3 Ripple effects of Josh Primo's stunning exit from Spurs
By Cal Durrett
It's only been about a week since the stunning news that the San Antonio Spurs had waived guard Josh Primo, but more news continues to trickle out about the events that led to his dismissal. While we continue to learn all of the facts, we do know that what he was accused of doing was incredibly serious and the Spurs were right to waive him.
That said, his exit has caused ripple effects for the organization that won't be fully known for some time. Therefore, let's take a closer look at three of those ripple effects of Primo's stunning exit from the Spurs.
Ripple Effect #3: The Spurs' reputation as the best drafting team continues to erode
For more than 20 years, the Spurs have been widely regarded as the best team at identifying and drafting talent. Unfortunately, that reputation is slowly but surely eroding. In the past nine seasons, the Spurs have had just as many draft misses as they've had hits. Livio Jean-Charles and Nikola Milutinov, who was drafted in 2013 and 2015, respectively, failed to play a single minute in the NBA.
Additionally, Lonnie Walker didn't pan out, nor did Luka Samanic, and now Primo. That's five first-round picks in the past nine drafts that failed to turn into anything. Of course, the Spurs drafted players such as Derrick White, Dejounte Murray, and Keldon Johnson, all of whom were great picks, but perception often ignores reality. As a result, the Spurs' draft aura and the benefit of the doubt given to them have all but faded.
On the plus side, teams may be less likely to steal draft prospects away from the Spurs by selecting them instead, ala Jordan Poole. On the negative side, some fans and the media probably won't have the same confidence that a Spurs draftee will turn out to be a draft steal.
Jeremy Sochan, Blake Wesley, and Malaki Branham all have plenty of intriguing tools, but the team's recent track record suggests that the Spurs will be lucky if two of them pan out. Other teams would love to have that type of draft hit rate, but neither they nor, apparently, the Spurs can guarantee that type of draft success.