Detroit, MI
Sleeper free agent could bring ‘Heat Culture’ to the Detroit Pistons
With the NBA Finals well underway, I stare at the television screen watching the games, thinking to myself: the Detroit Pistons aren’t even on the same planet as these teams.
It’s honestly jarring to think how far our Pistons are from competing for not only a championship, but a play-in spot. The talent, the shooting, the defense, the IQ’s of these players; our Pistons couldn’t be further from it.
The Detroit Pistons have not made the playoffs since 2018 (thanks Blake Griffin) and have not won a playoff game since 2008. Without playoff basketball in Detroit, every year I am forced to hop on a team’s bandwagon. Ever since their NBA Bubble run, I have chosen the Miami Heat. Simply put, I love the way they play. I love the “Heat Culture” thing. I love Jimmy Butler.
Related Story. The Detroit Pistons have a Jaden Ivey problem. The Detroit Pistons have a Jaden Ivey problem. dark
Their teams are never full of superstars, but rather a collection of very good players paired with overachievers and gym-class heroes who play the right way. One of those gym-class heroes is set to be a free agent this offseason, and I want the Pistons to go after him.
NEW: What the Heat can and cannot do in free agency, and the significant Rozier trade consequences that impact thathttps://t.co/naai7M29Vl
A look at who Miami is permitted to pursue and who it can’t— Barry Jackson (@flasportsbuzz) May 13, 2024
A lot of players have been thrown around that the Pistons could go after this offseason. Malik Monk, Gary Harris, Tobias Harris, Miles Bridges (no thank you), Buddy Hield, and the list goes on.
However, Caleb Martin is rarely mentioned. Throughout my bandwagon fandom of the Miami Heat these last couple of years, Martin always jumps off the screen. He’s a big guard/wing, standing at 6-foot-6 205 lbs, so he can guard larger forwards like Jayson Tatum or Jaylen Brown, but Martin is quick for his size making him a luxury to plugin any lineup, wherever you need him.
He can slot in at the 2, 3 or 4. He reminds me of Alex Caruso: a very solid defender, a hustler, a shooter, and a sneaky playmaker. He started 49 games during the Heat’s championship run in 2023, shooting 36 percent from three and averaging 10 points and 5 rebounds. He’s more than capable of going off in the biggest of games too, just ask the Boston Celtics:
Caleb Martin’s game 7 performance in the Eastern Conference Finals is one of the best if not the best playoff performance you’ll ever see from a role player pic.twitter.com/1g3dHtWGlT
— HEAT NATION (@Zachppp) August 15, 2023
I can’t emphasize this enough: Caleb Martin cannot be the Pistons BIG signing this offseason, but if he was their second or third notable signing, then that should be a decent offseason.
With over $60 Million in cap space, this Pistons can more than afford to overpay a little bit for a guy like Martin. I see him netting anywhere from $12 to $18 million a year, as he comes from a winning organization, he’s in his prime, he’s a willing “stick your nose in it” defender and a very solid shooter.
Like Caruso, he’s just a guy that every team could use. I am admittedly not this statistical, analyzing machine. I watch games, I check box scores, I look at player profiles and season-by-season stats, and I form an opinion. Caleb Martin checks the boxes. Where would he fit in with the Pistons? Who cares.
Sometimes you don’t need to overthink it. Martin is a big three-and-D guard/forward. Like duct tape, you just plug him wherever you need him. He could start at the 2 or 3, play the 4 in a small ball lineup, or come off the bench. Out of everything I’ve seen from Martin over the years, I am confident in saying he is a team guy who just wants to play ball and win games. Bring him to the D.
Martin has a player option for next season at $7.1 million but is expected to opt out and test free agency.
Detroit, MI
Bruce Campbell announces cancer diagnosis; ‘Fear not,’ he tells fans
Treatment will delay the Royal Oak-born actor’s plans to tour his new film ‘Ernie & Emma’ this summer.
Royal Oak-born movie star and cult hero Bruce Campbell announced on social media on Monday that he has been diagnosed cancer — a type that is “treatable” but not “curable,” he said.
“I apologize if that’s a shock — it was to me too,” the “Evil Dead” star, 67, wrote in a message posted to Instagram.
He went on to say “I’m not gonna go into any more detail,” and he didn’t. He said the public announcement had to do with scaling back appearances on his schedule, including tour dates behind his latest film, “Ernie & Emma.”
Campbell planned to show the movie June 5 at the Redford Theatre; as of Monday night, that date is still on the Redford schedule, but Campbell wrote in his note he plans to get “as well as I possibly can over the summer so that I can tour with my new movie ‘Ernie & Emma’ this fall.”
The movie is written, directed by and stars Campbell as a man who goes on a journey following the death of his wife. Campbell produced the movie alongside his wife, Ida Gearon, and filmed it in Oregon, where he now lives.
Campbell told The News in January he dedicated “Ernie & Emma” to his childhood moviemaking pals, including Scott Spiegel, who died of a heart attack in September 2025.
“It’s a callback to the carefree days of Super 8, where we could do whatever the f–k we wanted to do,” Campbell said of “Ernie & Emma.” “So I thought, ‘All the boys are responsible for this,’ so they’re all in there.”
Campbell got his start making movies around Metro Detroit with his childhood pal, Sam Raimi. Campbell starred in Raimi’s “Evil Dead” trilogy and has since appeared in most of Raimi’s films; Campbell makes a brief appearance in a photograph in the background of an early scene in Raimi’s latest, “Send Help.”
He’s also an author; Campbell’s autobiography “If Chins Could Kill: Confessions of a B Movie Actor” was published in 2001.
In his post on social media, Campbell thanked fans and said he was not out to elicit sympathy.
“Fear not, I am a tough old son-of-a-bitch and I have great support, so I expect to be around for a while,” he wrote.
agraham@detroitnews.com
Detroit, MI
Michigan State Police sends message to drivers after trooper involved in hit and run:
“Slow down and move over” is the message that Michigan State Police is sending to drivers after one of its troopers in a parked patrol car was struck while investigating a crash this weekend. The driver of that vehicle fled the scene.
Michigan State Police tells CBS News Detroit that we’re two months into the year, and it has had six incidents across the state where patrol cars were struck by oncoming vehicles. One of those incidents occurred on Sunday evening.
“Could have been much more tragic,” said MSP Lieutenant Rene Gonzalez, First District public information officer.
Gonzalez says on Sunday, an MSP trooper was near M-10 and Schaefer Highway in Detroit, simply doing his job, when his patrol car was hit from behind.
“Trooper was out there, and he was investigating a crash when, at the time, a Jeep SUV drove into the rear of the parked vehicle,” Gonzalez said.
The impact slid the trooper’s car into a concrete wall. The 29-year-old Detroit woman driving the Jeep SUV struck the center median, got out of the vehicle, and ran away.
“Not sure why they did it. Maybe not paying attention if they were distracted. They’re attempting to locate her at this time,” said Lt. Gonzalez.
The trooper walked away with minor injuries. Gonzalez says this incident is an example of why Michigan’s Move Over Law was put in place many years ago. The law, which went into effect in 2019, requires drivers to move over into the next lane and reduce their speed by at least 10 mph when emergency or service vehicles — police, fire, rescue, ambulance and road service — have their lights activated.
Drivers who are not able to move over are still required to reduce their speed.
“Trying to do our jobs, however, people are not paying attention. The law is easy. It’s simple. You see us, you see our lights activated, you have to slow down ten miles below the posted speed limit, and then if able, move over to the next occupied available lane,” Gonzalez said.
Gonzalez says crashes like this can be deadly and often avoided.
“One life lost over something that was a totally preventable crash, it’s way too much. We’re asking that you slow down and move over when you see our lights. It’s a simple message that we’ve been pushing out for years,” he said.
Sunday’s crash remains under investigation. Michigan State Police detectives are still working to track down the 29-year-old suspect.
In the meantime, police are out enforcing the Move Over Law.
Detroit, MI
Rex Satterfield’s 1956 Bel Air takes 2026 Ridler Award in Detroit
The impact and history of autos in Detroit, The Motor City
Here are some facts about Detroit’s auto industry.
Rex Satterfield hoped to see his 1956 Chevrolet Bel Air convertible snag one of the BASF Great 8 finalist spots at this year’s Detroit Autorama. But winning the Ridler Award — one of the highest honors in the custom car business — was something he didn’t foresee.
“It’s just overwhelming right now,” said the man from Russellville, Tennessee, as he left a ballroom at downtown’s Huntington Place and made his way back to the show floor on Sunday, March 1. “We weren’t expecting this.”
Getting a car recognized as one of the BASF Great 8 vehicles is a win in and of itself as they are considered the “absolute pinnacle of custom automotive craftsmanship worldwide,” according to the show. The cars undergo an intensive judging process.
And this effort had an unexpected and emotional complication with the passing in December 2024 of the original builder, Jeff Wolfenbarger, who was battling cancer even as he continued working on the car named “Elegant Lady.”
Kevin Riffey of Kevin Riffey’s Hot Rods and Restorations in Knoxville stepped in to finish the work Wolfenbarger started. He’d had two other cars in the past make the Great 8. He said the goal with this vehicle was straightforward, calling it a “purpose-built show car.”
From its prominent spot at the front of the show floor, “Elegant Lady” sported a creamy exterior, dubbed Light Coffee. The car carries a 1,000 horsepower Don Hardy race engine. The gauges, wheels and gas tank are custom, and the dash is from a 1956 Pontiac.
Satterfield plans to show the car around some and enjoy the moment with it. He said he’s been a car guy since he was a little kid.
The Ridler Award, named in honor of Detroit Autorama’s first publicist, Don Ridler, comes with a $10,000 prize. It was awarded on the final day of this year’s Detroit Autorama, which ran Friday, Feb. 27-Sunday, March 1. This was the event’s 73rd year.
Eric D. Lawrence is the senior car culture reporter at the Detroit Free Press. Send your tips and suggestions about cool automotive stuff to elawrence@freepress.com. Become a subscriber. Submit a letter to the editor at freep.com/letters.
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