Is Ray Allen Playing His Way Out Of Boston?

[FallGuy]

Not sure if this has been posted but...

Chris Mannix of SI was on WEEI today. He's been told by a couple of NBA GMs that Ray's market, based on his overall year and eye-popping playoffs, might be up to 5 years/$75M. He suggested that a New York, or a similar team looking to make a big splash might be willing to overspend to get him. He also noted Ray's great locker-room rep around the league.

Other details:

-Danny shopped Ray last summer due to fears about what Ray might want this summer.
-Believes Ray would take a hometown discount.
-Believes Ray really likes NY.

It begs the question - if someone offers 5 years and say, $60M (just to make the rumor a bit more reasonable), does Boston really want to commit that much money given the team's closing championship window?

[Fafnir]

5 years at 12 million per? That means he'd be making more money than Rondo, at age 34-39. Not thanks! Goodbye Ray in that case.

I think he might get a large two or three year deal, but no more than that.

[FallGuy]

5 years at 12 million per? That means he'd be making more money than Rondo, at age 34-39. Not thanks! Goodbye Ray in that case.

I think he might get a large two or three year deal, but no more than that.

Mannix thought the absolute minimum salary for Ray was $10M per.

[Fafnir]

5 years at 12 million per? That means he'd be making more money than Rondo, at age 34-39. Not thanks! Goodbye Ray in that case.

I think he might get a large two or three year deal, but no more than that.

Mannix thought the absolute minimum salary for Ray was $10M per.

I think he'll get around 10 per year, but he won't get 5 or 6 years.

Too much money for a rather old SG who is very dependent on others to creat space for his offense.

[fairweatherfan]

It would be a bad move for someone like NY to go after Ray.  He's still in great shape but he's as good as the guys around him - a bad or mediocre set of teammates and he's not gonna get open, both because defenses will key on him more, and because the team just won't run their plays as well. 

[incoherent]

The most I see we give him is 3 years 25-30 mil

[xmuscularghandix]

He’s playing his way into the rafters.  

If we win the championship Ray will most likely have strong consideration for Finals MVP, those guys don’t sign other places.

Ray Allen is huge on continuity, tradition, and class. He understands that Celtic players who are there for 6 years with at least 2 rings get numbers raised.

And he also understands that he’s already a first ballot HOF’er with a long list of friends in high places, money isn’t a big deal at this point, closing the gap between him and his golf parter’s legacy IS.

[FallGuy]

He’s playing his way into the rafters.  

If we win the championship Ray will most likely have strong consideration for Finals MVP, those guys don’t sign other places.

Ray Allen is huge on continuity, tradition, and class. He understands that Celtic players who are there for 6 years with at least 2 rings get numbers raised.

And he also understands that he’s already a first ballot HOF’er with a long list of friends in high places, money isn’t a big deal at this point, closing the gap between him and his golf parter’s legacy IS.

It's optimistic thinking on Ray's train of thought, but beyond that - would you pay him, say, 4 years $48M? If I'm Danny, I don't know if I would, even if we won the championship. I think I'd try to spin him for a younger asset or two.

A lot of teams are going to have a lot of money this summer. Seems like Ray (along with guys like Rudy Gay) could really benefit from the free agent feeding frenzy.

[Chris]

I would be shocked if anyone offers more than 3 years at that type of money.  It sounds like Mannix has been talking to his agent too much.  

While I do think Ray will have a ton of interest this summer, I think it will be for a 2-3 year deal.  What these playoffs are earning him is just a much larger per year salary.  

I do think he could be playing himself out of town though.  I think Danny is well aware of the "window" closing, and I don't think he is going to be willing to invest as much money as Ray may get on the open market, particularly given how KG seems to be struggling, and is probably only going to get worse in the longrun.  

I felt pretty confident a month ago that the most likely scenario was Ray signing a 2 year deal with the C's, but now I am not so sure.  Now I think the 3 year deals are going to be out there, and Danny is going to end up working out a sign and trade.  

I also think the Knicks, along with the Bulls would be the top teams looking to bring Ray in.  It would be a team looking to win right away, that have some assets that could be moved in a sign and trade for him.

[Drucci]

Ray is playing his way (and the Celtics') to a championship, that's all.

I think this is all speculation from Mannix and GMs, and frankly, I don't see Ray leaving Boston as long as Danny doesn't lowball him (and he might do it unfortunately).

[indeedproceed]

I think more than anything Ray Allen is playing his way back into the NBA. I mean, nobody thought he was going to retire, but his value was a pretty open question.

Now, he's solidified himself as a viable starting option. Whether or not that is in Boston, who knows, but I don't think there is any team that values him more than the Celtics do. Its not like Tony Allen could jsut step in as starter. It's not like we're going to get a decent starting 2 guard at number 20 in the draft. Who has ever been drafted at number 20 and been anything but mediocre?

Sarcasm. Its sarcasm.

[Donoghus]

5 years/$75 million is absolutely insane.   Any GM who signs Ray to that should get their mind checked.  More realistically, I think 3 years might be the best that Ray will get.  The $10 million annually number that some of you have thrown around sounds about right.

[celticinorlando]

offer him 3 years 30 mill

[Chris]

5 years/$75 million is absolutely insane.   Any GM who signs Ray to that should get their mind checked.  More realistically, I think 3 years might be the best that Ray will get.  The $10 million annually number that some of you have thrown around sounds about right.

It is right up there with the suggestion that Amare is going to struggle to get $10 million per year this summer.  All of these statements go way over the top this time of year.

I agree that the $10 million per year is the over under, although it will all depend on how many years.  For 2-3 years, he could be looking more like 12 million at this point.

[More Banners]

I think there will be wide variations in how teams with $$ will structure deals for Ray.  I think those who say 3 year deals will be out there are correct, for sure.  Tough call for Danny on that one (going beyond KG's deal).

Manu Ginobli's deal pretty much set Ray's value.  What was it?  3 yrs, $38 million?  Ouch...

I think, to keep both Ray and Paul, resigning them both this offseason to 3 year deals with decreasing values that reflect them both being bench players, or starting role players, in year 3 might be the move that keeps us competitive next year, while keeping some (but not all) flexibility in '12.  They both have a fairly good track record of health, and can shoot, which is a skill that doesn't really go away.  We'd then have a couple of years to acquire or develop replacements, since right now we have zilch.