WEDNESDAY, 11:13am: The Suns have officially signed O'Neal, the team announced in a press release. According to Coro, the deal is for one year at the veteran's minimum ($1,352,181).
FRIDAY, 3:54pm: The Suns have agreed to terms with unrestricted free agent big man Jermaine O'Neal, according to Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic (via Twitter). Salary details aren't yet known, but I'd be surprised if O'Neal was able to land more than the veteran's minimum.
A report earlier this week suggested that "winning a championship is the only goal" for O'Neal, so perhaps he's more bullish on the Suns' short-term prospects than most. Coro suggested as recently as this morning that O'Neal seemed like a long shot for Phoenix, given his desire to play for a contender, so perhaps the Suns were the only team showing serious interest in acquiring the 33-year-old.
The Lakers and Bucks were among the other teams that had watched O'Neal work out this summer. In 25 contests in 2011/12 for the Celtics, the 16-year veteran averaged 5.0 PPG and 5.4 RPG in 22.8 MPG before wrist surgery cut his season short. Given the reputation of the training staff in Phoenix, the Suns may believe they'll be able to keep O'Neal healthier in 2012/13.