If you're a pessimist, you look back on how he missed 58 of the C's 82 games this past season, flip-flopping for weeks about knee surgery and struggling to rediscover his rhythm when he finally returned in late March.
If you're a little more on the "glass half full" side, you recall his heroic effort in the postseason, stepping in for an injured Shaquille O'Neal and playing the whole nine-game stretch with a fractured wrist.
There were two different Jermaines last season — the old, fragile, soft Jermaine who sat out most of the regular season, and the tough-as-nails veteran big man determined to win a championship. Obviously, that second guy only showed up toward the end.
If you've been watching the Celtics for the last four years, this is no surprise. The C's have been briefly renting big-name veterans throughout the Big Three era — P.J. Brown, Sam Cassell, Stephon Marbury, Rasheed Wallace and more — and in every case, it's only the playoffs that matter. No one remembers the regular season.
So here's the question — can the Celtics count on J.O. to be an impact player in the postseason again in 2012? And if so, will they be able to keep him around?
O'Neal has said that although he has another year remaining on his contract, he's not entirely sure about coming back to Boston for the start of next season, whenever that may be. He may return, or he may ask for a buyout and retire at 32. It's still up in the air.
This will be a long, complicated summer, with roster uncertainty engulfing the Celtics and labor uncertainty engulfing the entire NBA. But the O'Neal question — not Shaquille, but the younger, healthier, more relevant O'Neal — may well be the biggest piece of Boston's offseason puzzle.
The Celtics signed J.O. for the mid-level exception last summer for right around $6 million a year. It wouldn't hurt their cap situation to keep him around next season. He's already on the books, and the Celtics have nothing to lose by keeping him.
So why not sit the guy down, speak with him honestly about the future of the franchise, and urge him to stay for another season? All signs point to one more championship bid with this veteran team in 2012. J.O. should be a part of that.
The pickings are slim in the 2011 free-agent market, especially for big men. Everyone out there this summer is either too expensive (Nene, Tyson Chandler), too injury-prone (Greg Oden, Yao Ming) or restricted by his current team (Marc Gasol, DeAndre Jordan). The Celtics don't want to roll the dice in a difficult market like that.
J.O. is the sure thing. He's not likely to play 75 games next season (if anyone does, that is), but if the Celtics keep him around next year, he'll be willing to be fight through adversity and put together a solid postseason.
In other words, he'll be a perfect Celtic.
That's where the C's are right now. They're aging, they're weakening, and they're fading away from the star-crazy public eye. But they still have a strong veteran core, a determined group that's focused on making one last run in 2012.
That group needs its center back for one more season.
All eyes are on you, Jermaine.
What do you think of Jermaine O'Neal's future with the Celtics? Share your thoughts below.
