You jest, but many Buddhist teachers have said exactly that.
There is nothing inconsistent about it. 
The Buddha is said to have been an incarnation of Vishnu, too:
Heh, would be an interesting “six degrees of seperation” exercise to see just how many theological figures could be linked this way (my guess is that they all can be).
It’s not unusual for certain religions to claim all the great founders of other religions as really being one of their own. Jesus, Buddha and Mohammed were all really Eck masters, Boddhisatvas, avatars or aliens depending on who you talk to.