Trash talking part of Suns’ approach

You kind of feel bad for Cameron Payne.

See, he likes being part of the White team made up of the bench in 5-on-5 games, but keeps finding himself on the losing end of those spirited practice battles against the Black team that consists of the starters.

“We kind of beat up on the White team a little bit,” Jae Crowder said after Saturday’s practice.

Plus Mikal Bridges has to rub it in all the time.

“Black wins every single day,” he said after Friday’s practice. “I’ll let that be known.”

Welcome to Suns practice, where competition and chatter go hand in hand — and are a major part of their team culture and winning formula.

“That makes everyone better,” Payne said. “When you know that, man, if I don’t win today, I’m going to hear it until tomorrow. It just makes everybody come to work ready ‘cause everybody wants to have that nod and say, ‘Yeah, y’all won yesterday? I ain’t think so.’ So that’s what it’s been. It’s just the competitive nature of the gym. It’s fun.”

Suns coach Monty Williams remembers witnessing the fierce practice battles in his one season as an assistant in Oklahoma City in 2015-16 when Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant were still there. He said this year’s Suns squad is right up there in that regard.

“This is one of, if not the most competitive gyms I’ve ever been a part of,” he said.

And it doesn’t stop when practice ends.

“Free throw games,” Williams said. “It’s like a lot of stuff going on every day. On the bus. On the plane. They compete and you admire it, but you also understand that it’s a quality that allows for you to have success and I hope that helps us this year.”

While Chris Paul, Devin Booker and Jae Crowder are all well known for their trash talking, Bridges appears is right up there, but on the sneak tip.

“That Mikal is something else, man,” Paul said. “Don’t think he’s just some nice guy.”

Oh the unassuming Bridges is some nice guy, who just happens to be one of the best trash talkers on the team.

“Mikal, he’s got a big spoon in his hand and he’s always stirring the pot,”

Williams said.

Stirring it up like Patti LaBelle.

“I’m not even going to start with Mikal,” Payne said. “Mikal has been on that since the beginning of this training camp.”

Nah. Not Mikal.

“You got Jae, Book and CP all chattering, and then you got DA (Deandre Ayton), too,” Bridges said. “See, I’m telling you, I’m the man in the middle. Everybody thinks I’m the bad guy sometimes. Cam always coming up to me like I said something to him. I’m like, bro, it’s Jae, it’s not me. Jae and CP.”

Sounds like Crowder, Booker, Paul, Ayton and Bridges and Payne and everyone else is saying something.

“We’re so close to each other, so we can say whatever we want to each other cause we know it’s never no disrespect,” Bridges said. “We’re just trying to get the other guy riled up and make him get out of his games”.

The team closeness allows the trash talking to escalate without no hard feelings, but Payne seems to find himself in the center of the bantering.

“The one who gets riled up the most is C-Payne cause he’s the one on White squad and he’s losing a lot,” Bridges said.

Payne actually experienced victory Saturday as he was with the Black team, but he did concede the White team’s struggles.

“All training camp, that was my thing, I just wanted to beat Black,” Payne said. “I just wanted to beat Black. It’s my first time being on Black competing. I’m normally on White and we’ve been getting our heads beat in.”

Chasson Randle waived

The Suns released Chasson Randle after signing him to a training camp deal going into preseason practices.

“I thought he was great,” Williams said. “I talked to him. When he first got here, I had multiple people call me about him and tell that I was going to love him and it was an understatement.”

The four-year guard out of Stanford averaged five points in four preseason games. Randle has played for five NBA teams in four seasons.

“He can play,” Williams continued. “That’s the thing that I struggle with in the league now. There’s so much room for young guys who aren’t proven and older guys like Chasson, who can’t get a spot. I really struggle with that because that young man can play. Obviously a real smart dude, well spoken and all that. Fit right into our culture.”