Detroit, MI

Simone Fontecchio’s Chances of Returning to Detroit Pistons Revealed

Published

2 years ago

June 8, 2024

Simone Fontecchio’s Chances of Returning to Detroit Pistons Revealed

As the Detroit Pistons struggled on a nightly basis throughout the 2023-2024 NBA season, it became clear they were likely to sell off veteran players at the trade deadline back in February.

While that was the case for the most part, the Pistons still landed a solid veteran from the Utah Jazz, who could be back for another run beyond last season.

Italy-born forward Simone Fontecchio wrapped up a two-season run with the Jazz in February. Last season, he appeared in 50 games with Utah, averaging nine points on 39 percent shooting from beyond the arc.

At the trade deadline, the Jazz moved Fontecchio to Detroit in exchange for Kevin Knox, a second-round pick, and the rights to Gabriele Procida.

Fontecchio turned out to be a steal for the Pistons, based on his small sample size with the team. Detroit continued to struggle overall, but Fontecchio was a bright spot.

In 16 games, he averaged 30 minutes on the floor and started nine outings. The veteran put up 15 points per game, while shooting 43 percent from beyond the arc.

With the 2023-2024 NBA season in the rearview, Fontecchio enters the offseason as a restricted free agent. He’ll have the opportunity to garner offers from interested suitors. If he signs an offer sheet with another team, the Pistons will be on the clock to match.

What’re the chances Fontecchio returns to Detroit for another run? The Athletic’s James Edwards is under the impression there is a high chance Fontecchio is back in Detroit next year.

Mar 11, 2024; Detroit, Michigan, USA; Detroit Pistons forward Simone Fontecchio (19) gets fouled by Charlotte Hornets forward Grant Williams (2) as he drives the ball up the court in the fourth quarter at Little Caesars Arena. Mandatory Credit: Lon Horwedel-USA TODAY Sports / Lon Horwedel-USA TODAY Sports

“[Fontecchio] has made it very clear that he wants to return to Detroit next season. He enjoys playing with Cunningham, he enjoys the shots he gets playing alongside Cunningham and has told me that he enjoys playing in front of the Pistons’ fan base. If Fontecchio were able to, he’d sign right now, I believe.”

At the end of the 2023-2024 season, Fontecchio battled a toe injury, which recently required surgery. A team-released statement noted that Fontecchio should be good to go for training camp.

While the Pistons can’t guarantee the 28-year-old will be back at this time, it seems another team would have to price out the Pistons, which will be difficult considering they have plenty of cap space to spend this summer.

It’s no secret the Pistons should be looking to make a series of moves as they are coming off of a 14-win season. Allowing Fontecchio to walk should not be one of them.

Surrounding Cade Cunningham with proven shooters should be a priority for Detroit, and Fontecchio has proven he’s the right fit. In 118 career games, Fontecchio has knocked down 38 percent of his threes. He’s an ideal role player for this Detroit team.

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Detroit, MI

K-9 sniffs out undeclared fruit trees in arriving luggage at Detroit Metro Airport

Published

22 minutes ago

April 8, 2026

Press Room

K-9 sniffs out undeclared fruit trees in arriving luggage at Detroit Metro Airport

A K-9 assigned to work at Detroit Metro Airport with U.S. Customs and Border Protection agriculture specialists was credited with two recent instances of detecting undeclared trees among incoming luggage.

One of those circumstances involved an undeclared, suspected fruit tree from Moldova.

The CBP Director of Field Operations Marty C. Raybon shared a video of K-9 Baylee, wearing a CBP identification vest, sniffing out the small, undeclared tree on March 3 while checking arriving luggage at the airport.

“Trees like this can carry exotic plant pests and plant pathogens. Please leave the trees behind and don’t pack a pest!” the agency said in a social media video shared Monday on Instagram.

The U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s Detroit Field Office K-9 Baylee has been finding undeclared small trees amid arriving luggage at Detroit Metro Airport.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s Detroit Field Office

The same K-9 also found small, undeclared plum trees inside luggage that had arrived with a passenger from Albania on Feb. 20.

“These trees could have carried plum pox virus, a serious disease that harms stone fruit,” Raybon said in that social media post shared Sunday on Instagram. “The U.S. recently got rid of this virus, so it’s important to keep it out.”

A list of prohibited and restricted items for airline travel into the U.S. can be found on the CBP website.

Previous reports of unwelcome agricultural pests intercepted at Detroit Metro have included a medfly amid damaged fruit with a passenger from Albania, caper fruit fly larvae amid fresh flowers from Italy, and remains of an invasive khapra beetle found amid luggage arriving from Lebanon.

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Detroit, MI

Byron Allen’s “Comics Unleashed” replacing Colbert’s “Late Show”

Published

12 hours ago

April 8, 2026

Press Room

Byron Allen’s “Comics Unleashed” replacing Colbert’s “Late Show” – CBS Detroit

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Detroit native Byron Allen’s “Comics Unleashed” is set to replace Stephen Colbert’s “Late Show” time slot.

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Detroit, MI

Secret Cinematheque launching Thursday with mystery Michigan movie

Published

1 day ago

April 7, 2026

Press Room

Secret Cinematheque launching Thursday with mystery Michigan movie

The surprise selection will be unveiled when the lights go down at Motor City Cinematheque’s new public program.

A movie with very strong Michigan connections will play Thursday night at the Farmington Civic Theater.

There’s only one hitch: Viewers won’t know what it is until the lights go down and the movie starts.

The evening will act as the kickoff of Secret Cinematheque, a new mystery movie program from Motor City Cinematheque, a nonprofit organization launched in 2025 that is dedicated to enriching film culture in Metro Detroit.

Motor City Cinematheque was founded by Kevin Maher, a veteran of several Hollywood studios who has been involved with nonprofit film exhibition for around a decade, and John Monaghan, a former Detroit Free Press film and theater critic and a former programmer at Detroit’s Redford Theatre.

The Secret Cinematheque programming, which will be held at the Farmington Civic the second Thursday of every month, is one of several film-related initiatives being launched by MCC.

Other programs include an exhibition of experimental 16mm short films at Detroit’s Galerie Camille on May 7; September’s Noir City Detroit festival at the Redford Theatre; an ongoing partnership with the Black Canon, Ali J. Wheeler and Alima Wheeler Trapp’s vast archive of important and influential films representing decades of Black culture; and a new twice-monthly podcast, “One Film Leads to Another,” which is centered on tracing contemporary film’s roots in classic cinema.

“For us, it’s all about getting people into a theater and watching a movie together, and then talking about it in a group setting,” says Maher. “Watching something communally adds another dimension to the experience, even if you’ve seen the movie before.”

That community aspect is at the heart of the Motor City Cinematheque’s mission. Maher compares it to church; there’s the service, and then there’s the greeting line afterward. “That’s the part that builds community,” he says, of the post-ceremony ritual. “And without that interaction, it’s not complete.”

Maher says his film preferences tend to run more populist, and Monaghan’s more toward the obscure. The melding of their tastes will result in a unique blend of programming, he says. The Secret Cinematheque series will also draw guest contributors from area film personalities.

As for this week’s Detroit-themed Secret Cinematheque offering — clues have been offered up on the Motor City Cinematheque and the Farmington Civic’s Instagram pages — “it’s one of those films that’s worth celebrating about Detroit,” Maher says.

No spoilers. See you at the movies.

agraham@detroitnews.com