SAN JUAN (FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament) - Puerto Rico may be without star guards Carlos Arroyo and Jose Juan Barea in July’s FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Greece if the players are unable to sign on with new NBA teams before the event.

Both players will be out of contract with their respective NBA clubs after this season and could miss out as Manolo Cintron’s Puerto Rico take on Cameroon and Croatia in Group D.

In the Puerto Rican El Nuevo Dia newspaper, Barea, who is currently with the Dallas Mavericks, spoke about his agent’s concerns.

"He advised me that I shouldn’t do anything (with Puerto Rico) unless I have a signed contract,” Barea said.

"He wants me to have security in my future. I want to play in the pre-Olympic tournament for Puerto Rico and I will do my best to be in Greece, but all I can say right now is that we'll take it day by day.”

Barea, a 1.8m guard, averaged 7.5 points and 2.3 rebounds per game at the 2007 FIBA Americas Championship, where Puerto Rico won the bronze medal.

Arroyo, who is currently with the Orlando Magic, is probably a more important figure in the Puerto Rican team.

He had 30 points and 10 assists in the bronze medal win and averaged 16.3 points and 4.6 helpers in Las Vegas.

The uncertainty for Puerto Rico doesn’t stop with the NBA duo, either. Center Daniel Santiago, who took last summer off, is also coming to the end of his contract with Unicaja Malaga and doesn’t know if he will be able to help the team try to qualify for the Beijing Games.

FIBA