The last time the Phoenix Suns used some of their assets to “trade up”, they found a way to disprove the theory that the NBA is all about acquiring the best player in the deal no matter who else is involved.
But sometimes “salary filler and other picks to make it work” end up better than the headliners.
During the 2016 NBA Draft, minutes after the Phoenix Suns took power forward Dragan Bender, they decided they couldn’t live without the other top power forward still available in the draft and traded a number of assets the Kings to trade up from #13 to #8 and take Marquese Chriss.