Crowder wouldn’t be 1st player to join Suns after trash-talking Booker

Reports that Jae Crowder has agreed to sign with the Phoenix Suns may bring back memories of the last time he made headlines with guard Devin Booker, but he’s not the first player to trash-talk the young star and then join up.

In 2017, the Suns caught some heat from Crowder after the team celebrated Booker’s 70 points against Crowder’s team, at that time the Boston Celtics, in a losing effort.

The Suns posed for a picture with Booker, who was holding up a paper with “70” written on it in the style of Wilt Chamberlain.

Crowder commented on the NBA’s Instagram page that posted it.

#ThisIsWhyWePlay (check the comments) pic.twitter.com/9Ia3REapfp

— Michael Lee (@MrMichaelLee) March 25, 2017

Crowder (@bossmann99): “NEVER SEEN SO MANY GUYS HAPPY AFTER AN ‘L'”

Booker (@dbook): “you can’t guard me”

Jaylen Brown and Marcus Smart were the primary Celtics guarding Booker that night, but Booker responded quickly with some trash talk of his own.

Crowder sent a message back clarifying that he was talking more to Booker’s teammates, not the 20-year-old himself.

pic.twitter.com/Y2fRl6cnB1

— Michael McHugh (@Michael__McQ) March 25, 2017

Crowder (@bossmann99): “I WAS TALKING BOUT THEM DUDES AROUND YOU. BUT ILL SEE U NEXT YR.!

Well, it wasn’t quite “next year,” but any lingering feelings the two had after that game — one in which Celtics fans at TD Garden chanted Booker’s name — have long dissipated. Crowder signed a three-year deal with the Suns for $30 million, The Athletic’s Shams Charania reported Saturday.

This isn’t the first time a player was been angered by Booker and the Suns only to find himself joining the team.

That same 2017 season, Memphis Grizzlies shooting guard Troy Daniels and the Suns got into a little scuffle during a Phoenix loss.

Suns & Grizzlies scrap during garbage time. Tyler Ulis wasn't backing down… pic.twitter.com/8t0wnQbHyw

— Ben Golliver (@BenGolliver) February 9, 2017

Apparently, Daniels had told Booker that the young guard only scores in garbage time and to check his resume. Booker, who had done his own fair share of trash talking during the game, spoke up during the press conference afterward.

“I don’t know why he’d be talking to me — been on five teams in three years and he has the nerve to talk trash to me, but it is what it is,” Booker said.

It was technically four teams in four years, but Daniels would be traded to his fifth team just months later.

It was, of course, the Suns, where he would play for two seasons.

So, sure, Crowder may evoke some memories of Booker’s 70-point game and the reaction after the Suns’ loss.

But Booker isn’t in unchartered territory over here. And Crowder will bring that fire to his new team and arena.

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