The franchise management group has selected the applicant it believes can take the team forward but Basketball Otago general manager Markham Brown was not giving anything away when contacted for comment yesterday. An announcement is expected later this week.
''You never know what can happen until you've got the paper work done,'' Brown said.
''We are just trying to settle on terms, basically.''
Brown would not be drawn further.
Arlidge was expected to accept a fifth stint with the franchise but changed his mind before Christmas.
Nuggets captain Mark Dickel shaped as the most logical replacement but he told the Otago Daily Times he had not made a formal application for the job.
There is unofficial news on the recruitment front, though.
Fijian international Marques Whippy has listed his team as the Otago Nuggets on a prominent basketball website.
There is no official word from the franchise but, as revealed in the Otago Daily Times last week, Whippy will wear a Nuggets singlet this season.
Whippy (1.96m) played college basketball for Brigham Young University Hawaii in the NCAA division two.
In his final year at BYU, he averaged 11.5 rebounds and 14.2 points and is billed as a quality defender and solid rebounder who can get to the hoop on offence.
