The NZ Breakers have confirmed the signing of American Paul Carter as an injury replacement for injured NBL import Corey Webster.
The 29-year-old, 203cm swingman was unveiled on Wednesday and will likely play against Sydney on Friday.
Carter, from New Orleans, was last playing on a short-term injury cover contract in Germany, which came after a stint in France.
Originally signed as injury cover for Webster, Carter will fuill a dual role for the Breakers with Tom Abercrombie out for up to three weeks with a broken hand.
Coach Paul Henare says it is a difficult time of year to recruit new players.
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"Paul is a very experienced player through different experiences around the world. We will rely on this experience to slot into the group seamlessly and to be able to express himself and his skillset at the same time," Henare said.
"As with all our players we'll expect him to fully commit to what we are trying to do defensively.
"However, we have lost a lot of offensive punch over the last couple of weeks so he'll have opportunities to help us at that end too."
Carter says New Zealand wasn't on his radar, but he was good friends with Breakers forward Akil Mitchell.
"Lately when we catch up he has been joking 'when are you coming to New Zealand'. And I guess through some injuries in the wing position there was an opportunity and they spoke with Akil, researched and it just happened to work out."
