The Detroit Pistons have acquired forward Simone Fontecchio in a trade with the Utah Jazz for Kevin Knox II, the rights to Gabriele Procida and draft considerations.
Fontecchio, 6-8, 209, is in his second NBA season after signing with Utah as an international free agent out of Italy in 2022. He is averaging career-highs across the board this season with 8.9 points, 3.5 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 23.2 minutes in 50 games (34 starts). Fontecchio is shooting a career-high 39 percent from 3-point range this season and has made at least half of his 3-point attempts in 19 outings. In 102 career NBA games with the Jazz (40 starts), he has averaged 7.6 points (.363 3FG), 2.6 rebounds and 1.1 assists.
A native of Pescara, Italy, the 28-year-old Fontecchio played professionally for 11 seasons overseas prior to entering the NBA. A three-time Italian Super Cup winner (2016-18) and a 2014 Lega Basket Serie A All-Star, he competed for Team Italy in the 2023 FIBA World Cup and averaged 18.0 points and 5.6 rebounds, leading the Italian team to the quarterfinals. Fontecchio also reached the quarterfinals with the Italian National Team in the 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympics. In his 2021-22 season with Baskonia in Liga ACB (Spain), he averaged an international career-high 12.4 points (.410 3FG).
Knox II, 6-7, 215, appeared in 73 games for Detroit over the past two seasons, averaging 6.3 points, 3.5 rebounds and 15.8 minutes per game (12 starts). Originally selected No. 9 overall by the New York Knicks in 2018, Knox signed as a free agent with Detroit in 2022 and was traded to Portland in a four-team deal at the 2023 trade deadline. He re-signed with the Pistons on Nov. 8, 2023, and averaged 7.2 points and 2.4 rebounds in 31 games (11 starts) for Detroit this season.
Per the Detroit News, “Knox, a former lottery pick, has been traded by Detroit at the NBA’s annual deadline for the second consecutive season. Last February, he was part of a four-team deadline day trade and was sent to the Portland Trail Blazers, as part of the deal to acquire James Wiseman. He’s become a journeyman since entering the league in 2018, but had a more productive second stint with the Pistons this season. Now, he’ll head to a Jazz team that is hovering around the 10th seed in the Western Conference playoff picture.”
Procida, 6-7, 191, was acquired in a trade with Portland in 2022 after being selected No. 36 overall in the 2022 NBA Draft. The 21-year-old native of Como, Italy, has not yet played in the NBA and is averaging 8.7 points, 1.6 rebounds, 0.9 assists and 1.5 steals in 17.8 minutes across 23 games for ALBA Berlin in the EuroLeague this season.
