The Detroit Lions signed six-year veteran wide receiver Tre’Quan Smith to a reserve/futures contract.

The six-foot-one, 210-pound Smith was a third-round pick by the New Orleans Saints in 2018 and his time would have overlapped with Lions’ head coach Dan Campbell’s time there.

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The 28-year-old Smith showed some production over five seasons with the Saints and by pulling in 131 passes for 1,764 yards and 18 touchdowns in 67 games, which included 35 starts.

Smith followed former New Orleans head coach Sean Payton to Denver last season, but battled injuries and made it off the practice squad for just one game with the Broncos where he played 10 snaps.

Pistons making moves

The Detroit Pistons made a pair of trades ahead of Thursday’s NBA trade deadline.

In the first deal, the Pistons will acquire Italian forward Simone Fontecchio from the Utah Jazz for Kevin Knox II, a second-round draft pick in 2020 and the draft rights to Italian guard Gabriele Procida.

The six-foot-eight, 209-pound Fontecchio will be a restricted free agent after this season. The 28-year-old Fontecchio is averaging 8.9 points per game and is shooting 39 per cent from three-point range. The Pistons can match any offer he receives in the off-season.

Knox II, who was a former lottery pick, is being dealt for the second-straight year by Detroit, who moved him to Portland last year in the James Wiseman trade and had rejoined the team on Nov. 8. Procida was a second-round pick by the Pistons in 2022 and is playing in Germany.

In the second deal, the Pistons will trade guard and Flint native Monte Morris to the Minnesota Timberwolves for shooting guard Shake Milton, six-foot-seven forward Troy Brown Jr. and a 2030 second-round pick.

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Morris, who is on an expiring $9.8 million contract, missed the first 43 games of the season with a right quad injury and only made his debut on Jan. 24. He appears in just six games this season for Detroit.

Brown averaged 4.7 points per games in 37 games for the Timberwolves and shot 36.9 per cent from three-point range. Milton has averaged 4.2 points per game.

The Detroit Tigers traded infielder Nick Maton to the Baltimore Orioles on Wednesday for cash considerations.

The 26-year-old Maton has been designated for assignment by the Tigers last week. Maton was acquired by the Tigers last year from the Philadelphia Phillies along with infielder/outfielder Matt Vierling and catch Donny Sands in exchange for left-handed reliever Gregory Soto.

Maton started the 2023 season as Detroit semi-regular third baseman, but struggled in the field and at the plate and bounced between the Tigers and the club’s Class AAA affiliate team in Toledo.

Maton, who hit just .173 in 93 games for Detroit last season, was out of minor-league options, which meant he had to make the Major League Baseball team in 2024, but the club opted to remove him from the 40-man roster.