It has been a week of setbacks for the team, so news they have signed a player will come as a welcome relief to the fans.
The Nuggets reluctantly cancelled the playing contract for former Tall Black Jonathan Janssen. He was looking forward to returning to Dunedin for a second stint in the singlet, but further scans revealed the stress fracture in his back had not healed sufficiently to return to court.
They lost another player yesterday, but this time of their own choosing.
They cut American import Michael Henn.
The 28-year-old forward was not able to have the impact they had hoped and they decided to make a switch.
That is where Moller comes in. He replaces Henn.
The 31-year-old has had two previous stints in the New Zealand National Basketball League.
Moller played for the Southern Huskies in 2019 and returned last year for the Taranaki Airs, where he averaged 15.3 points and 11.4 rebounds in eight games.
Two of those games were against the Nuggets, and he shone. He snatched 16 rebounds and scored 17 points in the 92-78 win in Dunedin, and collected 24 points and eight rebounds in the 93-83 win in New Plymouth.
Moller has also had stints in the Australian NBL for the Sydney Kings, Melbourne United and South East Melbourne, as well as playing gigs in Germany and Iceland.
Nuggets coach Jeff Sparrow said Moller’s agent had contacted him at just the right time.
The Nuggets were looking to make a change and he remembered only too well what Moller achieved against them.
‘‘It was just kind of a lightbulb moment because Craig hunts his shot,’’ Sparrow said.
‘‘Craig is a quantity shooter, a volume shooter, who spaces the floor but can defend big. It was a home run in terms of fit.
‘‘And then if you know Craig as a person, you find out real quickly he’s one of the best team-mates ever, extremely high-level IQ, and somebody that’s going to pick up on our system really quickly.
‘‘So it was a low-risk change in the fact that even if he doesn’t hit any shots for us, we think he’s a little bit better defensively and from a rebounding perspective.’’
Moller arrived in Dunedin earlier in the week and will be available for the Nuggets’ game against the Nelson Giants in Nelson on Sunday afternoon.
The Nuggets (4-3) have a winning record, but they have lost three in a row and it was time to act.
‘‘We’re not content or happy with those three losses, but I think we’ve learned a lot from them.
‘‘We’ve got to shoot better. We know that.’’
