Whilst Cotton can run the point, and is a decent defender, he benefits by playing at the 2 spot, backed by a Good PG.

Neither is big enough to excel as a SG in the NBA, but the difference is that Patty doesn't need to, being Good enough to play Point.

I really Hope Cotton makes the Boomers because I would love to see how he fares at International level.
Keep in mind that whilst he's obviously had Interest from Europe, it presumably wasn't at the level to rip him away from Perth

Good point d2

So you would have mills over cotton running the point on the national team?

I agree. Pretty similar.
Patty the slight advantage due to a few extra centimetres & kg.

Mills has the consistent NBA shot.

I think the main thing that Mills has is the confidence, respect and loyalty of Pop and the Spurs, there are so many very talented basketball players that would all but kill for that treatment, yes Mills doesn't star like he does for the Boomers when in the NBA but the Team USA games over here, we really seen how much Pop thought of Patty.

I think Bryce is a bloody good player and fun to watch and an undoubted NBL asset (well advertisers dream) and I think he'd also have a decent NBA career if a coach vowed for him the way Pop does for Patty.

I don't feel the same about Casper Ware, Jerome Randle, Cedric Jackson or any other NBL MVP level point guard... ok maybe Machado but I'm impartial for pass first point guards... that don't air all free throws.

I am surprised this is a question. There are similarities, but really, Cotton is a poor man's Mills. Would love to have him off the bench for the Boomers though. But here are just some of the ways that Mills is a better player:

Speed - Mills is faster, despite being older
Strength - Mills is physically stronger and bigger, which matters inside
Shooting - Mills is a more consistent shooter
Defense - Mills is a better and more dogged defender

Luck isn't the only reason Mills is in the NBA over Cotton.

Anytime Cotton goes into Mills I find a T-Shirt comes out....

Made me wonder who is the better player.

Just wonder if Bryce had had better timing he could have achieved what patty has at SA?

The team that drafted Sam Bowie? Who knows. Maybe so you could make that comment.

Cotton went through three teams, and we're making a comparison, so...

Yeah, it will be interesting to watch if Cotton does get a Boomers gig.
Like a few guys who have starred in the NBL, he's a perfect fit for our league. Way too small for the NBA, and will be challenged at International level.

Like all the fringe guys hoping for a ticket to Tokyo, its going to depend on who's fit, and available to play from the NBA. Honestly, I lost track, are the going to be available or not?

It will probably be the usual story. If every NBA player is fit and ready to play, he might struggle to get in, but then the won't be.
Shit, imagine if we'd had him in Bejing instead of Scooby & Shaggy.

What is the argument you're making? That Cotton is a superior player?

Anon,

Mills shits all over Cotton as a player even right now it's not even close. Cotton is an undersized SG he doesn't have PG skills hence why he's in the NBL.

These kind of stupid threads by Perth fans is why they get given so much shit for being clueless homers Mills is a far, far better player than Cotton he's better than him at everything maybe other than dunking lol

Mills is clearly better.

Yes, weirdly, it does seem that sometimes NBA success is about getting the right opportunity at the right time.
And if you were giving advice to a Cotton type player, you might well suggest to focus on being a PG and become a Star in the G-League. Then maybe he gets couple of 10 day deals, then a 2-way, and who knows. That's the same hard choice a lot of guys make,and realise too late they've made the wrong call.

Instead Cotton has gone with his natural role, and carved out pretty decent career in the NBL. And if he hadn't fallen in love, might well have use that as a stepping stone to Europe.

But even if he had gone more towards PG, Mills would definitely be superior in that role.

And no, I don't see him playing backup PG for the Boomers, unless we're really caught short.
Again, depending on who's available, he might be backup SG, or 3rd string Guard.
In an NBL only team, he'd probably start at SG.

If San Antonio hadn't happened, Patty's national team play would have given him plenty of opportunities regardless. Cotton is a great player but you can't even compare the two.

My point wasn't so much that Cotton was cut, but that he 'landed' in three spots and none worked out. It wasn't like he had one chance where circumstances worked against him and he was never spotted again.

After Mills' time with Portland, there was an NBA lockout, he played in the NBL, then in China. Going by Wikipedia, he wanted to head back to Portland but had trouble getting released from his Chinese team. Ended up signing with the Spurs.

Billups wasnt cut by 3 teams, he was traded. In Orlando he didnt play because he was on the injured list the entire time he was there. The Wolves then gave him a multi yea deal worth >$2m per.

Mills is the better player. Yes he got a great opportunity, but it wasnt luck. Between his first and second season in SA he got his body right. Pop infamously called him "a little fatty" before he did that. He put in the work and has reaped the rewards since then.

This isn't to say Cotton couldn;'t have done that, just that it isn't about Patty being lucky.

2012
Mills - Melbourne Tigers

9 games played - 6/3 record.

18.4 ppg (42% FG, 35% 3FG)

5 assists/game (2.44 t/o's)

2.3 reb/game

0.77 steals/game

Don't forget the Flop of the Year award in 2012.

https://youtu.be/wAEXvzrnU34

Was fun to watch Patty's handful of games that year. He was still working out his game at that point and had his breakout a couple of seasons later. The skill was there, clearly, but he needed more work. I don't doubt for a second that he would have been a perennial MVP candidate if he'd stayed in the NBL

But again, it isn't just luck. Mills worked hard to make the most of his situation.

Which is why I said "It isnt JUST luck"

As with everything, really.

Mills playing NBL was such a novelty at the time, expectations I remember were that he would absolute dominate, in the same way that (at that time) everyone with NBA experience was expected to just be able to walk in and dominate the NBL. I think the pressure showed especially the first couple of games, where Mills looked like he was trying to score every possession. He eased his way into it by the end, and although there is no chance in hell he'd have been a regular NBL player at that point regardless of what happened in the NBA, he'd have been a generational player if he had.

Mills' career is not luck, its hard work. He's a heck of a player. He showed that in college, in international play, and now in the NBA. His body of work speaks for itself, and if things hadn't bounced the way they did in SA he'd have stuck somewhere else.

It's just an attempt to talk down Mills there's not much luck involved in leading the Olympic in scoring in 2012 and putting up 30 points on Team USA in our historic win against them last year.

Patty Mills is the better player of the two, knows his role can come off the bench can play as a starter and perform in both roles at the NBA level while Bryce hasn't really played in different roles mainly is given full freedom with the ball and is the main guy on the team at the NBL level, real question is can Bryce play a lesser role coming off the bench cause if he can, Australia national team can be decent with Patty starting and Bryce coming off the bench

I'd say Patty is ahead of Cotton due to versatility at a higher level

I don't think Cotton would have any issue playing a Boomers role. He's a confident player but the success Perth have had with him doesn't tend to come if he isn't playing within a team structure. Goulding is cocky in the NBL but contributed with the Boomers.

A couple of people have mentioned the height difference, but google puts Mills at 1.83m and Cotton at 1.82.

Is that right? If so, seems bizarre to comment on height differences for 1cm.