Sunday afternoon NBA insider, Adrian Wojnarowski announced that the Utah Jazz had finally made a move. He tweeted that the Jazz are signing Italian small forward Simone Fontecchio. While this isn’t necessarily the move Jazz fans have been waiting for as there is still no word on whether or not star guard Donovan Mitchell will be with the team next season, it is an interesting pick up.
It has been reported by Wojnarowski that the 26 year old Fontecchio’s deal will be for two years and worth $6.25M. The Italian spent last season playing in Spain’s top division, Liga ACB, for the club that finished in 4th place in the league last season, Baskonia. He had a solid season averaging 12.4 points per game in the Spanish league and shot above 40% from beyond the arch in both the ACB and Euroleague.
While many European fans may be familiar with Fontecchio, who already has various accolades such as three time Italian Super Cup winner, his most memorable performance was in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. Fontecchio was the Italian national team’s leading scorer averaging 19.3 points per game in the competition. It’s possible that Jazz Exec Danny Ainge has had his eyes on the international prospect for some time now. In 2015 while Ainge was working for the Boston Celtics when they hosted the small forward for a pre-draft workout before he withdrew from the 2015 NBA Draft.
It remains to be seen what his role will be for the Utah Jazz this upcoming season. At 6 foot 8 with his scoring ability and in particular his three point threat he could prove to be a valuable rotation piece on a team friendly deal. If Danny Ainge and company do decide to trade Donovan Mitchell and completely rebuild the team then fans could expect that to see Fontecchio in action throughout the season as he proves whether or not he has the skills to remain in the NBA.