Detroit Pistons fans call trade for Simone Fontecchio a 'great move'
The Detroit Pistons made a trade on the eve of the trade deadline.
This is the second Pistons trade in the last month, following a deal that brought in Mike Muscala and Danilo Gallinari from Washington in exchange for Marvin Bagley, Isaiah Livers and two second-round picks. The deal for Fontecchio was made just over 24 hours before the 3 p.m. Thursday NBA trade deadline.
Fontecchio, 6 feet 7 and 209 pounds, appeared in 50 of 52 games this season for the Jazz and primarily served in an off-ball role on offense with the ability to space the floor as an effective 3-point shooter. He is averaging 8.9 points, 3.5 rebounds and 1.5 assists per game while shooting 45% from the field and 39% from 3-point range in 23.2 minutes per game this season.
The Pistons re-signed Knox at the beginning of the season after shipping him out on last year's trade deadline to the Trail Blazers in a four-team deal that brought James Wiseman to Detroit. Knox appeared in 31 games for Detroit this season, averaging 7.2 points and 2.4 rebounds while shooting 46.2% from the field and 33% from 3 in a rotational role on the wing.
Per Cleaning the Glass, the Jazz scored 3.5 more points per 100 possessions and gave up 1.3 fewer points with Fontecchio on the floor. 75th percentile among wings in 3-point accuracy. Very good shooter and offensive rebounder, solid defender
— Omari Sankofa II (@omarisankofa) February 7, 2024
Fontecchio will be a restricted free agent after the 2024 season, meaning he will be a free agent after the season, but the Pistons have the opportunity to match any offer sheet he receives from another team. Fontecchio, a native of Italy, joined the NBA in 2022 after starting his career in the Euroleague.
The trade between the Pistons and Jazz was the first domino in what is expected to be a busy trade deadline around the NBA. Media and fans online, hungry for any parcel of NBA trade news, immediately started talking about the trade of two rotational pieces in the frontcourt.
Pistons fans were happy about the added shooting for a relatively low price, as well as the fact he could be sticking around with the young core for the foreseeable future. Outside of Detroit, people focused on the draft pick given up, originally from the Wizards, which is currently slotted to be the No. 32 overall pick in the upcoming draft.
Fontecchio 6’8” wing, shooting 40% from deep, 56% from two. 28 years old. Very much liked him when I’ve watched Utah games.
For just a 2nd rounder? I think this was a great move for the Pistons.— Darth Ku (@KuKhahil) February 7, 2024
The Pistons needed a 2-way stretch forward, and they got one. That’s all I need to hear.
I don’t know if Fonteccio has any more production in him than he showed in Utah, but what he showed was enough for me to like this deal.
If he’s gone in 5 months, I’ll like it less.— Keith Black Trudeau (@Charlottean28) February 7, 2024
I firmly believe that the Pistons will be a great example of the Law of Diminishing Returns.
The team was functionally broken during that 28 game losing streak.
They got 2 bottom of the rotation players that actually *fit* & it bumped our offense up like +6 ORTG instantly.…— Jason (@Traeshmaen) February 7, 2024
He IS a great fit! #DetroitBasketball https://t.co/FQTOKxnZTD
— Motor City Hoops (@MotorCityHoops) February 7, 2024
I like this for Detroit. Its two-way wing play is really poor and the added spacing has come at the cost of its defense. Fontecchio gives them versatile shooting and a viable wing defender. https://t.co/wD0tA6URKt
— Jackson Frank (@jackfrank_jjf) February 7, 2024
Fontecchio walks in the door a top-3 defender on the team with real shooting and good decision making man I’m so excited. I love that. We are building team Italy
— Matt Griffin (@griff1on1) February 7, 2024
Some Pistons fans are reading tea leaves and believe this trade is just the first step for a larger deal involving other players on the team, like Bojan Bogdanovic.
You might laugh, but I think the Fontecchio trade makes Bojan more expendable right now…
— PistonsThoughts (@PistonsThoughts) February 7, 2024
Now that you got Simone Fontecchio I pray the Pistons deal Bojan Bogdanovic.
Pistons just basically traded for Bojan lite with better defense.
You could probably run a lineup of
Cade
Ivey
Simone
Ausar
Duren
At this point.— nick (@nsitto2) February 7, 2024
Kevin Knox re-signing with the Pistons for a third time this summer will be chills
— Subscribe to the You Know Ball Patreon (@TrillBroDude) February 7, 2024
A) Simone’s a really helpful role player
B) But the Pistons giving up a good second round pick for an expiring Fontecchio so they can still miss the playoffs by miles this season seems crazy? Him being an RFA changes some things though.— Andy Larsen (@andyblarsen) February 7, 2024
The second-round pick the Utah Jazz got from the Pistons via the Wizards is currently slotted at #32 in this year’s draft.
That would be their highest selection in the 2024 draft if they don’t keep their first-round pick (top-10 protected) or trade into the first round. https://t.co/dzi9EYV8XC— Yossi Gozlan (@YossiGozlan) February 7, 2024
fontecchio is a GREAT fit for what detroit needs. and i am a big believer in optimizing you’re developmental environment with such scalability. but man, giving up no. 32 when you aren’t flush with extra picks for a 28-year-old rfa is not nothing. https://t.co/HzQQDUMkYq
— Dan Favale (@danfavale) February 7, 2024
Fontecchio was linked to contending teams like the Boston Celtics, who has the NBA's best record at 38-12, prior to this deal.
Watching some Simone Fontecchio film
He has an intriguing skill set and would be a nice bench piece if the Celtics trade for him pic.twitter.com/TDgMzf5Bwc— Pull up shoot (@NElGHT_) February 7, 2024
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Pistons fans laud 'great move' to trade for Simone Fontecchio
