It seems happiness was this close — the tiniest distance between the index finger and thumb — for Jermaine O’Neal.

He had finally found a place of comfort in the NBA after a rather forgettable two-year stint with the Celtics. After having both of his creaky knees revived by surgery in Germany, O’Neal was back to productive form with the Phoenix Suns, even though the team has struggled. And though the Suns looked ready to deal O’Neal to the Knicks, a team in desperate need of a defensive-minded center, he stayed in Arizona with his crew of not-ready-for-prime-time teammates.