Jazz acquire former draft bust in trade with Pistons
The Utah Jazz and Detroit Pistons are giving us a light appetizer with some 24 hours to go before the NBA trade deadline.
Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN reported Wednesday that the Jazz are sending forward Simone Fontecchio to Detroit in exchange for fellow forward Kevin Knox, a 2024 second-round pick, and the rights to Gabriele Procida (a former second-round pick in the 2022 draft).
Knox, 24, is probably the best-known name here. He was a lottery pick in the 2018 draft (No. 9 overall) but was never able to shed his label as a bust, especially after being picked over players like Mikal Bridges, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, and Michael Porter Jr. Knox had been averaging 7.2 points and 2.4 rebounds a game this season for Detroit (on par with his career totals of 7.4 points and 2.9 rebounds per game).
As for the Pistons, they get a useful player in Fontecchio, 28, who is posting 8.9 points a night on solid 45/39/80 shooting splits (but will be a restricted free agent this summer). Meanwhile, the Jazz will have the option of trying their luck on Knox for the rest of the year (he himself will be an unrestricted free agent this summer) or maybe even flipping him again before Thursday’s formal deadline. At 26-26 (tenth in the West), it is unclear if Utah will fully commit to buying or selling, but they do have some high-profile trade chips.
