The Phoenix Suns went against popular opinion that had them taking point guard Tyrese Haliburton in last year's NBA Draft, instead selecting big man Jalen Smith out of Maryland with the 10th overall pick.
The thought behind that selection was building the Suns up to battle the then-defending NBA champion Los Angeles Lakers and Denver Nuggets, who lost to Lakers in the conference finals in the Orlando bubble.
"We talk about teams like the Lakers, those are teams that have great size, skill and versatility," Suns General Manager James Jones said after last year's draft. "You talk about teams like Denver, they have great size, skill and versatility.