In one of the biggest announcements in club history, the Perth Wildcats have re-signed 2018 NBL MVP Bryce Cotton for the next three seasons.

The new contract will see the 2017 NBL Champion and Grand Final MVP remain in Perth until the conclusion of the 2020/21 NBL season, giving him the opportunity to build a Wildcats legacy on the scale of club greats including Ricky Grace, James Crawford and Shawn Redhage.

Cotton, who has recently finished his season with Italian team Basket Brescia Leonessa, said he is thrilled to make a long-term commitment to the club he won his first professional championship with.

"I feel like this was a great move for me; it wasn't really a hard decision.

“I love playing for Perth. It’s a great organisation.

“To have some stability and to know where I’ll be for these next few years, it’s a lot of peace of mind that I get to have.

“I’m really looking forward to seeing how we can piece these new parts together."

Wildcats head coach Trevor Gleeson said the signing gives the team a strong foundation for the season to come.

“It’s pretty big to have the MVP back for, not only this year, but the next three years.

“He’s a quality player and a quality person.

“I’m really excited to get this group on the floor. We’re going to be younger, we’re going to be quicker; I’m looking forward to it.”

In Bryce Cotton’s first 46 games for the Wildcats, he has become an NBL Champion (2017), a Grand Final MVP (2017) and the NBL’s Most Valuable Player (2018). He recently added the Gordon Ellis Medal as Perth Wildcats MVP to his growing collection of accolades.

Since joining the club, Cotton has averaged 21.0 points per game and connected on 135 three-pointers at over 40 per cent.

He has tallied over 30 points in three out of seven Finals games to date, including his record-breaking 45-point effort in the 2017 Grand Final.

The 25-year-old also averages 3.2 rebounds and 3.1 assists per game.

Bryce Cotton is set to arrive in Perth in August.

He joins Nick Kay, Mitch Norton, Tom Jervis, Damian Martin, Angus Brandt, Jesse Wagstaff, Clint Steindl and Rhys Vague as players signed to the Perth Wildcats 2018/19 playing roster.

huge to lock him in for 3 years. I guess the lure of stability is what has go him locked in. and no doubt he'll play overseas during hte off season as most imports do

now we just need Prather and D Walker for a balanced and solid lineup.....
Or similar players.....

Great for the league to bring these strong drawcards back again.

You would think that he fully assessed his NBA options, and considered that it was a long shot. Contract would still have an NBA out.

Europe bball is probably less stable for imports.

Interesting what money was required to secure the deal.

Great for the league! Even better for the Wildcats!

Fantastic news.
Can only hope he sticks around long enough to naturalize.

doesnt sound like an NBA out clause

Cotton is quoted as saying he is happy to have stability and know where he'll be for the next few years.

if Cats are paying him circa $400k (that magic number) a year and he can pick up another $100-200k overseas after season is over that is probably more than he'll make by picking up 2 way contracts and only playing a handful of games a year in NBA.

Guy is a great player, just a little too short for the NBA.

great to start seeing the some longevity in the imports returning to the NBL.

Massive signing!!

Now to get him naturalized.

Great news!!!

Final Squad likely to be:

Martin/Norton
Cotton/Steindl
Prather(?)/Hire
Kay/Wagstaff/Vague
Brandt/Jervis

Pretty solid even with Hire in there.

Martin/Norton
Cotton/Steindl
Prather(?)/Hire
Kay/Wagstaff/Vague
Brandt/Jervis

If they get Devondrick Walker and Prather it's over ladies and gentlemen

But rather than 3 perimeter studs they should focus on a big to combat Bogut. Much like the good NBA teams recruit to combat who they will see in the playoffs, Perth should combat Sydney's Bogut signing

maybe cotton took the 3 yr deal at a lower rate so his mate D Walker could get another crack at NBL......

waiting for news in coming days that D Walker has signed for 2 yrs.....hopefully as our budget import to keep room for Prather if he can't land an NBA gig

Greg I think is going to be training player and part of a 12 man rotations where he suits up on occasion.

Happy for above line up, but if they want to be serious and compete with Sydney then 3 imports is a must.

I heard somewhere that the Wildcats were reluctant to give Euro-out clauses, and I recall that Dolla actually had a buyout clause. But I would imagine that an NBA out clause is almost standard.

Is he scheduled to play summer-league?
Signing at this point would seem to pre-empt that??

Its great to have this kind of stability. I can't recall the last time we had an import for 5 seasons.

How does the naturalisation process work? Is it a minimum number of years in the NBL or number of games?

Would be freakin awesome to get Walker as the budget import
but even with the benefits the Wildcats could pile on, I don't think he's going to play for bottom dollar.

But its plausible that the Wildcats would sign him as their starting 3.
I appreciate that they want someone with more of a 3-shot than Tokoto, but I still think they need somebody more like Prather.

I think somebody mentioned that the Cats were shopping for a bargain import, and keeping Hire as an option if that falls through.

Just realised that Perth has Kay and Jervis in the front court. Jesus.

Great news for Perth and for the league in general. To lock the reigning MVP in for the next 3 years is huge. No doubt he would've taken a pay cut on what he was on last season for the longer term deal.

I remember seeing him in an interview last season and it struck me he seemed genuinely happy and content in Perth so wasn't surprised he's coming back but 3 years is a huge coup for the Wildcats.

Firstly my mind goes, if you're a company and want someone advertising your product then Bryce Cotton would be as good a spokesperson as there is out there, Bogut has created the buzz and 3 more years of a proven winner and it wouldn't surprise me at all to have him doing 2 Perth based sponsorships and 1 going nation wide and it wouldn't surprise me if the Wildcats stressed this point (no salary cap rules basically so they could promise a lot).

Second thought is that if Wildcats bring in Devondrick and Prather/Conger and actually get to play an NBA team then I think they will give a good account of themselves, remembering that Melbourne lost by a point and Brisbane and Sydney our bottom 2 teams last season lost in the first quarter and chased their tails thereafter.

Thirdly well done to everyone for making this deal a reality and you've gotta love that the days of having our All NBL first team leave before the start of the following season seem behind us and we are truly building familiarity and stability amongst our best players in the league and that's fantastic, let's hope that Conger and Prather return as they are superstars also.

Can't wait to see this incarnation of the Wildcats, I loved Matty Knight but this seems like my favourite Wildcats lineup of all time and almost justifies the increase in membership prices this season

We'll never know the details, but must be a seriously good deal to lock him in for 3 years.

Early days, but would love to see him stick around and become naturalised.

Very strong line-up being assembled by Perth.Glad to see they are addressing pretty much every concern.

Interesting to see which way they go with their SF(s)

Having heard both good & bad feedback about Gleeson as Wildcats Head Coach.

There is no denying that with Gleeson as coach the Wildcats have won 3 championships. Like him or not, he is part of the winning ingredients.

Gleeson has been instrumental in player management, import recruitment, ably supported by Matt Nielsen.

Meanwhile other "better" coaches have no silverware!

Wildcats have always had good fan support, money and quality imports so other Wildcats coaches have had the same conditions.... so while Gleeson cant win the flag on his own, as I say he is definitely a strong part of the winning process.

My only wish is that he wouldnt screw up his face at the refs everytime a Wildcats player gets a whistle.....

This is huge.

Looking very very good. And match up OK with Sydney too- Brandt and Jervis two genuine bigs. Plus two options at the 4, and can play Kay at 5 for stretches if they want to go small.

And Kay and Norton were 3 years too weren't they?

Stability is huge, and Cotton, Norton and Kay gives them a strong core locked in long term. Celebratory beer time for Perth fans today.....if you can afford the drawdown on your mortgage after buying your membership.

You didn't see the Warriors, Lakers or Knicks at cheaper prices than the Wildcats.

Glad to see, loving the depth of nbl talent and stability with most good talent returning

Some times on the weekend, when the weather is right, I will wander down the road and watch the baseball or softball. All it costs me is the cost of a sausage-sizzle. And I have to bring my own chair.
you get what you pay for.

A bronze membership renewal is around the mid $300's mark IIRC. Thats around $25.
And they are ok, not the cheapest or worst.

And we've won 3 championships since moving to Arena.
you get what you pay for.

Captains Club member checking in.

My tickets are something like $1150 a season.

Is it expensive? Yes
Is it worth the money? Debatable
Do I pay it? Yes
Do I enjoy paying it? Not really
Will I continue to pay it? Yeah
Why? Because it's the best seat in the house (IMO) and I don't follow any other local sports and because I love basketball. I pay for it to be close and get a good view of the court.

All the other shenanigans the wildcats throw in as perceived "value" means nothing to me.

same as the previous captains club member

I don't follow any other domestic sport, only English /european football and some NBA, none of which I can go to in person unless on holiday

Yes it is expensive, but you get what you pay for

successful team and best seats available that aren't corporate. First price rise in a few years

I wouldn't pay the $1600 to join as Captains club, but renewal isnt so bad at $80 per game.

This is a thread about Cotton signing on for three years and you want to bicker about a few dollars. If $30 or $40 dollars is too much for you then go join a bridge club and argue about the cost of tea and scones. No body gives a fu## whether you think it's good value or not.