The Detroit Pistons are set to welcome a handful of new veterans for the 2024-2025 NBA season. The eight-year former first-round pick Malik Beasley is one of them.

Although the Pistons haven’t gathered for their 2024 training camp just yet, Beasley has been putting in offseason work and supporting his new team in the process.

In a recent workout montage, Beasley donned a Detroit Pistons Basketball shirt.

Despite having a ton of cap space heading into the free agency market, the Pistons didn’t break the bank with an All-Star signing. However, they were productive once the signing period opened up and inked complementary role players to add to Cade Cunningham’s squad.

Beasley enters Detroit with plenty of experience under his belt. Back in 2016, Beasley left Florida State and landed on the Denver Nuggets as the NBA’s 19th overall pick that year.

There wasn’t much of a role for Beasley through his first two seasons in Denver. He averaged fewer than four points in 84 games. By year three, Beasley’s role increased. He averaged 23 minutes on the floor, appearing in 81 games. He even picked up 18 starts.

Beasley would produce 11 points and three rebounds per game. In year three, Beasley averaged 40 percent from three. After seeing the court for 41 games with the Nuggets in year four, Beasley was moved to the Minnesota Timberwolves. He spent two and a half seasons with the Timberwolves before getting traded to the Utah Jazz. Midway through the 2022-2023 season, Beasley was dealt to the Los Angeles Lakers.

Last summer, Beasley hit the open market before signing with the Milwaukee Bucks. He started all but two of the 79 games he played. Averaging nearly 30 minutes of playing time, Beasley recorded 11 points per game on 41 percent shooting from three.

As a 39 percent shooter from three through nearly 500 games in his career, Beasley is an ideal fit for the Pistons. The 27-year-old might not stick around in Detroit for a long time, but he fills a temporary need as Cunningham could use plenty of shooting around him.

On Saturday, Texas and Michigan are set to clash in one of the biggest early-season matchups of the 2024 college football season. 

The two teams are littered with NFL Draft prospects for the Detroit Lions to scout. 

Without further ado, here are five players from the Texas-Michigan contest that the Lions should be taking a long look at. 

S Makari Paige, Michigan 

Paige is a tall, big-bodied defensive back (6-foot-4, 208 pounds), who is capable of playing both nickel corner and safety. The Lions appear a bit thin at safety headed into the 2024 season, and Paige – a West Bloomfield (Mich.) High School product – could be just what the doctor ordered. 

Also, according to draft pundits, he presently is projected to be selected on Day 3 of the 2025 draft, making him an even more realistic target for Detroit general manager Brad Holmes.

It’ll be interesting to see how Paige fares in coverage on Saturday against Texas quarterback Quinn Ewers.

DL Mason Graham, Michigan 

Graham has the makings of a high-caliber interior defensive lineman at the next level. At 6-foot-3, 315 pounds, he’s equipped with the necessary tools to be a three-down lineman who can wreak havoc In the backfield and get after the quarterback.

He suited up for 13 games last season, and recorded 35 total tackles, including 7.5 for loss, and three sacks. And for his efforts, he earned second-team All-American and first-team All-Big Ten honors.

He’s clearly one of Michigan’s best defenders, and has a great opportunity to make his presence known Saturday against Ewers and the Longhorns.

LB David Gbenda, Texas

Gbenda should have his fingerprints all over Saturday’s tilt with the Wolverines.

The 6-foot, 235-pound linebacker will not only have his eyes glued to Michigan’s running back duo of Donovan Edwards and Kalel Mullings throughout the contest. But, he also will be tasked with trying to curtail the production of All-Big Ten tight end Colston Loveland.

Gbenda, who’s featured on the 2025 Senior Bowl watchlist, finished with four total tackles, including a tackle for loss, in the Longhorns’ season-opening victory vs. Colorado State. I expect him to be a major factor Saturday afternoon.

TE Colston Loveland, Michigan

Sure, the Lions already have a Pro Bowler at the position in Sam LaPorta. However, Loveland would be a pass-catching upgrade over incumbent Detroit No. 2 tight end Brock Wright, and LaPorta and Loveland would form a dynamic tight end duo.

Loveland is coming off an All-Big Ten season in which he amassed 45 receptions for 649 yards and four touchdowns. Also, a week ago against Fresno State, he caught eight passes for 87 yards and a score.

I believe that Loveland is the real deal, and would look very nice in Honolulu Blue. I believe that Detroit’s scouts will be taking a look at him Saturday at The Big House.

LT Kelvin Banks, Texas 

Banks has first-round potential written all over him. The 6-foot-4, 325-pound lineman brings tremendous athleticism to the table, and uses that to his advantage both in lass protection and as a run blocker.

Banks, a five-star recruit coming out of high school, has started every game at left tackle for Texas since his freshman year in 2022. Last season, he was a first-team All-Big 12 selection and a contender for the Big 12 Offensive Lineman of the Year award.

He has a big task ahead of him against the Wolverines, being responsible for blocking U-M defensive linemen Josaiah Stewart and Derrick Moore.

With a strong junior campaign, he has a great chance to be the very first offensive tackle taken in the 2025 draft.

Detroit Tigers left-hander Tarik Skubal, the frontrunner to win the American League Cy Young Award, didn’t add another win to his candidacy as the best pitcher in baseball.

Even worse, the Tigers failed to add another win to their AL wild-card race in a heartbreaking loss to the Oakland Athletics.

The Tigers lost, 7-6, to the Athletics on Friday in the first of three games in the series at Oakland Coliseum. Skubal surrendered two runs and couldn’t complete the sixth inning, but the Tigers forced extra innings — only to lose in the 13th on a walk-off single by Seth Brown.

“That was a winnable game,” manager A.J. Hinch told reporters in Oakland. “We kind of did it to ourselves in a couple of situations. Games get a little bit crazy here, and with extra innings and all the extra runners and things like that. It’s a tough loss.”

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For the first time since Aug. 2, the Tigers (71-71) lost a game in which Skubal started to snap a streak of five wins in Skubal outings. The loss sends the Tigers to 5½ out of the third and final American League wild-card spot, with 20 games remaining.

This one took four rounds of extra innings.

In the 10th inning, the Tigers and Athletics traded runs, with Colt Keith’s RBI single off right-handed reliever Mason Miller with two outs in the top half and Brent Rooker’s RBI double off right-handed reliever Brenan Hanifee in the bottom half.

In the 11th inning, the Tigers and Athletics traded two runs, with Parker Meadows’ two-run double off left-handed reliever Scott Alexander with two outs in the top half and Brown’s two-run home run off right-handed reliever Shelby Miller in the bottom half.

Brown, a left-handed pinch-hitter, crushed Miller’s middle-middle slider with two strikes.

“It didn’t change a lot because we take Shelby on lefties the way he’s pitched against lefties,” Hinch said. “I know he’s had a couple of tough at-bats, but generally speaking, he’s been really tough there. Just one pitch to Brown, and the game continued.”

In the 12th inning, the Tigers and Athletics traded runs with Riley Greene’s RBI single off right-handed reliever Grant Holman in the top half and Rooker’s sacrifice fly off right-handed reliever Beau Brieske in the bottom half.

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The teams were tied, 6-6, entering the 13th inning.

Meadows, who hit a go-ahead grand slam in the ninth inning of Friday’s win over the San Diego Padres, struck out swinging with the bases loaded and two outs in the top of the 13th.

The Meadows strikeout accounted for Holman’s only strikeout in two innings of work.

The Athletics didn’t miss in their opportunity with one out in the bottom of the 13th, as Brown turned on an inside fastball from Brieske for a walk-off single down the first-base line and into right field, driving in the free runner from second base.

It was Brown’s second big hit in three innings.

In the loss, the Tigers used 13 position players and eight pitchers.

Meadows went 2-for-7 with four strikeouts; Greene went 4-for-6 with one strikeout; Keith went 1-for-6 with two strikeouts; Spencer Torkelson went 0-for-6 with four strikeouts; Trey Sweeney went 0-for-6 with two strikeouts; Jake Rogers went 0-for-4 with two walks and two strikeouts. Torkelson has struck out 26 times in 59 trips to the plate — a 48% strikeout rate — in his past 14 games.

The game lasted three hours, 34 minutes.

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Tarik Skubal Day

Skubal shut down the Athletics until the fourth inning, when Lawrence Butler and Rooker hit back-to-back singles. With one out, JJ Bleday hit a ball off the wall in center field, but for a moment, it looked like Meadows caught the ball.

The moment of uncertainty was enough to fool the Athletics, with Butler stopping at third base, Bleday stopping at second base and Rooker getting caught in between them. The Tigers tagged out Rooker in between the bases.

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Skubal then stranded two runners in scoring position by striking out ex-Tiger Tyler Nevin, dropping in an 89.6 mph changeup at the bottom rail of the strike zone. When Nevin whiffed, Skubal unleashed a scream in celebration as he backpedaled off the mound.

The Athletics, though, finally scored in the fifth inning, as Zack Gelof doubled with one out and Jacob Wilson tripled with two outs. On the triple, the ball dropped inside the foul line in right field, just beyond the reach of a sliding Kerry Carpenter’s glove, to tie the game, 1-1.

In the sixth inning, ex-Tiger Daz Cameron put the Athletics ahead, 2-1, when he hit an RBI single off Skubal’s sinker — located middle-middle — with two strikes and two outs. The single from Cameron chased Skubal from his outing after 96 pitches.

Skubal has a 2.53 ERA in 28 starts.

Facing the Athletics, Skubal allowed two runs on nine hits with zero walks and seven strikeouts. The 27-year-old generated 18 whiffs on 48 swings, including 11 whiffs on 18 swings against his changeup.

Before extra innings

The Tigers scored one run apiece in the fifth and seventh innings.

In the fifth, three singles in a row from Meadows, Jace Jung and Greene chased right-hander Mitch Spence from his start. The single from Greene put the Tigers ahead, 1-0.

In the seventh, Greene — a left-handed hitter — ripped a two-strike, two-out double off left-handed reliever Hogan Harris. The Tigers pinch-hit Matt Vierling for Carpenter, but the Athletics countered by bringing in right-handed reliever Michel Otañez.

The decision backfired.

Otañez threw two wild pitches within his first six pitches to Vierling. The first wild pitch allowed Greene to advance to third, and the second wild pitch allowed Greene to score for a 2-2 tie.

Contact Evan Petzold at epetzold@freepress.com or follow him @EvanPetzold.

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