Tall Blacks guard Tai Webster has signed with the Otago Nuggets.
That piece of news will not come as any great shock to anyone who has been following the team.
The move has been in the pipeline for months and has finally been confirmed.
Webster will join the Nuggets in mid-June, just in time for the team’s final five regulation games
The talented Perth Wildcats guard will be eligible to play in the playoffs should the Nuggets make it, and they are nicely placed.
Coach Brent Matehaere said the move had been brewing for a while.
"Obviously, with our alignment with the Wildcats there was an opportunity for Tai to come in and get some game time ahead of the World Cup," Matehaere said.
It is a big signing for the Nuggets. Webster is a quality player who is capable of having a very positive impact on the league.
But his arrival so late in the season will also present a few challenges for the team chemistry. He is a similar player to import point guard JaQuori McLaughlin, so how the Nuggets get the best out of that combination will be interesting.
"We’ll have the option of playing bigger or smaller, but with Tai we’ll probably play a bit faster and probably a bit smaller," Matehaere said.
"Todd [Withers] can play anywhere from probably the shooting guard position all the way through to centre, so we have the ability to move players around.
"But I really think Tai will suit our offensive system and he is certainly an athlete that will suit our defensive system as well, so I think it is a huge pick-up for us.
"Other teams are picking up players around the league and I think we’ve got one of the best ones."
Matehaere caught up with Webster earlier this month when the Nuggets were in Auckland for games against the Franklin Bulls and Auckland Tuatara.
"It is just about making sure it works well for Tai and for us. It is an opportunity for him to come down and hone his game and make sure he is heading in the right direction for us, for the Tall Blacks and for the Wildcats."
Webster last played in the NBL in 2013. Following that, he spent four years in college in the United States with the Nebraska Cornhuskers.
He averaged 17 points, 5.1 rebounds and four assists in his senior year.
Since leaving college, he has had playing stints in Germany, Turkey and Lithuania, as well as a season with the New Zealand Breakers.
He has also clocked 22 games for the Tall Blacks.
