The Detroit Pistons have good news for their fans across the state of Michigan.
Once the Detroit Pistons were about to enter the playoffs last season with the top seed in the Eastern Conference, fans of the team were forced to find a new source for their hoops fix. After the team’s deal with Bally Sports dissolved following their parent company’s financial collapse, the Pistons pivoted to a free, over-the-air television source for the final five regular season games.
At that time, the Pistons announced that they expected a long-term solution to come together during the offseason that would pave the way for the Detroit fan base to watch their team consistently and reliably. As a result, the Pistons announced last month that The Spot Grand Rapids 17 and FOX WXMI-17, working under the E.W. Scripps operation, would host Detroit hoops games moving forward, but there’s a new update to that agreement that spells good news for those across the state.
In addition to those two downstate hubs, the Pistons will expand their local television footprint to Flint, Lansing, Alpena, Marquette and Traverse City to provide comprehensive coverage of the squad all over Michigan.
For those in Flint, the Pistons will appear on WNEM 5.2., which is a longtime leader of sports coverage in the Genesee County and Saginaw Bay area. Lansing viewers can tune into WSYM 47.2 to receive their Detroit basketball fix, while those in Alpena can rely on WBKB. 11.4 for their broadcasts during the 2026-27 campaign. On top of those locations, the Pistons will have three stations in Traverse City (WWTV 9.3/10.3/45.3) before stretching across the Mackinac Bridge into the Yoop to Marquette (WJMN 3.5/5.3/10.3).
Now that the Pistons have their broadcast situation sorted out, the team is expected to have some news regarding Jalen Duren’s restricted free agency in the next couple weeks. Simply put, Duren does not have much time left on the clock to decide if he’d like to accept his qualifying offer (at $9.6 million) for the upcoming season. Doing so would make the 22-year old All-Star an unrestricted free agent next offseason, but there’s a major inherent risk to doing so.
Duren has up until Oct. 1 to make that decision, and surpassing the deadline would eliminate what little leverage the big man has left. If JD does not accept his qualifying offer in September, then it can safely be assumed that he’ll be able to work out a long-term extension with the Pistons before the start of the regular season as opposed to sitting out for the year. Ideally, Detroit would like to have Duren’s deal finalized before moving on to Ausar Thompson’s rookie scale extension, which could come in at a similar pay structure to the contract that JD eventually signs.
Later this month, the Pistons will report back for training camp, so the Duren saga will reach a conclusion one way or another in the coming weeks. Although his deal was expected closer to the start of the offseason, Duren has clearly had a bumpy negotiation process with the Pistons, but a resolution is near.
