'No bad blood': Wildcats owner defends Cotton call

He’s the first to admit Bryce Cotton is still very much the “best player in the league”, but Perth Wildcats owner Mark Arena has again backed the club’s decision to part ways with their marquee man during the off-season.

Cotton’s departure and ultimate move to the Adelaide 36ers was one of the biggest free agency moves in the league’s history, with the Wildcats' call drawing mixed sentiment from commentators and fans alike.

The club reportedly gave Cotton a timeline to sign a new contract for NBL26, before deciding to shift its focus to building the remainder of its roster without their five-time MVP.

Arena labelled it “a horrible decision we had to make” at the time, but stands by the Wildcats’ focus on “putting a team together to win a championship”.

“For me, it is all about we have a budget and one of the largest in the league to build a team and like I said, when I came in the best thing is how do we effectively use that to win a championship,” Arena told News Corp this week.

“He (Cotton) is such a great player. I think he is still the best player in the league and that isn’t a debate for us.

“But the question is it isn’t one-on-one and it’s five-on-five and it is how you can best put a team together to win a championship. If you look at the past two years, the championships have been won by well-rounded teams in Tasmania and Illawarra.”

The Wildcats will honour Cotton’s contribution to the club with a tribute video and standing ovation before Sunday’s game, with Arena insisting “Bryce and I are fine” ahead of arguably the biggest matchup of the year.

Perth hosts Adelaide on Sunday afternoon at 4.30pm AEDT, live on ESPN and 10 Drama.

Read the full story here >> Perth Wildcats to honour Bryce Cotton in blockbuster return to Perth as Mark Arena denies bad blood after move