When Simone Fontecchio arrived in Detroit, he didn’t expect a quiet moment with Kevin Durant to leave such a mark. During a break in the game against the Suns, Durant approached him with a surprising message. It wasn’t trash talk or strategy — it was pure respect.
Simone Fontecchio just got traded from the Detroit Pistons to the Miami Heat, and he's still adjusting to the idea of having to change teams once again.
Kevin Durant
Kevin Durant
Team: Phoenix Suns
Position: PF
Age: 36
Height: 211 cm
Weight: 109 kg
Birth place: Washington, United States of America
"Honestly, it's still fresh news, I don't know what plans they have for me, I haven't thought much about it", Fontecchio said to Italian newspaper "Il Centro".
"I already experienced the trauma of being moved from one place to another when I got traded to Detroit, I still see this as an opportunity to know the USA even better".
When in February of 2024, Simone Fontecchio was traded from the Utah Jazz to the Detroit Pistons, his trade value was pretty high, and several teams were looking at his case to add a shooter to their rosters.
The Italian wing revealed in the interview that after he arrived in Detroit, he received an unexpected sign of respect from one of the best players in the league, Kevin Durant.
"I was just got traded to the Pistons, and one of the first few games that I played with Detroit was against Phoenix, where Kevin Durant was playing at that time", Fontecchio explained.
"During a break in the game, Durant came up to me and told me, "we tried everything we could to get you here, but we couldn't do it". It was a great show of respect from a champion of the game and it made me realize how much he thought of me".
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