Nicolas

Laprovittola

He’ll be fighting for a roster spot. The Spurs have been working on a deal with Laprovittola since last month, but the undrafted Argentinian guard will have his work cut out for himself to make the team.

“I tried to be very focused, because my English is not the best,” said Laprovittola. “I know I am a smart player and have a little experience in Europe and South America. But in the NBA, I’m new so I have to be very focused.” He’s getting a little burn in the rotation lately and is averaging 6.6 points, and 3.3 assists in 20.6 minutes in the three games that Tony Parker has missed, and it sounds like Parker could be out another week. However, Patty Mills is the PG you want to own in fantasy moving forward.

This means he’s won a spot on the roster. Given the depth at point guard, it makes sense. Just don’t expect him to be fantasy-relevant this season.

He started on Wednesday as well, but only played 19 minutes with seven points, one rebound and one turnover. You’d have to be in a really deep league to consider streaming him. Look for Patty Mills to benefit the most Friday.

The Argentinian is not a regular part of the rotation in San Antonio, so his absence will have no barring in fantasy hoops.

Pau Gasol and Manu Ginobili didn’t even travel for tonight’s game as Gregg Popovich used a vintage maneuver to get his veterans some rest in the second half of a back-to-back set. Patty Mills blew up tonight and Parker is healthy, so there’s no reason to touch Laprovittola in any league.

Tony Parker is available, but it sounds like the Spurs are planning on resting him. Laprovittola should be in line for minutes in the 20s, but he’s not a great fantasy option.

Minutes have been hard to find for Murray in his rookie season and he’s behind Tony Parker, Patty Mills and Nicolas Laprovittola on the depth chart, but he has impressed in limited minutes. He has spent a lot of time in the D-League, but that was always a part of the plan. Murray won’t have any value in re-draft leagues while the Spurs are healthy, but he’s on the radar as a stash in dynasty leagues.

He also only played 19 minutes in his first start on Wednesday, so it’s clear that Patty Mills (10 points in 28 minutes) is the clear beneficiary every time Tony Parker (knee) misses a game. Standard-league owners can leave the rookie on the wire.

“He’s a good player,” Ginobili said. “He is young. He bet a lot on this experience. He wanted to have it, and he did. He did great. It’s not like he got cut because he struggled, he couldn’t play. It was because of team issues, and because the team had a third point guard from the beginning.” The Spurs are intrigued by the potential of Dejounte Murray, so there just wasn’t any room on the roster for Laprovittola. We’ll let you know if he draws any interest from other NBA teams.