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Southeast Notes: Antetokounmpo, Fontecchio, Penda, Hawks

By | at July 19, 2026 7:06 pm

By all indications, the Bucks made an effort to do right by Giannis Antetokounmpo when they traded him to the Heat, a team at or near the top of his personal wish list. That willingness to accommodate, at least to an extent, Antetokounmpo’s preferred landing spot does beg the question of why, then, team president Pat Riley ended up having to trade nearly every asset he had to get the two-time MVP, Ira Winderman writes for the South Florida Sun-Sentinel.

“As far as what we gave up, we gave up a significant price,” Riley said before discussing how the addition of the 13th overall pick helped add a little value to the deal. “Was it a nickel more, a dime more, a quarter more, whatever it is. But, you know, Jon Horst is a great GM.”

As Winderman acknowledges, the players the Heat gave up in the deal – Kasparas Jakucionis, Jaime Jaquez Jr., Kel’el Ware, and Tyler Herro – hadn’t been able to help lead the team to playoff victories in recent years. But all four players have positive value, and when the draft compensation is accounted for, it’s a significant all-around package. Miami got by far the best player in the deal, but the move will also limit the front office’s flexibility considerably moving forward.

At the end of the day, the decision to possibly overpay in a deal to bring the NBA champion to Miami comes down to one thing, according to Riley.

“He’s worth it — period,” Riley said. “That’s how I look at it.”

We have more from the Southeast Division:

  • Despite making the biggest move of the summer, the Heat still face some offseason uncertainty, including the potentially forthcoming decision from LeBron James. Outside of whether James will choose to return to Miami, one significant question the team has to answer is how it will generate enough three-pointers to keep up with modern offenses. One player who has gone somewhat overlooked in this regard is 30-year-old wing Simone Fontecchio, according to Winderman. The Italian forward’s decision to re-sign on a one-year, minimum contract this summer received little fanfare, even from Riley, but he’s a career 36.7% three-point shooter who will likely get better looks than ever playing off the Antetokounmpo-Bam Adebayo tandem going forward.
  • There are three goals for a second-year player at Summer League, Jason Beede writes for The Orlando Sentinel: look like a standout player on the floor, show improvement on both ends, and provide glimpses of what the upcoming season could look like. Magic forward Noah Penda accomplished all three, according to Beede, showing a much-improved outside shot and better defense. “Being able to space the floor was a big improvement that I had to [make] during the summer,” Penda said. “… As a second-year (player), you just want to make the right play and show that all the things that are categorized as rookie mistakes — you want to raise that and show growth and poise during the games.“
  • By swapping Zaccharie Risacher for Luguentz Dort and Ryan Nembhard, the Hawks were able to add even more toughness to their increasingly gritty identity, Lauren Williams writes for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Dort enters a rugged perimeter unit with Nickeil Alexander-Walker, Dyson Daniels, and third-year guard Devin Carter, all of whom pride themselves on their toughness and physicality defensively. Nembhard is small but feisty, with quick hands and a high work ethic. He also posted an assist-to-turnover rate of nearly 4-to-1 as a rookie last season. There’s still a roster crunch to sort out, but Atlanta has given itself an impressive amount of lineup versatility and mix-and-match ability with its moves over the last couple of years.
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