The NZ Breakers are confident new signing Glen Rice Jr can ignite their season - and not make headlines off the court.
On Wednesday, the son of three-time NBA All-Star Glen Rice Sr was named as a temporary replacement for Scotty Hopson, who is out indefinitely with a knee injury.
The Breakers are also without Rob Loe (skull fracture) and Finn Delany (knee).
Rice, 28, played under Shamir at Hapoel Holon in Israel last year and was named the league's Most Valuable Player, averaging 24.5 points, eight rebounds and 4.7 assists per game in 2018.
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But Rice has a troubled past, including arrests on battery and drug possession.
Under Shamir's watch, he was reportedly sacked for punching a teammate, but eventually returned to Holon for the playoffs.
While Shamir concedes Rice has a troubled past, he insists the guard has the ability to help get the Breakers back on track, as they sit seventh in the ANBL standings with two wins in six games.
"We took everything into account," Shamir told Newshub. "Glen is a good guy and I'm the only one who knows him personally here.
"He's had lots of stories in the past, but I know he wants to do well and I hope this will be the case.
"I know the value he can bring to our team, and hopefully everything will go okay and we will see the good side of him.
"We thought about everything, and we had to do this to give us a chance and not let the season slip.
"We have injuries, we've had a tough pre-season and there are so many games still to play. We want to give yourself a chance to win games - that's why we had to do this."
Rice said he was determined to make the Breakers a better team. He will likely take the court against Melbourne United in Auckland on Thursday.
"I'm 100 percent committed," Rice told Newshub. "We are all here with one goal, which is to win.
"I came here to try to dominate and with Dan, I've played with him before and we had a good relationship.
"He's one of the best coaches I've played with. The Breakers are a great organisation, and I'm looking forward to coming here and dominating.
"Everything in the past is behind me. I'm just here to dominate on the court and focus on basketball.
"I'm not here to focus on anything off the court."
Newshub.