If there was one area where the Phoenix Suns were painfully lacking last season, it was at the center position. The team having to make do with Jusuf Nurkic, before making a move at the deadline to go and get Nick Richards from the Charlotte Hornets. Right away the 27-year-old was everything the Suns needed, bringing energy and athleticism defensively.
Yet despite playing 36 games - and starting 24 of them - by season's end it had become obvious that Richards, for all his heart, was best used as a backup big in this league. A fact the Suns likely would have been cool with, had they not gone back to Charlotte to add Mark Williams, before then getting Khaman Maluach in the lottery at the NBA Draft.