This offseason, the Detroit Pistons have put themselves in a position to be a major player in free agency. Armed with over $60 million in cap space, the newly shaped front office can add multiple pieces to pair alongside the team’s young core.

In a few weeks, the 2024 free agent class will start to take shape. As of now, there are still a handful of names that have decisions to make regarding player options. Among those expected to decline their option and test the market this summer is LA Lakers guard D’Angelo Russell.

Recently, the people at Bleacher Report named free agents that are flight risks. Russell’s name was brought up, and the Pistons were among the teams listed as a potential new home for him.

The Orlando Magic could use a shot of offense and have significant cap space. The Detroit Pistons should be desperate for some veteran talent. Outside of these franchises, however, Russell may have to settle for the $12.9 million non-taxpayer mid-level exception with a team like the Sacramento Kings to be a sixth man if Malik Monk leaves.

If the Pistons were looking to add some veteran help, Russell could be one of the cheaper options this summer. He’s had success with rebuilding teams in the past, dating back to his time with the Brooklyn Nets.

While on the Lakers, Russell proved he can thrive as a secondary ballhandler. Having shared the floor with LeBron James, he should be able to easily slot in next to a guard like Cade Cunningham. More importantly, he can provide playmaking and outside shooting in the backcourt. In 76 games with the Lakers, Russell averaged 18.0 PPG and 6.3 APG while knocking down 41.5% of his threes on high volume.

(CBS DETROIT) — The Detroit Board of Police Commissioner has some serious concerns. One commissioner said situations continue to arise involving officers not wearing their body cams or turning them off.  

“It needs to be an increase in supervisors’ review as well as continuing audits of the body-worn cameras,” Commissioner Willie Burton told CBS News Detroit.

Burton alleges that the board continues to see concerns about body cameras not being worn. He said the most recent instance happened at a recent pro-Palestinian protest after a lieutenant was heard telling a woman to go back to Mexico.

“But there have been other situations where there’s a peaceful protest in the City of Detroit where officers weren’t wearing body-worn cameras a few years back, so now it’s becoming a growing issue,” Burton said.

Detroit police first began wearing body cameras in 2016 as part of a pilot program. CBS News Detroit is told that having officer interactions visually on record can clear many misunderstandings. 

“It really puts us in a tough spot when it comes to lawsuits and things of that nature. All of this can be preventable if we just ensure that our supervisors are getting on the members,” Burton said.

With over 2,000 officers, Burton alleges some officers have been repeat offenders by not wearing their cameras. He’s unclear, though, on how often audits are conducted on body cameras.

“We do have good officers on this force. Some just don’t want to adhere to the policy,” he said.

Live: so we were hoping to interview someone from the department to clear things up.

CBS News Detroit asked the Detroit Police Department about the concerns from Burton. The department issued the following statement:

“The Department is aware of the concern raised by the Board of Police Commissioners regarding a failure on the part of some officers to activate their body cameras. While the Board has raised these concerns, the Department is not aware of any systemic issues related to non-use of body cameras amongst its personnel. Those who are found not using their body cameras are subject to corrective action. Moreover, as each officer on a car is mandated to wear a body-worn camera, in instances where one member fails to activate his or her camera, footage is captured by the other member’s device.

“The Department has invested millions of dollars in body-worn camera technology. Every member is issued a camera, and the Department has instituted strong policy mandating their use. While prior audits and inspections have not revealed any form of widespread patterns of non-use, the Department will conduct an audit of BWC compliance in an effort to be responsive to the Board’s concern on this issue.”