Pistons to sign Malik Beasley to 1-year deal, bring back Simone Fontecchio on 2-year deal

The Detroit Pistons continue to make key additions to their roster this offseason.

The Pistons have agreed to sign guard Malik Beasley, a league source confirmed Saturday to The Detroit News. Shams Charania of The Athletic, who was first to report the deal, indicated that the deal is for one year and $6 million.

By adding Beasley, 27, the Pistons bring a top-tier 3-point shooter to the roster, as Beasley shot 41.3% from beyond the arc, ranking 23rd in the league. He averaged 11.3 points and 3.7 rebounds in 79 games with the Milwaukee Bucks last season.

Beasley is a volume 3-point shooter, averaging 6.9 attempts (542 total) from distance. For comparison, the Pistons' highest total was 369 from Jaden Ivey; Beasley made 224 3-pointers, 100 more than Ivey. The 6-foot-4 Beasley projects to be the starting shooting guard, which would allow Ivey to go to the reserve group, where he can continue to hone his game.

The 19th pick in the 2016 draft, Beasley was one of the players the Pistons considered when they selected forward Henry Ellenson just one pick ahead. Beasley played one season at Florida State and eight seasons in the NBA, including stints with the Denver Nuggets, Minnesota Timberwolves, Utah Jazz and Los Angeles Lakers before spending last season with the Bucks.

Beasley was the first of two free agent dealings for the Pistons on Saturday. Detroit also agreed to bring back restricted free agent forward Simone Fontecchio on a two-year, $16 million deal, ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reported.

Fontecchio was the most impactful player the Pistons added at the 2024 trade deadline. The 28-year-old is coming off his best 3-point shooting season and was a proven solid defender for Detroit in the last few weeks of the Pistons' otherwise forgettable season.

Fontecchio made his debut with the Utah Jazz during the 2022-23 season. He started the past campaign with the Jazz before he was traded to Detroit for Kevin Knox, a future second round draft pick and the draft rights to Gabriele Procida (36th overall in 2022).

Fontecchio averaged 8.9 points and 3.5 rebounds in 50 games (34 starts) with the Jazz last season. Those numbers jumped to 15.4 points and 4.4 rebounds per game in his final 16 games (nine starts) with the Pistons. Fontecchio also converted on 42.6% of his 3s while in a Pistons uniform last season.

The Pistons have added Tim Hardaway Jr. in a trade with the Dallas Mavericks, which was announced Saturday. The Pistons also received three second-round picks in the deal, which was a salary dump for Dallas, with Hardaway due $16.2 million for next season. Another big acquisition was getting forward Tobias Harris in free agency, on a two-year deal worth $52 million.

It's been a solid start for team president Trajan Langdon, who already has added three solid veterans in the offseason, and they still have about $18-20 million in cap space remaining for additional moves.

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