Jermaine O'Neal says that the biggest factor in whether he returns next season will be the presence of Mark Jackson.

"It's a couple reasons why I will come back," O'Neal said Saturday. "This fan base, this organization is first class, and obviously my teammates are great, as well.

"But the No. 1 reason that I will come back and play another year is because of Coach Jackson. I'm absolutely, 100 percent positive about that. He makes it easy to come in this gym every day, and there's not a lot of coaches that do that."

O'Neal is bothered by the possibility of Jackson not being retained in the offseason.

"To me, it's one of the most unfair things that I've seen in a long time," O'Neal said. "And it truly is a team that's 18 games over .500. Eighteen. And we're talking about firing a coach with 10, 11 games left?

"Here's the facts. To everybody that's negative out there, you may not ever see this again. I know that firsthand because I've been in the position. It may take 10 years to be back in that position, so do you want to accept us with open arms and continue to show the support?"