Former Perth Wildcat Bryce Cotton speaks about move to Adelaide 36ers for the first time
Five-time NBL MVP Bryce Cotton has declared it was time for him to leave the Perth Wildcats and try something new after he signed a three-year contract with Adelaide 36ers.
Cotton played for Perth for nine seasons, won five NBL MVP awards and three championships while dominating the league. It was initially expected he would move overseas but he seized upon a chance to continue playing in the NBL after being approached by Adelaide.
Cotton said he'd relished his time in Perth but needed to experience change.
'It's very, very rare that you get to play anywhere professionally for the amount of time I did for the same team. I am grateful for that,' he said in an interview with the 36ers media department.
'I had a lot of memories in Perth, but sometimes the curtain closes and it's time for a new door to open. I feel like a great opportunity presented itself and it was what I felt was best for me and my family. We are super, super ecstatic to be embracing this new journey.'
Cotton will re-unite with 36ers coach Mike Wells who was working as an assistant coach for Utah Jazz when the star shooter played for the NBA club in 2014.
Cotton said being coached by Wells again was a reminder of how many quality people there are in the basketball industry.
'The longer you play this game the smaller the basketball world gets,' he said.
'Sometimes you re-connect with people you met from the past. This was a pretty cool aligning of the stars.
'I always respected him as a coach and a person. Being able to see how he handled Adelaide from afar – even last season I think he helped do a tremendous job of bringing a winning culture and winning mentality back.
'It's exciting now I get to be a part of that as well and try to help to continue to push that narrative forward.'
Cotton is now aiming to lift the 36ers to success after several years of turbulence off the court which has included multiple coaching changes and significant player turnover.
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