Simone Fontecchio. Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images

Rehabbing Pistons sharpshooter could play big role this year

By Andrew Kulha | Last updated Oct 1, 2024 2:41 PM ET

The Detroit Pistons aren't expected to do much in 2024, but that doesn't mean they can't be a sneaky team this season.

Cade Cunningham is heading into Year 4 (though he missed all of his second season due to a shin injury) while young up-and-comers like Ausar Thompson, Jalen Duren, Jaden Ivey and rookie Ron Holland II have the potential to explode.

Then there's the veteran presence the Pistons brought in this offseason under new general manager Trajan Langdon and head coach J.B. Bickerstaff. Tobias Harris, Tim Hardaway Jr. and Malik Beasley should all help raise Detroit's floor this season — not that the bar is set high after a 14-68 record in 2023.

One player who may not be getting enough hype heading into this season, though, is third-year forward Simone Fontecchio. Perhaps that's because he averaged just 10.5 points and 3.7 rebounds last season. Or perhaps it's because he only played 16 games with Detroit last season, missing time due to injury.

He's heading into 2024 after undergoing toe surgery in the offseason, but there is reason to believe Fontecchio could be gearing up for a breakout season for the Pistons.

First of all, and most importantly, he's feeling healthy, according to Detroit Free Press beat writer Omari Sankofa III.

Fontecchio on his rehab: "I was able to get back to full 5-on-5 after three months, so that’s the end of August. It’s been a month since I’ve been playing 5-on-5. It feels good, the foot is healed and I’m excited about it."
— Omari Sankofa II (@omarisankofa) September 30, 2024

Fontecchio did show the ability to fill it up last season. It's noteworthy that his points per game went up from 8.9 with the Utah Jazz to 15.9 with the Pistons after they acquired him at the trade deadline.

Sure, it's a small sample size, but his three-point percentage went up as well, from 39.1 to 42.6 despite increasing his volume from 4.7 to 6.3 attempts per game.

Detroit has long needed a reliable (and ideally young) sharpshooter to open up the game for players like Cunningham and Ivey. And with this season potentially being do-or-die for Cunningham's development into a star, having a healthy Fontecchio filling it up from deep for the whole season would be a massive development.

Andrew Kulha

Andrew Kulha is probably the only sports writer you know who also doubles as a mortician. Spooky! @KulhaSports

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