Bryce Cotton has drawn a comparison between reuniting with Trevor Gleeson at the Adelaide 36ers and Kobe Bryant's partnership with Phil Jackson, after the former Perth Wildcats championship-winning coach signed a three-year deal to lead Adelaide.
Gleeson and Cotton Reunite
The pair previously won NBL championships together in 2017, 2019, and 2020 at Perth, and Cotton has not tasted championship success since. He remarked that the situation reminded him of when Jackson returned to the Los Angeles Lakers after a brief hiatus to coach Bryant.
"It's going to be amazing. Never in a million years did I think me and Trev would be reunited, let alone reunited with a different team," Cotton said. "When I spoke with him on the phone, I said Kobe went five or six years without winning a championship and then he got Phil Jackson back and he got him a couple more. I said I've finally got my Phil Jackson back. We will see how the rest of the story pans out."
Gleeson left the Wildcats after being appointed as an assistant coach for the Toronto Raptors. He then spent time with the Milwaukee Bucks before taking on a head coaching position in Japan.
HoopsFest Announcement
Cotton was in Perth when Adelaide made the announcement and was alongside Wildcats captain Jesse Wagstaff at the announcement that HoopsFest will return to Western Australia for the next two seasons. He expressed curiosity about how Gleeson's coaching style may have evolved during his time away from the NBL.
"I'm not sure. Me and Jesse were just talking about that. Come August I will see what he's got cooking. I'm excited for whatever he's got in store," he said.
Adelaide finished as runners-up behind Sydney last season, and the prospect of Gleeson and Cotton combining against the Wildcats is likely to concern Perth fans. However, Wagstaff hopes everyone is excited to see Gleeson back in the NBL.
"This is professional sport. People move," he said. "I think there's nothing but respect and love there for the sacrifices both of them have made for the club."
HoopsFest Details
HoopsFest will be held at RAC Arena from January 13 to 17, featuring NBL and WNBL double-headers each day. NBL CEO David Stevenson also revealed that another high-profile NBA identity will attend, and promised careful selection after a negative reaction to Allen Iverson's lack of commitment at HoopsFest in January.
"We've had great experiences with NBA superstars through different components of HoopsFest," Stevenson said. "There was Carmelo Anthony and Kenny Smith. Yes, we certainly had some challenges with Allen Iverson, but to see Scottie Pippen and some of these great superstars come and be a part of it, they really wanted to be here."
