The Detroit Pistons wanted to keep a knockdown movement shooter next to Cade Cunningham, so they traded for and paid Duncan Robinson this summer. That trade looks like a failure just one week into the season as Robinson struggles and Simone Fontecchio is heating up in Miami.
The Pistons were in something of a bind this summer. Malik Beasley had one of the greatest shooting seasons of all time (Non-Steph Curry Division) last year, hitting 41.6 percent of his 9.3 attempts per game. He hit 319 triples altogether, good for 8th all-time and 3rd if you remove the aforementioned Wardell Stephen Curry II.
Yet with Beasley suddenly implicated in illegal gambling activities, the Pistons had to pivot away and find someone to take his place. With Tim Hardaway Jr. giving back on defense everything he adds offensively, their only internal candidate to step into that role was Simone Fontecchio. He was a solid 3-and-D player but didn't have the track record as a high-volume 3-point shooter for Detroit to trust him in that role.
The Pistons traded for Duncan Robinson
That led to a sign-and-trade with the Miami Heat, Sending Fontecchio to South Beach and bringing in Duncan Robinson. The longtime Heat sharpshooter shows up a few times himself on the single-season 3-point leaderboard and has no problem getting shots up. He will make $48 million over the next three seasons on his new deal with Detroit.
The early returns for Robinson through four games have been less than stellar. He is coming off of the bench, as Beasley did for most of last season, but he has not achieved the same level of impact as Beasley. He is only getting up 7.1 3-pointers per-36 minutes, the lowest of his career. The ones he does get up are only going in 32 percent of the time, an unacceptable number for him to be successful in his role.
It's early, and a four-game sample for even an elite shooter can trend cold, but it's an inauspicious offensive start in Detroit. When you add in that he is the worst defender in their rotation by far, he has been a negative player overall for the Pistons. Their bet on Robinson looks like a bust thus far.
Simone Fontecchio is on fire
What makes it even more painful is that Fontecchio is on fire for the Miami Heat. He is playing just 20 minutes per game compared to Robinson's 31 and yet he is averaging 12.8 points to Robinson's 8.8 because of his elite accuracy. The Italian wing is shooting 55 percent from deep and 72.7 percent from 2-point range. He ranks in the NBA's Top 10 in true-shooting percentage and is essentially doing exactly what the Pistons need from Robinson.
Except - here's the worst part - he's doing so as a positive defender. He has the size and strength to defend opposing wings at an above-average level. He isn't prime Tayshaun Prince but he is a positive defender and, right now, an ultra-positive shooter and scorer. He ranks among the 20 most impactful players in Box Plus-Minus.
Will Fontecchio shoot 55 percent from deep all seaso? No. Will Robinson shoot better than 32 percent? Almost certainly yes. Perhaps by the end of the year the narrative will flip and Robinson will look like the better player.
For now, the Pistons look like they gave up a better player to give a more expensive contract to the worse player. That's the kind of blunder that can trip up a team trying to contend in the Eastern Conference, and the organization has to be regretting their big offseason trade.