Pistons' Draft Moves

When the Pistons drafted DJ White with their first pick I was
wondering what the hell they were doing. DJ White is a Jason Maxiell
clone! The team didn't need a Jason Maxiell clone and I guess sending
him off to Seattle for a later pick was the plan all along.

Pistons used that pick to select Forward Walter Sharpe out of UAB.
They also got from Portland via Seattle pick number 46 which turned
out to be another forward Trent Plaisted out of BYU. Then with their
own pick at 59 they selected another forward, Deron Washington out of
Virginia Tech.

Sharpe was a sophomore and is 6'9" 245 lbs. He's not a 3 point
shooter but did average a little over 14 points a game and nearly 7
rebounds a game. He had to sit out the 2005-6 season because he was
academically ineligible. He is 21 so he's not likely to grow any more
and he was ranked #11 in PF in college. I'm not sure he's big enough
to play PF in the NBA but who knows how much weight he'll put on with
pro conditioning. He's certainly no backup to Tayshaun, and with
Maxiell backup up McDyess I got to wonder what the thinking was in
picking Walter. More moves to come July 1st maybe.

Trent Plaisted was a star at BYU and I'm wondering why the Jazz didn't
grab him up. But at 6'11", Detroit was the team that worked him out
that was the most interested. Plaisted averaged 15.6 points and 7.7
rebounds for BYU as a junior last season. One scout who was at the
NBA pre draft workout camps wrote this about him:

"Plaisted struggled to make his impact felt on the court consistently,
just floating up and down aimlessly at times and not using his
athleticism to finish particularly strong around the basket. You can’t
ignore his physical tools, but at the same time, you’d like to see him
make more use of it on the glass or defensively. He’s in this draft
for good, so he really would serve himself well to bring the intensity
level up a notch and having a strong showing in the last day of the
camp."

He could become the heir apparent to either Rasheed or McDyess or be
Amir Johnson's backup. Whatever, he'll need to give consistent effort
or he'll be playing in the NBDL or Europe.

The scouts report his strengths as size, left-handed, wingspan,
ability to run the floor, explosiveness, nimble footwork, skilled
w/back to the basket, versatile post game, excellent touch, hands,
passing ability, lateral quickness and upside.

His weaknesses were listed as strength, finishing through contact,
face-up skills, free throw shooting, tough enough to bang in the
paint?, defensive potential (4 or 5?), consistency, mental toughness,
relatively unproven.

Deron Washington is a 22 year old senior and is 6'7" 205lbs. He
played SF in college and could be Tayshaun's backup. He was projected
to be a SF in the NBA but could also be a SG. However, this pick
puzzles me especailly given Joe Dumar's ability to find talent Darko
Milicec not withstanding. In the pre draft camps and workouts, the
scouts had this to say about Deron:

"...he is a tremendous athlete with a poor basketball IQ and plenty of
skill development needed. Defensively he gambled excessively and
seemed to play with a reckless abandon that had to make those around
him nervous, as his play frequently borders on dirty. Most concerning
was his poor body language and the way he just didn’t seem to fit in
with anyone else on the team, not cheering his teammates on, and
showing very little regard for making anyone except himself look
good."

Doesn't sound like a Piston to me.

Regards,
////
(o o)
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"Do Roman paramedics refer to IV's as "4's"?"
-- George Carlin (R.I.P.)
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Steve