J. O'neal to sign with DAL, DEN, or BOS (espn)

[beantownboy171]

Free-agent center Jermaine O'Neal said Wednesday that he expects to sign with one of the three following teams in coming days: Dallas, Denver or Boston.

O'Neal
"Those are my favorites," O'Neal told ESPN.com "Those are teams that are going to compete [for a championship] next year."

O'Neal said he's still deliberating between the three teams -- all believed to be offering a portion of the mid-level exception to sign him -- and called the decision perhaps "the most important of my career because I know this is kind of my last run at it" in terms of title-chasing.

O'Neal averaged 13.6 points, 6.9 rebounds and 28.6 minutes in 70 games last season for the Heat, who are expected to renounce their rights to the former All-Star as part of the cap space-clearing exercise required to create sufficient cap room for the incoming Chris Bosh alongside a re-signed Dwyane Wade and Miami's other free-agent targets.

All three O'Neal suitors are searching for frontcourt depth.

Boston is expected to start the season without the injured Kendrick Perkins; Denver's Kenyon Martin and Chris Andersen are likewise recovering from injuries; and Dallas faces a potential void at center amid uncertainty about its ability to re-sign Brendan Haywood and with the Mavericks actively shopping Erick Dampier's non-guaranteed $13 million contract for an impact player.

O'Neal, 31, is an unrestricted free agent for the first time in his career and had his best years in Indiana under Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle before persistent knee trouble derailed him.

a portion of the mle? no thanks, imo.

[Mike-Dub]

Please not here.

[Kane3387]

TP! I was just about to post this.

Here's the link:

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=5361625

[Mad Hatter]

i know Jermaine had a very, VERY poor series against us, but i think he can still be pretty decent defensively. we'll see what happens.....

[Drucci]

Yes to O'Neal with the veteran minimum. But with "a portion of the MLE"? No way!

[beantownboy171]

I'll take him for vet minimum. But if we're going to use the mid league exception. I'll take brad miller over o'neal.

[Kane3387]

Man I hope it is us if it is just for a portion of the MLE. He fits perfectly. The reason he sucked in the playoffs had a lot to do with Perk but he can play the 4 or the 5 and we need that versaitility like Sheed gave us. He can board, defend the pick and roll, and score. He will have way easier opportunities to score playing with us than he did in Miami. Hopefully we use the rest of the MLE on another big like Brad Miller or Shaq. Then use Sheed's contract on a wing. I like Jermaine more than Miller but if we could get both of them for the MLE we would have a good four big rotation and then with Perk back we would have five quality bigs.

[hpantazo]

Jermaine Oneal? Is this a joke? We re-signed Pierce to contend and now were talking about signing guys like Jermaine Oneal and Antoine Wright?

[Finkelskyhook]

Man I hope it is us if it is just for a portion of the MLE. He fits perfectly. The reason he sucked in the playoffs had a lot to do with Perk but he can play the 4 or the 5 and we need that versaitility like Sheed gave us. He can board, defend the pick and roll, and score. He will have way easier opportunities to score playing with us than he did in Miami. Hopefully we use the rest of the MLE on another big like Brad Miller or Shaq. Then use Sheed's contract on a wing. I like Jermaine more than Miller but if we could get both of them for the MLE we would have a good four big rotation and then with Perk back we would have five quality bigs.

LOL

How does a malcontent who tanks until his contract year fit in perfectly with us.  Maybe the year before Garnett and Allen came on board when tanking was the mantra.  He played the three years previous to this one when he felt like playing.  

I'd be embarassed to see a jerk and a tanker like O'Neal in green.

[Kane3387]

Jermaine will  be just as good if not better than Sheed. He was asked to do alot and rightfully so for that contract but off the bench for us, he will meet expectations. 8-10 points 6-9 boards, and 1-2 blocks. He is capable of playing with Perk, Baby, or KG. He's better than Miller in my opinion.

[Kane3387]

Man I hope it is us if it is just for a portion of the MLE. He fits perfectly. The reason he sucked in the playoffs had a lot to do with Perk but he can play the 4 or the 5 and we need that versaitility like Sheed gave us. He can board, defend the pick and roll, and score. He will have way easier opportunities to score playing with us than he did in Miami. Hopefully we use the rest of the MLE on another big like Brad Miller or Shaq. Then use Sheed's contract on a wing. I like Jermaine more than Miller but if we could get both of them for the MLE we would have a good four big rotation and then with Perk back we would have five quality bigs.

LOL

How does a malcontent who tanks until his contract year fit in perfectly with us.  Maybe the year before Garnett and Allen came on board when tanking was the mantra.  He played the three years previous to this one when he felt like playing.  

I'd be embarassed to see a jerk and a tanker like O'Neal in green.

LOL everyone said that about Sheed too.  W/e

[Roy Hobbs]

I think people underrate J.O.  He had a pretty good season last year, and for a portion of the MLE, I think he'd be a steal.

[GreenEnvy]

He should pick a team that fits him best, whichever that may be. Whether it's a portion of the MLE or the VM, it's only a couple million, for a dude that made over $150 million in his career, that shouldn't influence the "most important decision of his career."

Although, crazy stories of guys being bankrupt, maybe take every last cent you can get.

[RAcker]

Yes to O'Neal with the veteran minimum. But with "a portion of the MLE"? No way!

Co-Sign

[Roy Hobbs]

Jermaine Oneal? Is this a joke? We re-signed Pierce to contend and now were talking about signing guys like Jermaine Oneal and Antoine Wright?

14 points, 7 rebounds, 1.4 blocks, and 53% shooting in 28 minutes are pretty darn good numbers.  Who out there is better, especially for only a portion of the MLE?