Sign Cotton: Inside 60 hours of coffee, chaos and Seinfeld behind the biggest signing in NBL history

The basketball world, the 36ers included, expected Bryce Cotton to sign a lucrative deal in Japan after announcing his exit from Perth in March. Here’s how he wound up in Adelaide on a three-year-deal in the NBL’s biggest ever free agency signing.

Bryce Cotton has signed for the Adelaide 36ers on a three-year-deal.

Two frenetic, sleepless days of wall-to-wall work fuelled by coffee and Seinfeld episodes is all it took for the Adelaide 36ers to pull off one of the biggest signing shocks in NBL history.

The basketball world – the 36ers included – were all expecting Bryce Cotton to sign a lucrative deal in Japan after announcing his exit from Perth in March.

These assumptions didn’t stop Sixers GM of basketball Matt Weston from keeping in contact with the legendary guard’s representatives.

Weston wanted to play the long game – but as the days passed with no deal done in Asia – he thought he’d reach out to Cotton’s agent again on Tuesday.

Bryce Cotton will leave the Wildcats for the 36ers on a three-year deal. Picture: Getty Images

“We’re coming into June and people are starting to get serious on locking in their futures, so let’s ask about where Bryce is placed and his agency told me he was open to returning to the NBL,” Weston told Code Sports.

“Bryce’s agents – Ben and Adam – have been so professional and really good to deal with. “They were upfront and said this is the (contract) we’d be looking at as it’s where Bryce is on the world market and can you get there?

“You don’t want to waste each other’s time if you are not even in the same ball park, but I told them that was a ball park we could play in.

“His agents also said Bryce will say if he wants to play in the NBL or not. He isn’t just going to take money and he wants a good situation because he wants to win.”

Weston left the conversation feeling upbeat and optimistic about doing the unthinkable and signing Cotton.

And he didn’t have to wait long to hear back from the five-time MVP, even though he is currently playing on the other side of the world in Puerto Rico.

Cotton’s agency responded on Tuesday afternoon to confirm the five-time MVP was interested in hearing the Sixers’ pitch.

Adelaide officials – led by Weston, CEO Nic Barbato and owner Grant Kelley – moved quickly to formulate the club’s sell to secure Cotton.

The message to the champion guard was simple: ‘The Sixers are building a roster for sustained success and we want you to lead us’.

Bryce Cotton is a five-time NBL MVP. Picture: Getty Images

Adelaide already possess a talent-laden squad through sharpshooter Dejan Vasiljevic, big man Isaac Humphries and the off-season signing of gifted guard Flynn Cameron.

Weston has indicated the Sixers could add an “NBA calibre” import in the four man position, while there could be other “surprises” signed to the roster.

The 36ers’ starting core are all locked into long-term deals – helping to paint a picture of stability for Cotton.

COFFEE AND SEINFIELD FUEL DEAL MAKING

Weston had his vision to lock in the man widely regarded as the NBL’s best import in the modern era, but he knew only hard work would make the move a reality.

“I’ve learnt with these big negotiations – you’re not sleeping – so it’s best to work around the clock and just stay up so you can answer the phone or message at the right time,” he said.

“I reckon I probably slept for an hour or so here and there for three days.

“I remember my daughter came in about 1am one morning and saw me on the phone and I just said I was talking to someone from America.

“When I told her the news that we’d signed Cotton yesterday afternoon, she laughed and said: ‘oh, that is why you were on the phone’.”

As Weston has learnt over his years in basketball business, the process of negotiation can be stressful.

In the midst of sleep deprivation and excitement to get the deal done, your mind can “struggle to switch off”.

Weston lent on copious cups of coffee and continuous Seinfeld episodes to get keep him sane through the high-level talks.

“What happens is if a player’s agent say this or don’t sign that and you start to play scenarios in your head,” Weston explains.

“I watched a lot of Seinfeld. It’s on 24 hours a day, so I tuned into that because at least it makes me laugh and I had a heap of coffee to get me through.

“I’ve had too many coffees, so don’t tell my GP.

“I hardly saw my wife and kids. Nic Barbato and Grant Kelley were taking phone calls at all weird times for me and we got it done.”

36ers head coach Mike Wells has the NBL’s best player at his disposal for NBL26. Picture: Getty Images

WELLS’ WISE WORDS

Weston credits Adelaide coach Mike Wells’ frank conversation with Cotton at 5am in the morning for helping the Sixers land the gun guard.

Wells was an assistant at the Utah Jazz when Bryce played at the NBA club in 2015, so he understands what makes the ex-Perth Wildcat tick.

“Mike spoke to Bryce for nearly two hours on early Wednesday morning,” he said.

“He spoke at length about the club’s plans, how he is going to coach and what he expects from people.

“Bryce asked a lot of questions about our players and our vision for them and our plans around imports.

“Ultimately, Bryce said I want to win. I don’t just want to come and play in Australia because it is a great country.

“He could see change in us throughout the past 12 months, he saw what Mike was doing and he knew him from the Utah Jazz.”

LOCKED IN

After two and a bit days of free agency chaos and limited sleep, Weston started to feel relief on Thursday morning.

Bryce had agreed to join the 36ers on a three-year deal worth over a $1 million a season after another heart-to-heart with coach Wells.

It’s at this point when the relief set in for Weston.

“It was hard trying to hold the excitement in,” he said.

“I was walking around the office and people kept smiling and saying, ‘you look like you’ve got some news’.

“It must have been obvious. I thought I had a good poker face.”

The 36ers immediately become championship favourites after the addition of Bryce Cotton. Picture: Getty Images

For all Weston’s joy, he also felt a sense of shock that Cotton had actually signed on the dotted line following nine seasons in Perth. He had also declared “probably not” when asked if he’d play for another NBL team in March.

Yet, just on three months later, Cotton is now officially an Adelaide 36er.

“I’m going to say yes (it shocked me) because Bryce is such an elite player on the world market,” Weston said.

“But I’ll always ask a question. I’m OK with people telling me no. I’d rather they say no, rather than three years down the track a player saying: ‘you never called me – I would have come’.

“There is this part of me that feels like is this too good to be true, but we got the deal done.”

SIXERS TO SOLVE COTTON’S CITIZENSHIP BUNGLE

The Sixers have vowed to help Cotton obtain his Australian citizenship. The star guard has spent the past five years attempting to become a fully-fledged Aussie, but bureaucratic red tape has stopped the bid.

Cotton is currently serving a four-year ban from applying for his Australian citizenship – which was extended last year because he spent more than 90 days outside of Australia in the past 12 months through NBL commitments.

Weston has vowed to help the NBL great fulfil his Aussie citizenship dream.

“From my understanding it’s about how long Bryce stays in the country without leaving,” he said.

“His agency told us straight up that he wants to become an Australian citizen and in the next nine to 10 months we want to get this done.

“We’ve got a great team of people here who are going to be able to facilitate those requests because ideally I want Bryce to be an Aussie and retire as a Sixer.”

Originally published as Sign Cotton: Inside 60 hours of coffee, chaos and Seinfeld behind the biggest signing in NBL history