WATCH TAB Courtside 1v1 on SBS with Megan Hustwaite weekly on Thursday from 7 pm (AEDT) via , or catch up via , or at the top of this article.
Roth, a former NBA player with the Minnesota Timberwolves and assistant coach with the Golden State Warriors, Toronto Raptors, Detroit Pistons, Memphis Grizzlies and Dallas Mavericks, will lead the NBL’s newest franchise when they enter the league for the 2021-2022 season.
The 57-year-old, who has experience coaching superstars of the game such as Steph Curry, Demar Derozan, Pau Gasol, and Dirk Nowitzki, believes the free-scoring Perth Glory superstar has what it takes to match it against the best of the best in the NBA.
Cotton lead the Perth Wildcats to the NBL title last season and was crowned the leagues Most Valuable Player.
It was Cotton’s third NBL championship and second league MVP award in only four seasons playing in Australia.
As a member of the Wildcats coaching staff during their 2020 championship win, Roth learnt first hand how good the Arizona native truly was.
“He is a professional scorer. I’m a little shocked he is not in the NBA,” Roth said during the latest episode of TAB Courtside 1v1 on SBS.
“Maybe the opportunity as well as the right place and time just hasn’t happened for him yet.
“But in my eyes, he is definitely an NBA calibre player.”
Despite signing a few short term 10-day contracts with the Utah Jazz, Memphis Grizzlies and Phoenix Suns early in his career, Cotton has not been able to breakthrough in his home country forcing him to seek opportunities abroad.
Roth says the 28-year-old is one of a kind who lets his play on the court do the talking.
“The thing that is unique about him is that he is a team-first guy. He has a swagger at his core but there’s no ego off the court and he is all in with his team,” he said.
“He’s just one of those guys that finds a way to win. He has a big, big heart and he takes shots as well as the good and bad consequences that go with that.
“It is very hard to find a professional scorer who is humble and does the right things. By design, the role takes a kind of selfish personality but he just ticks the boxes in the other direction. He’s just one heck of a guy.”
Now tasked with building his own roster ahead of the JackJumpers’ maiden season, Roth says he is looking for players with the intangibles displayed by Cotton and wants to copy the winning formula he experienced while a coach with the Wildcats.
“Perth has been in the playoffs for 34 straight years and that is because of the culture they have built, and they type of players they bring in,” he said.
“Their success and their championship pedigree is something we are definitely going to try here in Tasmania in a lot of different ways.
“Combined with my experiences coaching in the NBA and internationally, they’re really a big part of my blueprint for the JackJumpers.”
Roth covered numerous topics during his episode of Courtside 1v1, including:
0.47 - Great time to be in the NBL and coach of the soon-to-be newest team
1.11 - to build something from scratch was intriguing
1.30 - it’s exciting times but the inaugural season is 6 months away
2.00 - opportunity to put his blueprint on this club
2.39 - did it with Timberwolves at a player now can as a coach
2.50 - JackJumpers want to make basketball the No.1 sport in Tasmania
4.25 - will draw lessons from his time at powerhouse Perth Wildcats and their culture
5.03 - has a wish list of recruits, targeting 3 big guns
6.07 - need a Bryce Cotton 2.0
7.04 - Cotton is a professional scorer, shocked he’s not in the NBA
9.30 - what he loves about coaching - the emotional ups and downs
11.25 - is a player-friendly coach
13.18 - I haven’t invented anything, you pick up things from every coach you’ve worked with
13.49 - thoughts on the season to date and the NBL Cup
15.47 - wants to win a championship next season.
SBS will again broadcast multiple regular-season NBA games per week in HD on SBS VICELAND and streamed live via SBS On Demand. Plus, every game of the upcoming 2020-21 NBL season will be LIVE, FREE and in HD via , with select games also live on SBS VICELAND.
