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With the Heat's newest acquisition in Simone Fontecchio after the Duncan Robinson sign-and-trade to the Detroit Pistons has been made official, the 29-year-old will now join a team and look to fill the void of the prolific three-point shooter. Fontecchio is one of the few moves the team has made, along with the Heat trading for Norman Powell, but the Italy-born forward spoke Tuesday about the traits that he's ready to show off.
As Fontecchio would speak about starting a new chapter in his NBA life, he compared himself to Robinson in how they approach three-point shooting, but also about fitting into the famed culture of the franchise. One of the aspects of the team's identity is the defense, which Fontecchio said to ClutchPoints that he takes “pride” on that side of the ball.
“The second year I was with the Jazz, I was guarding the best player on the other team probably every time, every game,” Fontecchio said. “So it’s something that I take pride [in], taking the challenge and trying to do the best I can on the defensive end. And I think my skill set fits right into that, right into the culture and I’ll definitely put more and more focus into that.”
His last stop was with Detroit, where he's been since 2023, he averaged 13.4 points and 38.6 percent from deep against Miami in nine games. But, he shared the “admiration” he has for the team.
“I always look at this franchise, the Heat, with admiration,” Fontecchio said. “They play multiple undrafted guys and make them big players. I always kind of loved that. I think I’m kind of the same player because I wasn’t drafted, I came to the league kind of late.”
Heat's Simone Fontecchio on playing with Tyler Herro, Bam Adebayo
As Duncan Robinson bids farewell to his time with the Heat, Fontecchio looks to provide some of that production, though it would be hard for anyone to be arguably the greatest three-point shooter in team history. Still, he looks to play well with head coach Erik Spoelstra and the featured duo of Tyler Herro and Bam Adebayo.
With the number of times Fontecchio has faced Miami, there is some familiarity in the play style, as he emphasized how excited he is to play with them.
“Of course, I don't know them like personally, but I played them by now multiple times, especially last year,” Fontecchio said. “We played like four times. There were always, like, very competitive games, very like art, I think we won three times, if I remember, well, they're always like battles, like for over the 48 minutes. And as I said, I'll always been a fan of like how the Heat played, how Coach Spo coached the team.”
“Tyler Herro and Bam Adebayo are like the two main players, in which we were putting the focus before when we're playing against them,” Fontecchio continued. “And I'm looking forward to meeting them. And think they are definitely like the leaders of the team, and it's pretty clear the way they lead the team, and also leading by example. So I'm looking forward to play with them.”
At any rate, Fontecchio looks to help improve the team after a 37-45 finish last season.
