MIAMI — The Miami Heat’s first move on the first day of NBA free agency came ahead of free agency, agreeing to a one-year contract for the return of forward Simone Fontecchio.
With free agency opening at 6 p.m. Tuesday, the Heat were able to move ahead of that starting line because Fontecchio was on last season’s roster.
The agreement with Fontechio is for the veteran minimum, a deal that will pay him $2.6 million, but count only $2.5 million against the salary cap, luxury tax and tax aprons.
Fontecchio, who turned 30 on Dec. 9, earned $8.3 million last season on the second year of a two-year contract he signed with the Detroit Pistons. He was acquired in the July 7, 2025 sign-and-trade deal that sent Duncan Robinson from the Heat to the Pistons.
Fontecchio had an uneven ride in his first season with the Heat, sizzling from the 3-point line early, before dropping off considerably the rest of the way.
By retaining Fontecchio, the Heat utilized a low-cost option to rebuild shooting around Giannis Antetokounmpo, the prized acquisition in last week’s trade agreement with the Milwaukee Bucks.
In that deal with the Bucks, the Heat lost the 3-point shooting of Tyler Herro, Kel’el Ware and Kasparas Jackucionis. With Jaime Jaquez Jr. also going out in the deal that also brought Bobby Portis to the Heat, the Heat had several roster spots to fill with low-cost veteran talent.
Fontecchio appeared in 70 games last season with the Heat, starting nine. In an average of 16.8 minutes per game, he averaged 8.5 points, 3.0 rebounds and 1.4 assists, shooting .412 overall from the field, but ..375 on 3-pointers.
At a listed 6 feet 7, it provided coach Erik Spoelstra with the optionality to play him at both small forward and power forward.
Fontecchio, a native of Pescara, Italy, went undrafted in 2017, after playing professionally in Italy since 2012. He has five seasons of NBA experience, 1 1/2 each with the Utah Jazz and Pistons, plus last season with the Heat.
He is eligible to be signed as soon as Wednesday, since his contract is for the league minimum. Other, bigger free-agency deals cannot be consummated until the July 6 end of the NBA signing moratorium.
Fontecchio made clear his preferred free-agency intention at season’s end, after the Heat were eliminated in an overtime play-in loss to the Charlotte Hornets.
“All I can say,” he said during his season-ending media session, “is that I loved all my time here. I embraced the culture, my teammates, everyone, and it’s definitely a fun year, through the highs and lows, through the ups and downs of a regular NBA season. But I loved it, honestly.
“You never know how these things are going to work out, but if there’s a chance to come back here, I’d definitely love to.”
What Spoelstra and his staff know is they are getting back a low-maintenance veteran.
“My role this year was to be that veteran guy,” Fontecchio said, “always got to be ready whenever his name is called. And I tried to be that, And it’s not easy,
“So that’s one thing I really worked on, to be ready for those opportunities, and I think I got a lot better at that, from the beginning of the season, also from last year, I had a different role, but there’s always something that I wanted to be better at, and it’s this type of role.”