The New Zealand Breakers are refusing to release guard Corey Webster, who reportedly wants out of his contract to pursue an opportunity overseas.
TVNZ reports Turkish club DarüşşafakaBasketbol has offered Webster a lucrative deal, but with the 2019/20 ANBL season fast approaching Breakers owner Matt Walsh is reluctant to let him go.
The 30-year-old is in hot demand after his outstanding performance with the Tall Blacks at the Basketball World Cup, averaging 22.8 points, 5.6 assists and 4.6 rebounds in five games.
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Webster is in the second year of a three-year deal at the Breakers, which doesn't have an out clause in his contract to join a Europe club.
One of the Tall Blacks' wins at the World Cup came against Turkey, while his younger brother Tai currently plays for Istanbul-based club Galatasaray.
The report adds that Walsh told Webster that he's "the world guard" in the league, but the Breakers owner refutes those claims.
"Those words never came out of my mouth, and of course they didn't come out of my mouth sitting next to Corey Webster," he told Radio Sport.
"What I said - to his agents - was statistically he was the worst starting two-guard in the league last year. I believe in Corey, and I've told him as much."
Webster began his career with the Breakers, but some off-court dramas saw him depart the club. After some stints overseas, he signed a three-year deal with the Auckland-based franchise in May 2018.
"We told him in order for there to be any chance of him leaving there needed to be a financial and business incentive for the club," Walsh added.
"We spoke directly with Darüşşafaka Basketbol and they told us in no uncertain terms that there is zero dollars they would contribute to a buyout.
"We have Corey under contract for another two years. He's one of our best players; he's totally irreplaceable - there's not another Corey Webster in New Zealand. For us, it's a no-brainer - we have to keep him, he's so important to our team."
The news comes days after the Breakers announced Dillon Boucher would be standing down as the team's general manager, a role he'd been in since 2016.
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