Former San Antonio Spurs guard Joshua Primo has signed a one-year deal with a second-year option with BC Parma, the Russian club announced in a press release.
Parma plays in the VTB United League, Russia's top domestic competition, and is based in Perm. The club joined the league in 2016-17 and has won two Russian Cups. It finished last season 22-18 and lost to Lokomotiv Kuban in the playoff quarterfinals. Evgeny Pashutin is the head coach. Parma also added guard BJ Johnson this summer, announcing that signing on July 6.
San Antonio drafted Primo 12th overall in 2021 out of Alabama, where he spent one season and made the SEC All-Freshman Team. He averaged 8.1 points and 3.4 rebounds for the Crimson Tide as the youngest player in college basketball. The following year, he was the youngest player in the NBA.
Primo played 50 games as a rookie and averaged 5.8 points, 2.3 rebounds, and 1.6 assists in 19.3 minutes. He also spent time with Austin in the G League that season.
Four games into his second season, the Spurs waived Primo in October 2022 after a team performance psychologist accused him of exposing himself to her during private sessions. Dr. Hillary Cauthen settled her lawsuit against Primo and the team the following month.
The NBA suspended Primo four games on Sept. 29, 2023, for conduct detrimental to the league, finding he had engaged in inappropriate and offensive behavior by exposing himself to women. The league said Primo maintained the conduct was not intentional and that it found no evidence of misconduct beyond the exposures. Bexar County District Attorney Joe Gonzales declined to file indecent exposure charges in December 2023, citing insufficient evidence.
Primo sat out nearly all of 2022-23. He signed a two-way contract with the Clippers for 2023-24 and played in two NBA games, mainly spending the season with Ontario in the G League, where he averaged 16.7 points, 3.7 rebounds, and 3.9 assists.
Windy City, the Bulls' G League affiliate, added Primo to open 2024-25 and cut him that December without playing him. Parma's release instead describes 2024-25 as an injury recovery and says he is healthy now. Primo did not play professionally last season.
Primo will be 24 years old on Dec. 24. Over 56 NBA games, he has averages of 5.7 points, 2.3 rebounds, and 1.8 assists, and has made at least $15.2 million in his professional career.
De'Aaron Fox, Stephon Castle, and Dylan Harper make up San Antonio's guard rotation now. The Spurs lost the NBA Finals to New York in five games last season.
The VTB United League regular season opens in October.