The Spurs have made a roster move, announcing today in a press release that they’ve waived rookie guard Nicolas Laprovittola. The move reduces the team’s roster to 14 players, creating an opening to add someone, though there’s no indication a signing is imminent. The Spurs released Laprovittola to maintain roster flexibility, according to Jabari Young of The San Antonio Express-News (via Twitter).
Laprovittola, who will turn 27 next month, signed with the Spurs in September and appeared in 18 regular season games with the club, making three starts. In 9.7 minutes per contest, the Argentenian averaged 3.3 PPG and 1.6 APG, shooting 37.0% on three-pointers.
Last season, Laprovittola averaged 10.3 PPG and a team-high 3.8 APG for Lietuvos Rytas in Lithuania, posting an impressive .492/.444/.912 shooting line. He was also a member of the Argentinian national team in Rio this past summer, averaging 8.2 PPG, 2.7 APG, and 2.2 RPG in the Olympic tournament.
Because he was on a non-guaranteed contract, Laprovittola’s full $543K salary won’t count against the Spurs’ cap. That salary would have become fully guaranteed if he had remained under contract through January 10, so San Antonio made an early decision to cut him and avoid taking on that full guarantee.
Laprovittola will become an unrestricted free agent later this week, assuming he goes unclaimed on waivers. He’ll be a candidate to head back to Europe unless he finds another NBA job quickly.