(Mandatory Credit: Nic Antaya/Getty Images)
Last week, Sports Digitale’s Niko Yenibayrak reported that the Miami Heat wing Simone Fontecchio “may be waived” by the organization due to tax reasons. We still don’t know how much merit that holds. But for this specific exercise, let’s pretend like there’s some.
The Miami Heat, as currently constructed, rest $1.6 million above the luxury tax with 14 players on standard contracts, according to Yossi Gozlan’s Capsheets. The only way the Heat would be able to get under the luxury tax would be by waiving-and-stretching his $8.3 million, which is expiring.
They would have until Aug. 29 to exercise the stretch provision. But it would be an incredibly short-sighted, cheap decision to do so less than two months before the 2025-26 season.
The Miami Heat should not waive-and-stretch Simone Fontecchio:
Fontecchio, 28, will be one of the three new faces on the Heat next season. He was acquired as the lone piece in the Duncan Robinson sign-and-trade. I don’t want to put unfair expectations on the third-year forward, but his specialty is the one skill that Robinson specialized in: Shooting.
He shot just 33.5 percent from 3-point range on 3.0 triple tries last season, but he is one season removed from knocking down 40.1 percent of his 5.1 long-range attempts across 66 games in 2023-24. At his best, he’s in a similar tier as Robinson defensively while not being as skilled offensively. But the 6-foot-8 forward won’t be afraid to let it fly.
However, stretching Fontecchio wouldn’t allow him to showcase his potential skillset in any way.
By stretching him, he would be on Miami’s books for $2.8 million for the next three years. As a result, it’d move roughly $3.9 million below the luxury tax. Though they would duck below the 14-player minimum, needing to sign someone using their bi-annual exception ($5.1M), part of their non-taxpayer mid-level (they wouldn’t have access for the full $14.1M NTMLE) or the veteran minimum, which would cost, at most, $2.3 million.
Next year’s luxury tax isn’t calculated until April of 2026. While you could use one of those contracts to sign, say, Alec Burks, Gary Payton II or Lonnie Walker IV, you’re better off getting below the tax by making a (slight) cost-cutting trade at the deadline — where you’ll net something in return.
By waiving Fontecchio now, you’re losing the only asset that you acquired for the greatest shooter in franchise history. I understand there’s a stretch deadline. But that’s poor asset management at its finest when you’re less than $2 million over.
Fontecchio projects to be a back-end rotation player, but plenty can change. His skillset may be needed more than we can project right now, which is why you can’t completely punt an opportunity to develop him to avoid the repeater tax when you have seven months to accomplish that.
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