Veteran center Jermaine O'Neal has signed a free agent contract with the Phoenix Suns, according to a report from Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic. O'Neal has spent the last two seasons with the Boston Celtics, and will hope for a career renaissance in the desert after a disappointing performance cut short by injury this last year.
O'Neal, 6'11, 255, will turn 34 in October and will have to overcome wrist and knee issues that sidelined him with the Celtics in 2011-12 for 58 games. He came back in time for the Playoffs though, and his performance there was highlighed in Game 1 of the first round against the New York Knicks, where he scored 12 points and added 5 blocks. Boston beat the Knicks but lost to the eventual Eastern Conference champions, the Miami Heat, in the second round, in five games.
As SB Nation's Mike Prada points out, "the Suns have a history of taking injury-prone players and making them healthy, thanks to their pristine medical and training staffs. Injury-prone players such as Grant Hill and many more have rediscovered their health and their step while playing for the Suns."
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