The San Antonio Spurs have come to terms on a deal to bring Argentina guard Nicolas Laprovittola to training camp to compete for a roster spot, according to league sources.
Sources told ESPN.com that Laprovittola will be given an opportunity to win the 15th and final open slot on San Antonio's 2016-17 squad. The Spurs are already carrying 14 guaranteed contracts for the coming season, one shy of the league maximum.
Laprovittola would make it three Argentinians in San Antonio if he makes the opening-night roster, joining Spurs mainstay Manu Ginobili and rookie forward Patricio Garino.
Sources say that Ginobili and Spurs coach Gregg Popovich are among Laprovittola's biggest backers after the 26-year-old's solid play at last month's Rio Olympics.
Laprovittola unexpectedly emerged as a free agent this summer after playing for Estudiantes in the Spanish ACB last season. His Argentinean agent, Carlos Prunes, tweeted Friday that Laprovittola and Garino would travel together to San Antonio next week in advance of training camps opening leaguewide later this month.
Garino, 23, played high school and college ball in the United States, earning second-team honors in the Atlantic 10 last season at George Washington before going unselected in the June draft. He and Laprovittola were key contributors to the Argentina squad that reached the knockout round of the recent Olympics.
Ginobili, at 39, retired from international play after Argentina's quarterfinal loss to the United States, more than a decade removed from the South American country's stunning gold medal at the Athens Olympics in 2004.
