Bryce Cotton: Adelaide 36ers claim it took them just two days to woo Perth Wildcats hero into shock move

Perth Wildcats supporters have been left fuming by Bryce Cotton’s shock move to sign for fierce rival Adelaide. And the 36ers are now claiming they first reached out to Cotton on Tuesday and that it took them just two days too woo him back to Australia. The West Australian understands Cotton will be unveiled as a 36ers player later on Friday in a bombshell move that has rocked the NBL and the Wildcats, where he won five most valuable player awards. The 32-year-old had been playing in Puerto Rico, but his team Mets de Guaynabo lost the final five games of the season and missed the playoffs. It is understood he could be in South Australia in time for the announcement. Cotton had told fans in a television interview in March he had no plans to play against the Wildcats for another NBL club. NBL great Derek Rucker said the Wildcats’ passionate fans would be wounded by the move. “(For) the Perth red army, to see their beloved son go to the hated rivals, the Adelaide 36ers — bang — a dagger right through the heart holes,” he told the league’s website. “You give them championships with Bryce Cotton, but this one leaves you wounded. “And now the pressure is on Perth, how do you ameliorate the fan base and make them feel good about what’s to come when Cotton has made this leap.” Widcats supporters lit up social media on Thursday night in reaction to the shock news. The NBL’s official social media channels were bombarded with comments, with one fan saying Cotton “lied through his teeth”. “Won’t be cheering him. Lied through his teeth. Oh well good on him I guess,” Nathan Kitney said. Another commenter simply posted: “I FEEL SICK”. Facebook user Matthew Murphy said he was “not happy. Confused and devastated. Will always support and never boo Bryce but this just feels so wrong after what was discussed previously”. “(He) said he (would) never play for another Aussie club, disappointing he said Perth was home and we threw cash at him,” Facebook user Brett Lillee commented when The West reported the news. Another user, Stuart Campbell, said: “I won’t be able to watch the NBL next season if I see Bryce in a singlet that’s not red”. In an interview with the league’s website shortly after the bombshell landed, Adelaide’s general manager of operations Matt Weston revealed the shock deal had been done in a flash. “We worked day and night for two to three days and got it done,” he said. “We got the deal done quickly. “I stay in touch with agents all the time and I had kept in touch with Bryce’s representatives, but I didn’t ask about Bryce. “I knew that when he left the NBL that he wanted clear air to make his mind up, so I knew going in early that was going to look classless. “His agent is very professional. Neither of us played silly games or tactics. “On Tuesday I simply asked the question, ‘what’s going to happen with him?’ and they told me he was open to coming back.”