Unfortunately, this is about the first time that could ever be said about Tony so the question arises, is he performing like this because he's finally healthy and experienced or because it is a contract year?
No, he's playing like that because he finally understands what it means to be a professional. That is, he eats right every day, gets his sleep, and watches a ton of game film on all his possible matchups before each and every game. Before his season, he was, in his own words, 'just playing.' Be it maturity (everybody matures at a different rate), his sports mortality, the fact that it's a contract year, or maybe his new girlfriend has got his head right, who knows, but he's finally got 'it.'
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Given our lack of cap space and lack of guaranteed contracts in 2010 (only 6 so far), I'd assume the Cs look into resigning Tony. We need to fill out the roster with somebody, and the MLE and veteran minimums at our disposal will only take us so far. With TA's Bird rights, we are in a position to offer TA the most money of anybody, and given the economic climate and TA's lack of playing time down the stretch of the season, we'll probably have the most interest in him as well. Danny Ainge and Paul Pierce are still big Tony Allen supporters and that will go a long way.
Of course, it depends on need as well. If we use our MLE on a nice 2/3 that might negate a need for Tony.
TA has been misued and miscast these last 3 years in the Big 3 era, so an argument can be made that perhaps he'd be happier in a different location. But familiarity goes a long way towards happiness and TA's been a Celtic his whole career and I expect him to try to keep it that way if it's up to him.
