Midway through his sixth season in the NBA, Troy Murphy was traded from his original team, the Golden State Warriors, to the Indiana Pacers.

Twenty-one days later, he played against the Warriors.

“It was really kind of odd,” said Murphy, now in his fourth season with the Pacers. “You know those guys and spent so much time with them over the years, to go against them, it’s just an odd situation.”

With so much player movement in the NBA, many end up facing former teammates, some of whom have become close friends.

Dahntay Jones goes through it next, when the Pacers (0-2) play Tuesday night against Denver (2-0 heading into tonight’s game against Memphis).

It’s the first regular-season game for Jones against the team he helped reached the Western Conference finals last year, but not the first meeting. The Pacers split two games with the Nuggets during their Asian trip in the preseason.

“It was weird at first, but you get past it and start competing,” Jones said. “It’s a process of moving on.”

Pacers backup center Solomon Jones played his former team in the team’s season opener in Atlanta.

Pacers forward Mike Dunleavy has been through it, too, as a part of the Warriors-Pacers trade with Murphy on Jan. 17, 2007. Travis Diener has played against his initial team, Orlando.

Pacers point guard T.J. Ford has played against former teammates in Milwaukee and Toronto.

“The first time I was real upset,” Ford said. “I wasn’t expecting to get traded out of Milwaukee. When I went back to play them, I was teed off and wanted to make sure I beat them and had a great performance.”

Did you win? “I did.”

Play as well as you wanted? “Yes I did.”

The first couple of games against former teammates are the toughest, especially for players who spent multiple seasons with one organization.

With so many practices, travel and time together, many players become close. Ford said he stays in regular contact with about a dozen players from his days in Milwaukee and Toronto.

Dahntay Jones said he works out in the offseason with Denver’s J.R. Smith and Chauncey Billups, talks a couple of times a week with Nuggets star Carmelo Anthony and is close with Denver coach George Karl.

“George still sends me stupid text messages like, ‘You left me,’ " Jones said smiling. “George is cool. The coaching staff really takes the situation seriously and personally, so we all have personal relationships with them.”

Sometimes, players stay close with former teammates. Sometimes, contact fades over time. With the player movement each year, as time fades, former teammates end up spread across the league. The first game, though, is different.

“You definitely want to beat them just because you know them,” Dunleavy said. "It’s like when you’re outside playing against your siblings in the backyard.

“You want to beat them just so you have the bragging rights because you know everybody in the locker room.”

Ford said the running commentary between players can get interesting in the first meeting after a trade, especially when former teammates might have the same opinion about whether an organization’s move was good or bad.

“We crack jokes about . . . the inside stuff,” Ford said. “Everybody knows what each player has to deal with. Players really know who’s in the right and who’s in the wrong.”