Free agent center Jermaine O’Neal is the latest big man to be linked to the Celtics. He told ESPN’s Marc Stein that he was considering the Celtics along with the Mavericks and Nuggets.

O’Neal joins Brad Miller, Shaquille O’Neal, Brendan Haywood and Kwame Brown in the race for the Celtics’ mid-level exception and a chance to replace the injured Kendrick Perkins. Brown is obviously the least accomplished of that group.

The Celtics made O’Neal look terrible in the playoffs, but he’s younger than Miller and Shaq and, playoffs aide, O’Neal had a good season with Miami in 2009-10. He appeared in 70 games for the first time since 2003-04 and he shot over 50 percent for the first time in his career en route to averaging 13 points and seven rebounds a game.

It’s expected that the free agent logjam will open up once LeBron James make his decision Thursday. O’Neal was not expected to re-sign with the Heat, an expectation that became reality once Chris Bosh announced he was going to Miami with Dwyane Wade.