How has Ray Allen's return become a questionmark?

[Ohio Celtics Fan]

Seriously, I'm getting sick of all of this bull crap talk and speculation. Ray Allen will be in Celtics green this fall. He's said time and again that he wants to be in Boston, retire in Boston etc. Even at the cost of a pay-cut! How is it that all of a sudden ESPN thinks Ray will bolt? I mean are you really that desperate for stories?

*ends rant*

Ray Allen is my favorite Celtic outside of our beloved captain, he's such a classy dude and my oh my, what a pretty shot.

[PosImpos]

Yeah, I don't see him leaving.  If the Celtics had faded or imploded in the post-season, then perhaps I could understand.  But as it is right now the only reason I could imagine Ray leaving is if some other team offers to wildly overpay for his services, or else somebody offers him one or two years more than the Celtics are willing to offer.

I think the Celtics will get him for a very reasonable sum and contract length this summer.  I imagine Paul will sign a contract extension sometime during the season, as well.  The Big 3 will retire in green.

[Bahku]

ESPN just loves to stir the rumor pot ... and the pot is usually full of crap. Ray will re-sign as a Celtic and retire his number in the rafters of the Garden ... end of story.

[jimmehx]

ESPN just loves to stir the rumor pot ... and the pot is usually full of crap. Ray will re-sign as a Celtic and retire his number in the rafters of the Garden ... end of story.

Do you think he will definitely have his number retired?

I find that kind of hard to imagine... say he stays with us for 3 more years which is probable, is 6 years enough for a player to be immortalised a celtic?

I honestly hope Ray does because I love that he will be part of the city forever, but I'm not sure it will happen that easily.

[FallGuy]

It's no lock that Ray will be back with Boston. It's the most likely event, I think, but hardly a certainty. ESPN isn't fabricating anything - there's legitimate interest from other teams and some uncertainty how much Ray is worth to Boston. Doc wants him back but Ainge seems to be more on the fence about it. Different situation, but it's similar to Leon Powe last year.

Let's hope it doesn't happen, but what if Ray turns in 2-3 more bad shooting games this series and we lose? People aren't going to be so excited to resign him for $10M+ per year.

[Bahku]

ESPN just loves to stir the rumor pot ... and the pot is usually full of crap. Ray will re-sign as a Celtic and retire his number in the rafters of the Garden ... end of story.

Do you think he will definitely have his number retired?

I find that kind of hard to imagine... say he stays with us for 3 more years which is probable, is 6 years enough for a player to be immortalised a celtic?

I honestly hope Ray does because I love that he will be part of the city forever, but I'm not sure it will happen that easily.

I was trying to be overly optimistic, (as usual), but seriously, I hope he does retire here, and I think there's a good chance of that happening. As far as his number, his overall career and two championships should be enough to ensure #20 in the rafters ... I'll be upset if it's not.

[jimmehx]

ESPN just loves to stir the rumor pot ... and the pot is usually full of crap. Ray will re-sign as a Celtic and retire his number in the rafters of the Garden ... end of story.

Do you think he will definitely have his number retired?

I find that kind of hard to imagine... say he stays with us for 3 more years which is probable, is 6 years enough for a player to be immortalised a celtic?

I honestly hope Ray does because I love that he will be part of the city forever, but I'm not sure it will happen that easily.

I was trying to be overly optimistic, (as usual), but seriously, I hope he does retire here, and I think there's a good chance of that happening. As far as his number, his overall career and two championships should be enough to ensure #20 in the rafters ... I'll be upset if it's not.

Two championships you say!

There's optimism I can roll with.

[bobdelt]

Well, maybe Ray doesn't want to resign on a team that will shopped him around all winter.

[Who]

I think the chances of Ray leaving Boston this summer are about 1 in 100.

[More Banners]

I'd love to have Ray back.  He'd love to be back.  I'm sure the C's would be happy to have him back.  Yet, it's not a sure thing...why?

Money.

Will he take a pay cut?  Of course, there is no question that he's not getting the max, so he's taking a pay cut whether he likes it or not, okay?  Let's move on.

Sure, he's made a lot of dough, but this will likely be his last deal.  Resigning him will require a 3-year deal to match other offers.  Do the C's still want him back if it takes going beyond KG's contract?  Do they still want him if it means playing a likely bench player starter money in year 3?

I think if Paul opts out, he'll want more years, too, probably another 3 year deal starting near the max, and perhaps declining slightly, or at least not getting bigger.

Either way, I think we'll know in July whether we'll have cap space in 2012.

Question:  Do you think we can ride Ray/PP on the wing and contend for 3 more years?