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Miami Heat training camps are considered among the toughest in the NBA, but Simone Fontecchio had already experienced something even more demanding under Dusko Ivanovic at Baskonia. “Last year, Spoelstra asked me whether Miami’s training camp was the hardest I had ever experienced,” Fontecchio told the YouTube channel La Giornata Tipo. “I said that, if it made him happy, I could say it was. In the NBA, yes. But not in my entire life.”
Fontecchio joined Baskonia immediately after representing Italy at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021. His Olympic campaign ended on August 8, while Ivanovic’s preseason began two days later. “I was still in Japan and had to stop in Italy, so I very timidly asked Dusko if I could arrive later,” he recalled. “He said: ‘Of course. We start on the 10th, but you can come on the 12th.’” After a 13-hour journey, Fontecchio reached Vitoria around lunchtime and assumed he would be given time to recover. “Dusko told me: ‘Go and complete your physical tests. Practice is scheduled for 4 p.m., but don’t worry—we’ll move it to 6 p.m. so you can join us.’”
“Not common at all,” Adebayo said of the stability in his NBA career with the Heat. “I’m grateful to be here nine years. I’m looking to be here three more, obviously, and then on. But it’s an exciting city, man. To be a part of this for going on 10 years, and then to have the same coach. I’m blessed to have both of those things. I got an organization that believes in me. So, I’m happy to be here.”
Antetokounmpo admitted how the endless trade rumors and speculation were “tiring,” but a fresh start begins for him in Miami, as Riley gave his end of that first phone call, noticing a “conviction” from the star to win another title. “I felt and heard the conviction in his voice about the same things that I wanted, that [Erik Spoelstra] wants, that the Arison family wants. He just talked about winning,” Riley said. “It was business right on that phone call, and he wants to win, and he wants to win big. We're not here guaranteeing anything, but we want to win, as Bobby [Portis] said this morning, the chip, and we're not waiting.”
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“We are human, and this is an amazing profession. We get to realize our dreams, but the business can be tough,” Spoelstra said. “And we developed strong relationships with those guys, and we poured into all of them. You know, Tyler came as a teenager, and we poured everything into him, and I think he did the same toward us, and he accomplished some terrific things over the course of those seven years, and then everybody else as well. Like those are relationships that you enjoy developing, and yeah, and developing time with those guys, you know, so that is the tough part of it. Obviously, we're excited about having Giannis here.”
Heat Central: Giannis Antetokounmpo is EXCITED to be coached by Erik Spoelstra: “I just want to be coached hard. I’d rather you tell me the ugly truth than a beautiful lie… I don’t want to be sugarcoated. I have a lot of people like that in my life that try to make me feel good. I don’t need that. I need the truth so I can apply that to life and the game of basketball… I’m excited to be coached by him… I’m excited to be here and I know he’ll get the best out of me.” I need the season to hurry up and start.
Zach Weinberger: Bobby Portis Jr. on Pat Riley and Erik Spoelstra saying how much they wanted him on the #Heat. “It’s good to a legendary coach like Spo, and obviously Pat, who's a legend as well, to want me here…not just some throw-in piece that people may think, I ain't that.“
Ira Winderman: Spoelstra on adding Portis and Antetokounmpo, "We feel like we bring an edge and a physicality to our front court. ... We think we've checked those boxes." Says frontcourt versatility also addressed.
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Shams Charania: "I think there's a draw with Miami, and I think Pat Riley is a draw, I think Erik Spoelstra is a draw, once again. I haven't gotten the feel that there's any tension that still remains between LeBron James and Pat Riley that would deter him from that. I actually think Bam Adebayo and Giannis are big draws for him too. Like he played Team USA with Bam, he's got a lot of respect for Bam. Giannis would want LeBron James in Miami as well from my understanding, so, and then no state taxes there, you played in Miami, and you got to think about it. There's all these factors and I think what Rich Paul was trying to do with his podcast and I think he did was lay out that yeah, it's about basketball, it's about culture, it's about environment."
Ira Winderman: From Tyler Herro, "To Spo, Pat, Micky, the entire organization, my teammates, the coaches, trainers, equipment staff, arena staff, and everyone who poured into me over the last seven years—thank you. Thank you for believing in me, pushing me, challenging me, and helping shape the player and person I’ve become."
