Simone Fontecchio was acquired by the Detroit Pistons in a trade this February. He will remain with the team for the upcoming season. Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN has reported that the 28-year-old has agreed to a two-year deal with Detroit. He entered the offseason as a restricted free agent. It is the Pistons’ second signing of the day, as they agreed on a deal with Malik Beasley earlier.
Free agent F Simone Fontecchio has agreed on a two-year, $16 million contract to return to the Detroit Pistons, sources tell ESPN. pic.twitter.com/ioGnth59xQ
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) July 6, 2024
Prioritizing Shooting, Pistons Brings Back Recent Acquisition
Fontecchio Had Solid Season For Pistons And Jazz
The Utah Jazz traded the six-foot-eight Fontecchio to Detroit in exchange for Kevin Knox, the rights to Gabriele Procida, and a 2024 second-round pick (Utah took Kyle Filipowski with that selection). Fontecchio played 16 games (nine starts) after joining the Pistons. Playing 30.3 minutes per game with the team, he averaged 15.4 points, 4.4 rebounds, and 1.8 assists. He connected on an impressive 42.6% of his three-point tries on 6.3 attempts per contest. Fontecchio needed surgery on his left big toe, which caused him to miss Detroit’s last 15 outings.
Fontecchio’s first season in the NBA was in 2022-23 with Utah. He didn’t receive all that much playing time (14.7 minutes per game in 52 appearances). His shot wasn’t falling as much as he’d like, as he made just 36.9% of his attempts from the field and 33.0% from beyond the arc. Before being dealt, Fontecchio was playing with much more confidence for the Jazz in 2023-24. He appeared in 50 games for Utah last season, starting in 34 of them. The small forward averaged 8.9 points in those games while shooting 39.1% from three-point range.
Born in Italy, Fontecchio had played professionally overseas for nearly a decade for teams based in Italy, Germany, and Spain before joining the NBA.
Detroit Continues to Address Outside Shooting
Improving the spacing on the floor will be of significant benefit for the first overall pick in 2021, Cade Cunningham. Opponents did not respect the Pistons’ outside shooting, which made life more difficult for Cunningham and others. They finished 29th in three-pointers made and 26th in three-point percentage.
An entire season of Fontecchio should help in that regard. The same can be said with adding Beasley. The 27-year-old has connected on 699 three-pointers just over the last three seasons at a 38.1% clip. They previously signed Tobias Harris this offseason, who had made 36.8% of his career three-point tries. Lastly, they acquired Tim Hardaway Jr. in a trade with the Dallas Mavericks. He has nailed more than 200 three-pointers in four different seasons. The Pistons hope their moves will help them improve on a franchise-worst record of 14-68 in 2023-24.