted ways with Primo after &ldquo;multiple alleged instances of him exposing himself to women.&rdquo; The San Antonio Express-News also confirmed that the Spurs&rsquo; decision followed multiple allegations made against Primo.
There are no active court cases against Primo in Bexar County, Texas, according to online records.
On Friday, Primo released a statement to ESPN saying that he has &ldquo;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.&rdquo;
The Spurs took Primo with the No. 12 pick in the 2021 NBA draft after he spent one year of college at Alabama.
Primo averaged 5.8 points, 2.3 rebounds and 1.6 assists in his rookie season with the Spurs, and 7.0 points, 4.5 assists and 3.3 rebounds in four games with the Spurs this season.
The team had even recently picked up his third-year option, a largely procedural move that locked in a $4.3 million salary for next season and showed that he was expected to remain in the Spurs' plans. He was making $4.1 million this season.
&ldquo;It is our hope that, in the long run, this decision will serve the best interest of both the organization and Joshua,&rdquo; Spurs CEO R.C. Buford said when the team waived Primo on Friday. Spurs coach Gregg Popovich did not add details, referring reporters to Buford&rsquo;s statement and saying &ldquo;we&rsquo;re going to stick by what we told you.&rdquo;

A female former San Antonio Spurs employee has alleged that now-former Spurs guard Josh Primo exposed himself in her presence.

Spurs waived Primo after he allegedly exposed himself to staffer

The San Antonio Spurs stunned the basketball world on Friday evening when they announced that they have waived Josh Primo. Primo was the No. 12 overall pick in the 2021 NBA Draft, and he was the youngest player in his class.&nbsp;
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&ldquo;It is our hope that, in the long run, this decision will serve the best interest of both the organization and Joshua,&rdquo; Spurs CEO RC Buford said in a statement.
Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich refused to comment. The 19-year-old seemed to be a key part of San Antonio's long-term plan, which has many NBA executives wondering why he was abruptly waived.
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"I'm sure there is more to the story," one NBA general manager told BasketballNews. "They just picked up his option too."
As the GM mentioned, the Spurs just picked up Primo's third-year team option two weeks ago, making their decision to cut him even more odd.
Primo issued the <a href="https://twitter.com/wojespn/status/1586180446873743362?s=46&amp;t=M_FDB3xXdVyQQAV0FGbg9Q" target="_blank" rel="noopener">following statement</a> to ESPN: "I know that you all are surprised by today's announcement. 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."
This season, Primo was averaging 7.0 points, 4.5 assists, 3.3 rebounds and 0.5 blocks in 23.3 minutes per game. Last season, he appeared in 50 games (including 16 starts), averaging 5.8 points, 2.3 rebounds and 1.6 assists in 19.3 minutes per game.
Primo has a ton of potential; after all, there's a reason he was a lottery pick just one year ago. He could be claimed by an NBA team, but the Spurs' decision to waive him will surely scare some teams away. Executives will need to do their homework and try to uncover more details about this strange situation.&nbsp;

On Friday evening, the San Antonio Spurs stunned the basketball world by waiving 19-year-old prospect Josh Primo.

San Antonio Spurs stunningly waive 19-year-old Josh Primo

DETROIT (AP) &mdash; Ja Morant had 31 points and eight rebounds as the Memphis Grizzlies closed out their preseason with a 126-111 victory over the Detroit Pistons on Thursday night.
Desmond Bane went 1 for 7 from 3-point range and finished with 16 points for Memphis. Brandon Clarke also scored 16 points while playing extended minutes after starting center Stephen Adams left with a sore neck.
Saddiq Bey led the Pistons with 17 points and eight rebounds. Isaiah Stewart had 16 points and nine rebounds, and Cade Cunningham had 15 points and six assists. Kevin Knox II finished with 13 points as Detroit went winless in four preseason games.
The Pistons played without center Marvin Bagley III, who suffered a sprained MCL in the first minute of Tuesday&rsquo;s loss to Oklahoma City. Bagley is expected to miss two to three weeks. Stewart started at center.
Both teams went with their usual starters in their final preseason game and stayed close to expected rotations through the first three quarters.
The Grizzlies used their backcourt duo of Morant and Bane for an offensive burst in the first half, while Stewart kept the Pistons close. Morant scored 15 points in the third as Memphis built its lead before Grizzlies coach Taylor Jenkins went to his reserves with three minutes left in the period and finished out the game.
Memphis rookies David Roddy and Jake LaRavia scored 12 and 10 points, respectively. Pistons rookie Jaden Ivey, the fifth overall pick in the draft, had seven points, going 3 of 11 from the field, including missing all four of his 3-points attempts.
Adams was injured in a scrum under the Memphis basket and went straight to the locker room just before halftime. He didn't return.
Memphis finished the preseason 3-2 and opens the season next Wednesday, hosting the New York Knicks. Detroit also opens the regular season on Wednesday, playing at home against the Orlando Magic.
THUNDER 118, SPURS 112
In San Antonio, rookie Jalen Williams, the 12th overall draft pick from Santa Clara, had 19 points and Josh Giddey added 18 and six assists as Oklahoma City pulled away at the end to beat the Spurs.
Tre Mann finished with 17 points for Oklahoma City. Jaylin Williams, the 34th pick out of Arkansas, grabbed 11 rebounds.
Joshua Primo, a first-round pick in the 2021 draft, had 23 points to lead San Antonio, converting 8 of 12 shots. Keldon Johnson added 19 points and Devin Vassell had 18.
San Antonio's Jakob Poeltl made all four of his shots and finished with eight points, 10 rebounds and five assists.
The game was tight throughout the second half after the teams went into halftime tied at 62. From there, neither team managed to stretch its advantage to double digits.
The game was tied at 110 with 3:24 left, but San Antonio managed only two points the rest of the way.
The Spurs open the season at home on Wednesday against the Charlotte Hornets. The Thunder start regular-season play the same night on the road in Minnesota against the Timberwolves.

Ja Morant had 31 points and 8 rebounds as the Grizzlies closed out their preseason with a 126-111 victory over the Pistons.

Ja Morant nets 31, leads Grizzlies to win in preseason finale

Keep track of where the top 2022 undrafted free agents are headed after draft night.

2022 NBA UDFA Tracker: Latest news on undrafted free agents

Orlando Magic point guard Markelle Fultz suffered a torn ACL in Wednesday's contest against the Cleveland Cavaliers. He will miss the remainder of the 2020-21 season.
Sources: <a href="https://twitter.com/ShamsCharania/status/1347008762255613953" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Shams Charania via Twitter</a>, <a style="color: #ffffff;" href="https://twitter.com/JoshuaBRobbins/status/1346983611782766595" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Josh Robbins of The Athletic (Twitter)</a>
ANALYSIS: Fultz was driving into the paint and planted his feet, then fell to the floor holding his left knee. Fultz suffered the injury in the first quarter and, according to a statement from the Magic, an MRI revealed the torn ACL.
Fultz was off to a great start to the season with the Magic, averaging 14.3 points, 6.1 assists and 3.6 rebounds in about 30 minutes per game. Prior to the start of the season, Orlando signed Fultz to a three-year, $50 million contract extension.

Magic guard Markelle Fultz left Wednesday's game against the Cavs after suffering the injury.

Joshua