Paul Coro

azcentral sports

WASHINGTON – With some distance from an acrimonious final few months in Phoenix, Markieff Morris misses the place.

Morris’ 4 1/2-season stay in Phoenix was a positive progression for four seasons until his twin, Marcus, was traded to Detroit and he asked for a trade. After his play and behavior took a downward turn, Morris was traded in February to Washington but could not help the Wizards make the playoffs.

In his first NBA season elsewhere, Morris remains Washington’s starting power forward and has produced a slight statistical bump amid the Wizards' struggles.

“It’s kind of like the same,” Morris said of the Suns’ and Wizards’ experiences. “Both teams, it’s a freelance of basketball. We just play for the most part. You find your spots. John (Wall) does a great job of getting me the ball here. In Phoenix, I had Bled (Eric Bledsoe) doing a great job. It’s like the same brand of basketball.”

Morris visited with friend and former teammate P.J. Tucker on Sunday’s off-day but did say his motivation might be greater when he returns to Phoenix again in March than it was for Monday’s game.

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“I had a wonderful time there,” Morris said of Phoenix. “It was a great experience. That’s a place that I might go back and live. It’s a great city. You have your ups and downs anywhere but my five years there were some of the best times in my life.”

Does Marcus feel the same way?

“No, no, no, he’s all the way done,” Morris said. “I was there longer so it’s kind of more set in my heart. He’s completely done in Phoenix.”

Morris enjoyed playing for Jeff Hornacek and had strong performances in his short time under Suns coach Earl Watson to help Suns General Manager Ryan McDonough make a deal with the Wizards. The Suns took on two players, Kris Humphries and DeJuan Blair, whom they eventually waived, and the Wizards’ No. 13 pick in the June draft, which they used to package with their No. 28 pick and the rights to Bogdan Bogdanovic to get rookie Marquese Chriss at No. 8.

“For me, it wasn’t difficult to reach him,” Watson said. “What we try to do here is take away the non-sensitive side of it and turn it into a family environment with positivity and encouragement but at the same time have direct conversations, accountability and transparency. It’s a difficult mix to manage.”

Brooks helps Watson

For Watson at the helm of a young team, he draws from how Wizards first-year coach Scott Brooks handled his Oklahoma City team when Kevin Durant was a second-year player and Russell Westbrook was a rookie thrown to the fire. He recalled how Brooks never lost his cool through the young players’ mistakes because he was building something for the long run.

“What really changed us is as the season progressed, those young guys began to earn ownership of the team,” Watson said. “I expect the same evolution here for our group because it’s very similar.”

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Night at the museum

Suns players and staffers took a private Sunday night tour of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture.

“It speaks volumes that every shade has a DNA of the fabric,” Watson said. “It’s not just ownership of one race. We all share a significant piece of the fabric of that flag. The national anthem situation is kind of old but it’s the reason why I stand. I really feel like my family has a big part of building this country.

“It was moving. It was touching. It was eye-opening, even for those who are very familiar with the history, but at the same time, it was uplifting.”

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Free throws

* Suns small forward T.J. Warren remained away from the team due to illness Monday. He has been away from the team since leaving Friday’s game in Indiana in the first quarter and going to a hospital for treatment.

* Suns forward Jared Dudley, booed lightly in his return to Washington, on last season’s Wizards and this season’s Suns: “You want to play fast but you got to play smart as a team. That’s what we’re trying to teach here. We’re trying to play fast. Just because you play fast doesn’t mean everybody has the freedom to do what they want. That’s when you’ve got to have self-discipline. That’s what we (Washington) lacked last year.”

* Watson on center Alan Williams recording double-doubles off the bench in Thursday’s and Friday’s games: “It just shows the energy and passion he has on the bench is not fake. He plays with the same thing.”

Reach Paul Coro atpaul.coro@arizonarepublic.com or (602) 444-2470. Follow him atwww.twitter.com/paulcoro.