Our exit interview series of the 2024 Clippers continues with a look at waived guard Josh Primo.

Basic Information

Height: 6’4

Weight: 190 pounds

Position: Shooting Guard/Point Guard

Age: 21

Years in NBA: 3

Key NBA Stats: 1.0 points and 0.5 rebounds in 5.0 minutes per game across 2 games played (0 starts) on 33.3/0/0 (0/1 3PA, 0 FTA) shooting splits

G-League Stats: 16.3 points, 3.7 rebounds, 3.2 assists, 1.1 steals, and 0.7 blocks in 30.1 minutes per game across 35 games played (regular season + showcase cup) on 46.4/36.5/73.9 shooting splits (5.1 3PA and 2.1 FTA per game)

Expectations

When the Clippers signed Josh Primo to a two-way deal, after fans got to terms with bringing him in, the expectations quickly became “we probably aren’t going to see this guy in the NBA this year”. Everything the Clippers said about him and all the reporting was that Primo was going to be a long-term player, not someone who was expected to impact this year’s team. Despite going into his 3^rd NBA season, Primo turned 21 in December, and the idea was he’d be able to play a lot in the G-League and grow in the Clippers’ eye.

Reality

In a legitimately shocking move, the Clippers converted Primo from a two-way deal to a full NBA contract on November 15 after the Harden trade so they could meet the NBA minimum roster size. Not only that, but the Clippers gave him a small amount of guaranteed money for the 2025 season as well. Considering he’d barely done anything in preseason and hadn’t played in the regular season, the move came out of left field, especially since Primo plays at the most crowded spot on the Clippers’ roster.

Even more incredibly, the Clippers’ use of Primo did not change. He sat in the G-League all year, and actually played fairly well. He shot decently well from three on a good volume and scored from two as well. Primo did not contribute much elsewhere, but for a young-ish player his stats were solid.

Still, parking a rostered player, especially a third-year guy, in the G-League when the Clippers had real depth issues at certain positions, rubbed people the wrong way. Why didn’t the Clippers sign a veteran power forward and leave Primo as a two-way? Did they really need to sign Xavier Moon to a two-way again? There were times the Clippers needed minutes when injuries struck their stars, and they could not turn to Primo at all, with Moon actually going above him in the pecking order.

Then, on April 13, after suffering a bad ankle injury, the Clippers waived Primo – with money on the books for next year – and signed Kai Jones. This made things even more confusing. The Clippers had signed Primo with the intent of being a long-term play. He’d been solid in the G-League, albeit not great. And then they waived him due to a non-serious injury? People wildly speculated that Kai Jones was going to play for the Clippers in the playoffs, and, predictably, he did not. SO what happened?

Overall, off-court issues aside for Primo, his 2024 season is a summary of what has made the Clippers so frustrating over the past few years, which is missing badly on the margins. Signing him to a two-way, if you remove those off-court problems, was a fine-ish move if not what I’d done. Bringing him in on a full contract for no real reason when he wasn’t going to be able to help a supposed contender with real roster depth issues was a baffling decision, as was then giving up on a long-term prospect type at the end of the year. I’m still not sure of the calculus that went into everything involved with Primo, which is bad – normally you can see why a team is doing what they do, even if you disagree with it. From start to finish nothing about Primo’s Clippers’ tenure made sense.

Future with Clippers

And all that being said, even though Primo was waived with dead money on the books for next year, it seems quite possible he could be back on the team. Law Murray of the Athletic, the most plugged in beat reporter on the Clippers, has hinted that the Clippers have interest in bringing back Primo. Our own Lucas Hann has said similarly on podcasts.

Primo has played three seasons in the NBA, which means he is no longer eligible for two-way contracts. Right now it’s tough to see the Clippers giving a full roster spot to Primo – though they literally just did so, I would hope they have learned from their mistakes – and they would have to going forward. I think at the very least they’ll bring him in for Summer League and then maybe training camp to see how he’s progressed, but maybe they do give him another guaranteed deal. We will just have to wait and see.

Clippers 2024 Exit Interview: Josh Primo
Robert Flom

Per Shams Charania of the Athletic, the Clippers plan to sign current two-way player Josh Primo to a full deal, and then sign Xavier Moon to the vacant two way spot.

The “plan to” component is key, as Andrew Greif of the LA Times then said shortly thereafter that “nothing appears imminent” regarding end of roster moves. The Clippers had two weeks to sign a 14th player to their roster after the Harden deal, giving them another 9 days or so to make something happen. Maybe the Clippers sign someone else if they become available, but this seems to be the “plan” right now.

Quite frankly, I don’t understand it. I already wrote about my feelings on Primo at length, and don’t want to re-hash. But even from a basketball perspective, this doesn’t make much sense.

The Clippers depleted their veteran forward depth in the Harden deal, and are loaded at guards. The logical move would be to sign a veteran forward, preferably more at the 4, to supplement PJ Tucker and provide backup depth. The Clippers moving to sign Primo and Moon does none of that.

Primo, while 6’5, is absolutely more of a guard than a true wing, much less a forward. He’s also extremely young and more of a long-term prospect than any kind of win-now player. That sort of signing makes basketball sense as a two-way, not as a full-time roster player. Even if you think Primo is capable of providing depth minutes for a playoff contender (and nothing in his first year plus in the NBA indicates that), the depth he provides is at the positions the Clippers are deepest at.

The Clippers love Xavier Moon. He brings great vibes, is a terrific leader for the Ontario Clippers, and is a capable enough third string point guard in a pinch. However, with the Harden signing, the Clippers have tons of depth at point guard as well, with Russell Westbrook, James Harden, and Bones Hyland all playing that spot, and guys like Terance Mann and even Amir Coffey being able to pick up the slack as needed. This seems like a move just to reward Moon and keep him in the system, which is fine – but doesn’t help the LA Clippers on their championship pursuit.

All of the reporting is that the Clippers are more or less happy with the top of their roster now, and any other big moves won’t be done until much closer to the trade deadline. I’m a little more skeptical of that, but even still would have liked to have seen a veteran forward (Wenyen Gabriel, Darius Bazley, JaMychal Green) added for depth at the back of the roster.

These are not make or break moves, and may not even happen. They are just a bit puzzling for the Clippers with their current roster and aspirations.

Shams: Clippers to Sign Josh Primo to Full Deal, Xavier Moon to two-way
Robert Flom