... put James Posey or Gerald Henderson up there before Allen.
Ray was a 3-time all-star here, and set the all-time record for threes while in green. He also scored 51 points in a playoff game, tied for second in team playoff history. He's a big part of recent Celtics history.
Benedict Arnold contributed mightily to the Patriots cause prior to his betrayal because he was looked over for a position (that sounds familiar to me) and Judas was one of the most respected of the apostles before he got his 30 pieces of silver (ah, but Ray was much more honorable because he only took 15 compared to the 30 we offered, to intentionally stick it to Ainge, Doc and Rondo, his pals (KG and PP) who blocked his trade for Mayo be [dang]ed.
It's an old argument, but I still don't understand why loyalty is a one-way street. The Celtics can repeatedly try to trade Ray, but he's a traitor for deciding his own fate in free agency?
Without Ray Allen, we're still stuck on 16.
It may be an old argument, and I agree that that point of view has been around since Allen left, but if you intend to connote "old argument" as a baseless, tired, old saw as it sometimes is used, I very much disagree.
The loyalty that he owed wasn't to Ainge who tried to trade him, nor to Doc who started Bradley over him,nor to Rondo who lobbied Doc to start Bradley over Allen. I get why he wanted to get back at them, especially given his diva-ness.
Rather, the loyalty that he owed was to KG and PP, the guys who kept him here. Pretty clear about how KG feels about him.
And we may not have won 17 without him, but one could make the argument that we wouldn't have won that year without Posey, also.