The Pistons selected another very polished, experienced player in the 2nd round in forward Deron Washington. Washington is 6′7″, 225 pounds and he’s a pretty tough guy. He played in 128 games at Virginia Tech and he averaged 10.9 points, 5.4 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 1.2 steals per game. He will have a hard time getting much playing time as a rookie but he will likely help the Pistons out down the road.

The Pistons acquired center Trent Plaisted in a draft day trade with the Sonics. Plaisted is 6′11″, 245 pounds and he’s a very polished, experienced player. Plaisted played in 103 games (95 starts) at BYU and he averaged 13.3 points, 6.7 rebounds, 1.2 assists and 1.0 blocked shot per game. Expect the Pistons to take it slow with Plaisted unless they suffer injuries along the front line.

The Pistons acquired forward Walter Sharpe along with center Trent Plaisted for forward D.J. White on Thursday Night during the NBA Draft. Sharpe is 6′9″, 245 pounds but he doesn’t play as big as his size says he should. Sharpe played in 40 games (10 starts) with UAB, Mississippi and Mississippi State. In those 40 college games, Sharpe averaged 9.1 points, 3.8 rebounds and 0.9 assists per game. Look for Sharpe to have a hard time breaking into the playing rotation unless the Pistons move some forwards in trades before the season starts.

The Pistons have signed center Theo Ratliff for the remainder of the season. He played in 10 games (6 starts) for the Timberwolves last season and he averaged 21.4 minutes, 6.3 points, 3.9 rebounds, 0.7 assists and 1.9 blocked shots per game. Ratliff has now played in 689 games (501 starts) in his NBA career and he has averaged 27.3 minutes, 8.0 points, 6.2 rebounds, 0.6 assists and 2.6 blocked shots per game. This was a good move for the Pistons as it appears that Ratliff still has something to offer.

The Pistons have acquired Juan Dixon from the Raptors for center Primoz Brezec. Dixon should play o.k. for the Pistons if he can get enough playing time to get into a groove. Dixon played in 36 games (0 starts) this season for the Raptors and he averaged 11.8 minutes, 4.3 points, 1.3 rebounds and 1.8 assists per game. He has now played in 369 games (71 starts) in his NBA career and he has averaged 9.0 points, 2.0 rebounds and 1.7 assists per game.

Primoz Brezec played in 37 games (18 starts) this season for the Bobcats and Pistons. In those games, Brezec averaged 9.9 minutes, 1.7 points, 1.7 rebounds and 0.3 assists per game. Both of these players needed new starts and the trade could benefit both of them.