Patient off-season pays off for Perth Wildcats

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With the NBL26 regular season imminent, the Perth Wildcats have finally completed their roster with the signing of Mason Jones last week, and things are looking bright once again for the league’s winningest franchise.

The departure of five-time MVP Bryce Cotton cast a long shadow over the Perth Wildcats’ off-season, leaving management with the daunting task of calming a restless and heartbroken fanbase. After a drawn-out and at times uncertain recruitment period, the Wildcats have emerged with renewed purpose — assembling a balanced, talent-rich roster that has firmly reinserted them into the championship conversation ahead of the NBL26 season. On paper, this is a team built not just to move past last season’s semi-final exit, but to challenge for the title once again.

There’s no denying the pain of losing the league’s best player, particularly to a rival NBL team, but where fans momentarily saw misery, the Wildcats saw a moment of opportunity, as a treasure chest of funds became available to redistribute, ready to shore up key roster imbalances.

“Looking back at the last few years, I think offensively we were really dynamic, we played at a really fast pace, and we could really score but defensively we weren’t versatile enough. I thought last year we were a lot better on the glass, but we didn’t quite have enough versatility offensively to get us to that next level,” Perth Wildcats GM Danny Mills reflected.

“[Bryce’s departure] opened up a lot of flexibility money wise. It allowed us to retain Kristian Doolittle and Dylan Windler, which was really important, and it allowed us to look at the marquee big market. It also allowed us to take time to re-tool the bench unit and take time to find the right fit with our last import spot. It took most of the off-season but I think it resulted in a really balanced roster.”

Assembling that balanced roster came with its fair share of tension for Wildcats fans. While rival clubs moved quickly to finalise their lineups ahead of or during Summer League, Perth’s roster remained unsettled - clouded by swirling rumours of missed targets and drawn-out negotiations.

The first major domino finally fell with the signing of Perth local Jo Lual-Acuil. After a prolonged standoff, during which JLA reportedly capitalised on a limited marquee market to secure one of the league’s rare ‘million-dollar deals,’ the Wildcats had their answer at the five spot.

“I think being able to land a guy like Jo Lual-Acuil that has had a lot of NBL success but also around the world is big. He gives us positional size, length, and is a guy that can go get a bucket when we need to, but also defensively protects the rim and has historically been a very good rebounder. The local marquee market wasn’t big, and we had our backup plans, but Plan A was to land a guy like Jo.”

Not only was Lual-Acuil one of only two marquee bigs truly available on the open market, but it appears like a fantastic fit for the Wildcats roster; the home-grown five-man is a go-to offensive player, whilst providing an upgrade on the glass and as a rim protector to the outgoing Keanu Pinder, shoring up multiple team deficiencies.

With ‘JLA’s’ signature secured, the wheels were finally in motion for the team to set their sights on a high level, import point guard; but with the Blitz coming to pass with the Wildcats still absent a solution, skepticism swirled around the team’s capacity to bring in a quality talent, particularly in lieu of their investment in Lual-Acuil.

Once again however, patience would prove to be a virtue; Perth pulling the proverbial rabbit out of a hat, suddenly announcing the signing of Mason Jones - one of the NBA G League’s most dominant guards, straight off the back of a championship and Finals MVP with the Stockton Kings. The Wildcats had found their man, and off-season narratives around the team would quickly flip on their heads.

“We don’t go into the offseason thinking we’re going to sign guys in late August or September, but also we’re not going to be rushed into a bad decision either,” Mills explained.

“We’re not going to sacrifice who we want to sign because we’re pressured by the timer ticking. You have to be quite selective about who you’re after. They do want to come here, you just need to give them time to make their decision.

“The last few years we were patient on that last spot, with Doolittle, Windler and now with Mason Jones. When you look at the market, the market dictates the guys you can legitimately sign, and we were looking for a guy that can come in and really impact right away. There were multiple targets across the summer, and Mason has been one of those guys. It was someone we stayed in touch with all along and when he was ready to make his decision, we were able to come to an agreement. As the season gets closer and with the preseason starting in early August, ideally you want your whole group here, but the reality of the NBL and the global market, if you want a talent like Mason Jones, you have to get him on his terms, you can’t jump on them early, because they’ve got opportunities all over the world. We have an attractive situation down here but we can’t pay like some of these clubs overseas.

“To sign someone like Mason who is close to an NBA player is a luxury. You don’t always get that lucky.”

Mills explains that while risky, the Wildcats assiduous off-season approach is a deliberate one, and with the late timeline on signings to Kristian Doolittle, Dylan Windler and now Mason Jones, it’s hard to argue the process.

Over the past few years, the Wildcats have played to a market of players, such as Jones and Windler, that have exhausted their two-way eligibility. From there, they must decide between fighting for an NBA spot through camp and the G League, or pivot overseas. It requires them to wait until after Summer League, when such players start to entertain options worldwide, and with a little luck and patience, also the NBL.

“We become more attractive when they see the season being shorter, if it’s their first time going overseas and it's a great opportunity to integrate an english speaking, more Americanised type league to get their first experience competing internationally, and then because we finish in late February and finals finish late March, they can still pivot and go get a contract in the NBA or finish the season somewhere else like Europe or Asia. We know that information early when we’re targeting guys and know which guys are going to take longer to make their decisions based on the opportunities they’ll have, as opposed to jumping on guys before or during Summer League and not knowing that some of these guys will become available if you are more patient and wait a little longer.”

In the case of Mason Jones, Mills may have landed his biggest import recruit yet. Averaging 23.5 points, 5.1 rebounds and 7.2 assists per game, Jones was one of the most lethal players in the G League last season, and with a championship to boot with the Stockton Kings, demonstrated that his production leads to wins, too.

“Once we studied more of his Stockton film, we realised he can score at all three levels, he’s a big guard that can create for himself, and his ability to facilitate for others is great - He had 13 assists in the G League final. He has a really high basketball IQ, facilitates, and has a great feel for the game for when to get the right guys the ball in the right spots at the right time. When you shoot the ball at 44% from three on over eight attempts, you’re a hard cover. His size as well as a guard in our league is going to help find guys. For him to step off the plane and play like he did on the weekend, knocking down seven threes and making plays for others, it’s only one game but it was really impressive and with what he’s proven in the NBA G League and NBA we’re confident about what he brings and how he fits into our system.”

With the core locked in, and the equally patient waiting game for Ben Henshall’s NCAA clearance resulting in his return to Wildcats red, suddenly Perth’s roster looks as deep and balanced as ever before. Henshall, who Mills’ say is likely to lean in to a more off-ball role this season with less facilitation duties and more chances to attack off second or third side closeouts, is joined by Sunday Dech, NBL1 stat-stuffer Elijah Pepper, and Next Star Noa Kouakou-Hegue rounding out the rotation, with developing young players David Okwera and Dontae Russo-Nance completing the depth chart, along with ever-present veteran Jesse Wagstaff.

It’s a deep group that Mills’ believes will foster healthy competition for minutes, and despite its late materialisation, he believes the group’s chemistry is being forged quickly ahead of the opening round.

“We feel really good about our group and the dynamics of our team. It’s obviously been a disrupted preseason with multiple guys missing through the FIBA Asia Cup, Jo [Lual-Acuil] was missing due to Afrobasket, Mason [Jones] just came in last week, but the feeling and the camaraderie is at a really high level already as we head into Round One.”

Bryce Cotton’s departure marks the end of an era for the Perth Wildcats — a generational talent, a five-time MVP, and a name etched permanently into the hearts of the Red Army. His legacy can’t be replaced, only honoured. In the words of Wildcats owner Mark Arena himself, “No Regrets. No Fear. Move Forward.”

While the emotional void remains, the Wildcats' front office has responded with intent. On paper, this newly assembled roster looks like a team capable of softening the blow — not by replicating Cotton’s brilliance, but by building a new identity strong in balance and depth.

Still, the real test lies ahead. Until the wins start piling up — and perhaps until another championship banner is raised — fans will remain unsatiated. Fortunately, we’ll get to find out whether this Wildcats lineup can live up to the hype very, very soon.