The Breakers have pulled off a huge coup with Wayne Turner out for the season, signing a new point guard who was playing in the NBA as little as two weeks ago.
Huge 1.93m Orien Greene has agreed to a three month deal to round out the ANBL season in a Breakers uniform.
The 25-year-old has played 128 NBA games for the Boston Celtics, Indiana Pacers and Sacramento Kings.
Greene's contract with the Kings expired on November 15 and he has been a free agent since.
Breakers general manager Richard Clarke said although Turner's diagnosis was a tough hit for the club, it came at a perfect time with Greene on the market.
It will be his first time playing outside the United States, but his size and defensive style is expected to be a good fit in New Zealand.
"He is different to Wayne but not that different in style. He's a guy that rather than be a shooter he's a scorer through taking it to the hoop and a distributor," Clarke said.
"We didn't need to bring in another shooter, we've got Kirk and Phill and Tony and plenty of guys that can score.
Greene's size will put many forwards in the league to shame but his athleticism means he has all the skill of a traditionally small point guard.
And while his rise has been limited in the NBA due to a lack of scoring ability, with a roster as deep as the Breakers he should be a success.
"The exciting thing for us is his defensive ability, he was defensive player of the year his last year of college.
"That's why he's been around the NBA for three years because he is a very good defender and that's what we think he'll add to the team."
Greene touches down in New Zealand at 6am Friday morning and will be available to play the Breakers' following home game against Sydney Kings the Thursday after.
So how does the former University of Florida player rate in relation to other Breaker signings?
Well we have yet to find out, but Clarke said everyone at the club is definitely excited and can't wait to see him on court.
"Signings of guys like Kirk and Tony are equally big but this guy - playing in the NBA two weeks ago is pretty good.
"We've put him through all our scouts and so we've got feedback from the Spurs and Suns.
The Breakers will have to get through their home game against the Dragons this week without their two imports.
While Turner's sidelined for the season, the extent of Rick Rickert's back injury is still unknown.
"Rick will hopefully be back shortly but well deal with whether we have to bring someone in on a short term basis at a later stage," Clarke said.
