Jermaine O'Neal signed with the Phoenix Suns over the summer to serve as a veteran presence in the locker room and as a backup to Marcin Gortat.
Things have not gone well so far this season with the Suns, who recently fired coach Alvin Gentry, and now O'Neal's frustrations have come to a head, with the veteran player getting into an argument with team management. According to Yahoo Sports, sources said that O'Neal and general manager Lance Blanks engaged in a loud, combative and expletive-laced confrontation in the coach's office on Monday.
The sources said that the confrontation happened after interim coach Lindsey Hunter's first practice and could be heard by other Suns players. O'Neal talked about his disappointment that the front office did not talk to him about the coaching change and that things escalated as the conversation went on.
"It was really bad," one Suns source said Tuesday afternoon.
The Suns currently have the worst record in the Western Conference at 13-28, which could be one reason for the argument. According to Yahoo, the Arizona Republic reported Tuesday that O'Neal missed practice with an "unstated medical issue" and did not make the team's trip to Sacramento. The Suns struggles forced the team to fire Gentry, who was replaced by Hunter, who worked in player development and has no coaching background.
O'Neal has been solid for the Suns, averaging 6.4 points, 4.1 rebounds and 1.2 blocks in 15 minutes per game this season in his 17th year in the NBA.
According to SI.com, the only issues with the team are not with O'Neal. SI.com writes according to a report from SBNation, Hunter is part of an ongoing FBI investigation into mortgage fraud.
For his career, O'Neal has averaged 13.7 points and 7.4 rebounds and has played with the Indiana Pacers, where he played in six consecutive All-Star games. He has also spent time in Toronto, Miami and Boston after being drafted out of high school.
Things have been shaky for the Suns after Gentry was fired, which resulted in the departure of the team's top two assistants. According to ESPN.com, assistants Dan Majerle and Elston Turner have not shown up for any of the practices since Hunter was hired. The absence is likely lined to the fact that the Suns passed over both for the interim coaching job.
"I understand their situation," Hunter said. "As an aspiring coach this is what you want to do in life and it's disappointing when you don't get an opportunity. I definitely understand and my heart goes out to both of those guys and I wish them the best in whatever they do next."
The Suns currently have the third-worst record in all of the NBA.
