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Barbosa embraces mentor role in Suns return, eager to work with Booker

Kyle Terada / USA TODAY Sports

There's no place like home.

Leandro Barbosa recently signed with the Phoenix Suns, marking his third stint in the Valley of the Sun.

"Phoenix will always be my home," Barbosa told Paul Coro of azcentral sports. "Everything started here. My whole career, I played here eight years already. I love you guys."

The Brazilian Blur, who'll compete for his country when it hosts the Olympics next month, spent his first seven NBA seasons in Arizona. He blossomed there before suiting up for four other squads, including the Golden State Warriors, with whom he won both a championship in 2015 and a league record 73 regular-season games this past campaign.

He'll relay the lessons he picked up from those experiences in his new role with his old team, which happens to be the fifth youngest in the league at an average age of 24.5 years.

"I played with great players, so everything I learned with all the players, I want to teach them, especially (Devin) Booker," the 33-year-old guard said. "He's a very young player, talent. He really can shoot the ball. I was two years straight up with Klay Thompson, Stephen Curry. Those two guys, they are a crazy weapon. Similar with Booker. I'm sure he's going to be a main guy to help us.

"One thing that I really want to bring to this team is always be together and know that chemistry. The group we had over there in Golden State, it was unbelievable. Everybody was together. Everybody was doing stuff together. It starts from there."

Suns head coach Earl Watson, whose playing career overlapped with Barbosa's for 11 seasons, believes the 13-year veteran will have a positive impact on the team culture and morale.

"He understands what it takes," Watson said, adding that when things get tough, Barbosa "has that voice in the locker room that says, 'Hey, we faced these obstacles in Golden State. I know what it takes to win a championship. It's the same obstacle. You have to believe and this is how we get past this as a family, as a unit.'"

Barbosa contributed 6.4 points, 1.7 boards, and 1.2 dimes in just under 16 minutes per contest coming off Golden State's bench in 2015-16. With that chapter now behind him, he hopes he can play out the rest of his career in purple and orange.

"Everything started here," he said. "Everything will end up here. I don't know how many years I've got on my body. But right now, I've been feeling really great and healthy. I love Arizona, the fans, organization. I'm looking forward to doing a good job and bringing the fans up again."

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