Marcin Gortat brainwashed by Jermaine O'Neal, calls him "true leader"

For all the posts we've had up about Marcin Gortat and a potential trade to the Celtics, perhaps we should reconsider this.

Mainly because he is possibly on drugs or has been brainwashed by Jermaine O'Neal in another ploy to squeeze money from a franchise.

AZ Central:
Gortat would not mind negotiating on behalf of his backup center, Jermaine O’Neal. He said he told Suns President of Basketball Operations Lon Babby that he would pay for another year’s salary for O’Neal if they don’t.

“He’s a tremendous player, an amazing teammate and a true leader,” Gortat said. “Playing with him has been my best experience from this year.”

Does any of that above quote make sense to you?

This is, allegedly, the same Jermaine O'Neal that was out of shape for his two years in Boston. Those two seasons he earned $12 million to play in 33% of the games (49 total) due to being constantly injured.

Here's Bill Simmons last April on how Jermaine O'Neal was the most interally hated player on the roster.

Jermaine finished his Celtics career as the team's least popular player, internally, since Vin Baker. The general feeling is, "He stole money from us." Just dumping O'Neal from the trainer's room so the players didn't have to disgustedly look at him anymore and wonder things like, "Wait a second, isn't his LEFT wrist the wrist that's hurt? He can't play with that? Isn't he right-handed? He's really that big of a pussy?" was probably worth a few extra wins already. It's hard to understand why one of the league's most thoughtful players — a real warrior once upon a time — felt good about finishing his career with his last set of teammates and coaches believing he was something of a fraud. Just know that, on the slight chance that this Celtics team wins a title or comes close, Jermaine shouldn't expect a full playoff share.

So, what changed?

Obviously, it's not a case of O'Neal not wanting to go out with a whimper and the reputation of a pussy.

No, it must be another ploy to steal more money from a team. This time he has plotted to brainwash every member of the Phoenix Suns in hopes of squeezing even more money from the franchise. Once Gortat dips into his own paycheck to give O'Neal another year, he'll hurt his pinky and hang out in the training room for the next couple years.

Damn you O'Neal, you've done it again!