$1M War Chest: Clock ticks on Bryce Cotton Plan B

• The clock is ticking on the Perth Wildcats to find a replacement for five-time NBL MVP Bryce Cotton
• Cotton's exit leaves an estimated $1M per year War Chest for Perth
• There is significant talent available but it'll be tough to compete for big name players out of Europe

What makes the deadline put on Bryce Cotton even more interesting than Perth Wildcats' decision to put a deadline on Bryce Cotton is the Wildcats didn't have — and from the outside looking in — and still don't have a player they wanted to sign to take the five-time MVP's place.

Now they have a $1M War Chest and it may seem like a lot of cash but to get a star guard — and they need one — to compete against a reloaded Sydney Kings backcourt with Kendric Davis and Matthew Dellavedova, Cotton's Adelaide 36ers with Dejan Vasiljevic and Illawarra's All-NBL First Team duo Trey Kell III (still not contracted but if he's back) and Tyler Harvey.

Wildcats boss Mark Arena said: "We felt we certainly gave Bryce as much time as we could — we probably would have been able to give more time if we didn't have so many players out of contract.

"But our role is to build a team that could win a championship and we felt — even now still feel — that we had to move on and start building that team and that roster.

"If you look at what we've done since Bryce, we've re-signed Kristian Doolittle, Dylan Windler, Sunday Dech, and a number of others, we really had to move on and get moving to build the roster."

True but now Perth has a challenge and potential replacements have a wedge. The Wildcats need a star and agents know it ... it tilts the negotiating power into the player's power.

Work in progress: 2025-26 Perth Wildcats Roster

1. David Okwera — Franklin Bulls (NZNBL)
2. Dontae Russo-Nance — Manawatu Jets (NZNBL)
3. Elijah Pepper — Warwick Senators (NBL1 West)
4. Hyrum Harris — Wellington Saints (NZNBL)
5. Keanu Pinder — Shanxi Loongs (CBA/China)
6. Kristian Doolittle — Gigantes de Carolina (BSN/Puerto Rico)
7. Lat Mayen — West Adelaide Bearcats (NBL1 Central)
8. Sunday Dech — Knox Raiders (NBL1 South)
9. Tai Webster —JL Bourg (LNB Pro A/France Div 1)
10. Thomas Gerovich — Willeton Tigers (NBL1 West)
11. Todd Withers — Warwick Senators (NBL1 West)

As of the 2024–25 season, the average salary for men’s players in the EuroLeague typically ranges between $400,000 and $800,000 USD per season ... take home! The conversion rate on $800K USD is well in excess of $1M AUD so signing a top EuroLeague guard that's going to give you 20+ points per game and six to eight assists is going to cost.

Top-tier players in the league can command much higher. For example, forward Sasha Vezenkov of Olympiacos reportedly earns a net salary of $4.1 million USD, making him one of the highest-paid athletes in European basketball. These elite contracts are generally reserved for star players with NBA experience or dominant international resumes.

Unlike in the NBA, EuroLeague salaries are usually reported as net figures — meaning after tax deductions. In contrast, NBA salaries are reported in gross terms, before taxes. This distinction is important when comparing earnings across leagues, as EuroLeague take-home pay may appear lower or more modest on paper but can be quite competitive once tax implications are factored in.

Former NBA player Carsen Edwards, 27, led the EuroLeague in scoring in 2024-25 with 20.4 points per game, Vezenkov averaged 19.8. Edwards has an option to extend another year at Bayern Munich so the reality of the Wildcats landing a player of the calibre of Edwards, or those at his level, is near impossible.

The list shortens considerably when the criteria is scorer, baller, can run the offense, can go at Davis, Cotton and Harvey.

Players that may fit the $1M bill

• Jaylen Adams: The 29-year-old point guard will be looking for a new home if he wants to return to the NBL. Adams played a lone hand in the Sydney Kings backcourt in NBL25 before heading to Al Ahli Tripoli at the end of the season. He is an NBL champion and proven scorer.
• Lance Stephenson: The 34-year-old former NBA enigma openly lobbied for an NBL team to sign him in 2025. ''If you guys want me, I will come out here and play,'' he said during a visit to Australia in February including an impromptu job interview at the NBL25 Awards in Melbourne. Stephenson is box office.
• Isaiah Thomas: The 36-year-old former NBA star is playing for the Salt Lake City Stars in the NBA G League. He has posted to the platform formerly known as Twitter that he'd be up for playing the NBL. It's hard to forget his ability to lead and score the ball, especially in his 2015-17 stint with the Boston Celtics. A one-year deal wouldn't be bad but he's certainly not a long-term solution.
• William McDowell-White: Word is the 27-year-old floor general is in talks or is considering returning to the NBL but with the Brisbane Bullets. How much would it take to turn his attention to the West coast instead of the South coast ... probably most of the $1M war chest. But locking up a proven winner for three years to anchor the Wildcats backcourt is a good option.
• Parker Jackson-Cartwright: The 29-year-old Californian was on MVP pace in NBL25 for the New Zealand Breakers and is out of contract for NBL26. He's playing for Rytas Vilnius in Lithuania but word is he's likely to return to New Zealand.
• Patrick Mills: The 37-year-old Mills was linked to Perth after the Los Angeles Clippers were eliminated from the 2024-25 NBA Playoffs but as Arena revealed the Wildcats knew about as much about it as anyone else. Mills has also been linked to Cairns Taipans but, let's be honest, the odds of Mills returning to Australia to finish his professional career are about 1000-1.
• Taran Armstrong: The G League doesn't pay $1M per and Armstrong did enough in NBL25 to earn himself a two-way shot with the Golden State Warriors. Armstrong is an elite guard with dreams of making the NBA but it's a tough road ahead for the 23-year-old.
• Alex Ducas: The 24-year-old is in the NBA Finals with the Oklahoma City Thunder as a two-way player. He's a Western Australian shooting guard with now two years experience at the highest level. Two-way contracts pay nowhere near close to $1M per so could the Geraldton-born NBL1 Youth Player of the Year come home? It all depends on his goals, what the Thunder want given their time investment and Ducas' growth heading into 2025-26. It's an intriguing prospect.
• Jack McVeigh: Jumpin' Jack McVeigh is intriguing. He's been spotted in Adelaide working out with his younger brother Lloyd. McVeigh, 28, was a two-way player for the Houston Rockets in 2024-25 and much like Ducas not getting paid $1M per. McVeigh is a pure shooter and is ice-cold (see the NBL24 Grand Final Series) and is a prime candidate for a three-year deal. He'd bring immediate scoring into the Wildcats backcourt and a year's experience in an NBA / G League program would only make him better.
• Joe Ingles: Word is Joe Ingles is retiring. The 37-year-old has earned $131,818,971 ($87,879,314 USD) during his NBA career and, frankly, doesn't need the money. It would have to be for the love of the game but Perth is a long, long, long, long, long way away from home, especially for a family that has endured Joe being on the road for more than a decade. Chances of Joe playing for Perth is less than Patty Mills' 1000-1.
  
• Derrick Walton Jr.: The 30-year-old NBL champion is out of contract at the South East Melbourne Phoenix and a rock-solid replacement for Cotton. Walton Jr is a proven scorer and winner. His hamstring injury impacted the Phoenix's push into the NBL25 playoffs, which highlighted his value down the stretch.
• Reyne Smith: Shooters shoot! The 22-year-old is arguably the purest shooter going around in Australia right now. Given his age, there will be plenty of options but it would unlikely take most of the $1M to get the soon-to-be Australian Boomer on their roster.
• Jordon Crawford: The 34-year-old guards tenure at the Tasmania JackJumpers ended on May 25th when the club said he wouldn't be offered a contract for the 2025-26 season. Tough way to go for the NBL champion but that means a floor leader, and proven winner, is now on the market. Like Smith, it wouldn't take a large chunk of the $1M War Chest to bring in a rock-solid point guard while the Wildcats continue their search for a bonafide star.
• Ian Clark: The 34-year-old is a star. He's out of contract at Melbourne United and is Puerto Rico playing for Cangrejeros de Santurce. Clark is a super smooth operator but towards the backend of his prime. Regardless, Clark was still one of the best players in the NBL last season and would more than hold up the 2-spot for less than $1M. He and Crawford in the backcourt wouldn't be all-time but still competitive.
• Casper Ware: Back to the future? Ware is 35 and has been playing in Russia for CSKA Moscow since 2022. Perhaps swapping the cold for the warmth of the South-West might be enough of a lure, it just depends on desire and money.
• John Wall: The 34-year-old would have to sell his stake in the South East Melbourne Phoenix. His pedigree is undeniable and if he wants to lace them up again, what a box office smash he would be. Wall is five-time NBA All-Star (2014–2018) ... enough said.
• Ben Simmons: Wildly speculative to even include Simmons. The 28-year-old just finished his max deal contract signed with the Philadelphia 76ers before being traded to the Brooklyn Nets, being bought out by the Nets this year and signing with the Los Angeles Clippers. Simmons is an unrestricted free agent heading into the 2025-26 and will likely sign another NBA contract but nowhere near the money he earned over the past five season. Let's face it, he doesn't need the cash: $305,035,034 ($203,356,689 USD) in career earnings but a fresh start?

That's 17 potential targets for the Wildcats to empty their Bryce Cotton War Chest on. Only time will tell but, just like the Cotton "deadline" saga, time is running out for the perennial NBL powerhouse.