But that iteration came crashing down very publicly and is a distant memory for the rebuilding 20-55 Suns, which completed their messy divorce from Morris minutes before the Feb. 18 3 p.m. trade deadline by sending him to Washington. On Friday he returned in Wizards gear.

“Long time no see,” a reporter said.

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“No, I wouldn’t say long time,” Morris said. “But I’ve been great, man. I’m happy to be in D.C. I’m closer to my family and, you know, a great organization and great teammates. Great coaches. All of the above.”

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Before the game, Morris’s teammates pulled an April Fools’ Day prank on Morris by hanging his old No. 11 Suns jersey at his locker, which had his Suns nameplate and a pair of orange sneakers on top.

“I told him, ‘That means they love you,’ ” Wizards Coach Randy Wittman said. “When another team boos you, trust me, that means you were a hell of a player here. If you were a nobody, they wouldn’t boo you.”

Morris emphasized that his first four years in Phoenix – the first four years of his NBA career – were “great.” He enjoyed his teammates and the organization. But the final six months were a different story because he believed the organization wronged him and his twin brother, Marcus, by unexpectedly trading Marcus to the Detroit Pistons last summer less than a year after the twins agreed to discounted contract extensions to play together.

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The following months were turbulent in Phoenix. He requested a trade before the season started, was benched in early December, and served a two-game suspension for tossing a towel at then-Coach Jeff Hornacek. In his final game in a Suns uniform, he shoved teammate Archie Goodwin during a timeout against the Golden State Warriors on Feb. 10. That was the last time he played at Talking Stick Resort Arena before Friday night.

“I always felt free to play,” the 26-year-old Morris said. “It’s just tough to do certain things with no trust and play for people that you really don’t trust.”

Asked to elaborate on who he believed is untrustworthy (General Manager Ryan McDonough and owner Robert Sarver are candidates), Morris wouldn’t elaborate.

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“I ain’t getting into that,” Morris said. “But I’m happy where I’m at now and I can look back on the happy years I had. It was definitely a great time.”

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Morris wasn’t the only recent Sun to leave Phoenix unhappy. Goran Dragic and Isaiah Thomas both did before last year’s deadline to begin the team’s fire sale. Morris just didn’t think it would happen to him too.

“I’ve seen this play out before,” Morris said. “There’s been a couple players I’ve been with here that were the best players on the team and came back next year in a new uniform so it’s nothing new.”

Morris has played in 23 games for Washington and started 17. He’s averaging 11.7 points and 5.8 rebounds in 25.8 minutes per game for the Wizards, which moved to within 2.5 games of a playoff spots with Friday’s win.