Trent Plaisted will get mo' of Motown.

The former BYU basketball standout finally saw his name get called at 9:23 p.m. Thursday -- nearly four hours after the start of the NBA draft -- as he was taken with the 46th pick overall.

Seattle actually made the selection. But it appears the 6-foot-10 Plaisted is headed to Detroit.

It's part of a package trade that centers around D.J. White, the former Indiana standout who the Pistons took with the second to last selection of the first round (No. 29). Seattle gave up a pair of second-round picks (Nos. 32, 46).

"It's an amazing organization," Plaisted said of the Pistons. "Overall, I feel excitement -- relief, too."

Plaisted had a year of eligibility remaining but chose last month to skip it. He signed with an agent, Mark Bartelstein and Priority Sports, and worked out for about a dozen teams.

The Pistons happened to be one of them. And Plaisted knew Detroit liked him, and he hoped enough that they'd take him with that first-round pick over White.

Various draft pundits had Plaisted being selected anywhere from the end of the first round until the middle of the second. He was right at the latter, as there are 30 picks in each of the two rounds.

Besides Detroit, Plaisted thought perhaps Boston would take him. As he's pointed out, and any BYU fan would recognize, the NBA champions have a general manager who happens to be a Cougar legend: Danny Ainge. Plaisted also played with his son, Austin.

One NBA reporter, Sam Smith of The Sporting News, cleverly pointed out that Ainge could've had more incentive than blue-and-white ties to pick Plaisted. Bartelstein also represents James Posey, an integral part of the recent NBA Finals run that the Celtics are trying to re-sign.

Smith called it one favor leading to another. Alas, it didn't happen.

Though Plaisted knows well the guy Boston took with the last pick of the opening round: J.R. Giddens, a graduated New Mexico player who tied BYU's Lee Cummard as the Mountain West Conference's top player last season. (Giddens is also represented by Bartelstein.)

After that, Plaisted watched on TV with family as Texas A&M freshman center DeAndre Jordan -- an opponent from the NCAA tournament first-round loss -- went 35th to the Los Angeles Clippers.

Plaisted insists he didn't cynically cock his eyebrows when either of those familiar foes was taken.

"I'm sure things will work out well for them," Plaisted said.

He's in some familiar territory. Besides working out for Detroit, he played there for BYU in December of 2006. The Cougars lost a neutral-court game to Michigan State, but Plaisted looked comfortable in The Palace of Auburn Hills by scoring what was then a career-high 23 points to go with seven rebounds.

He connected on his first eight shots from the field before missing his last four.

"Hopefully I can keep it up there," he said. "Detroit has had a lot of success and has been pretty interested in me from the beginning. It's a great situation for me, and I'm excited to help contribute in any way I can."

The Pistons have been an Eastern Conference power for several years, including an NBA title in 2004.

Plaisted happens to be the 44th NBA draft pick from BYU -- that was his college jersey number -- and the third since 2003. Travis Hansen went 37th overall that year, while Rafael Araujo went a year later, No. 8 to Toronto.

Neither of those players lasted long in the NBA, and it deserves mentioning that both were selected by teams that weren't exactly stable or winning organizations at the respective times.

Plaisted, while picked later, steps into a much better situation, at least as far as the team is concerned.

He called that aspect "a tremendous boost."

Plaisted has work to do to make the roster, and money. One disappointment of not being a first-rounder is the lack of automatic financial guarantee. However, 14 of the 30 second-round picks from last year signed contracts that at least assured one season.

It was a special day for Plaisted. For starters, he slept until about 10 a.m., the first time in a long time that's happened. He took a hike with his wife around Sundance Resort and returned home to watch his future unfold.

"Everything was great," he said. "It's a great situation to be in."