Ray Allen's message in the Boston Globe

[CelticHooligan3]

I'll concede. Ray Allen decided to play for Miami because he decided to play for Miami.

Accord, at last! Well done, good sir!  

I still disagree about the level of angst and anger about it, like Ray was some kind of petty child with a bruised ego, but if his family is staying he clearly didn't think his decision to leave would harm them.

I wonder though, how long has his family lived here? Since college? Were they here while he was in Milwaukee or Seattle?

Not sure. Can't quite track anything out there. In 2010, when he was resigning with us, there were reports that his teenage daughter moved to Wellsley High from "North Caroline, where she lived with her mother" (Ray apparently lived inaWellsley during his tenure with the Cs). So I assume NC was where they lived before?

My take on this is that they'll be maintaining some sort of offseason home in CT? In any case, with all the obvious ties between his family and New England, including the Joselyn Center and a home in CT, it makes it very hard for me to take the "best for the family card" at face value, and discard the petulent child argument.

I don't care whether he goes to play for Miami or some place else, I'd just like to know why.

I think he just figured the miami night life might spice up his marriage a bit. Nothing like a little drama to add to the fire right? Or heat rather..

[tenn_smoothie]

i place half the blood on Danny's hands and half on Ray Allen's.

Danny is horrible about disrupting team chemistry and damaging player loyalty with the way he treats the players - like poker chips. his trade-o-matic mentality is bad for team morale.

can you imagine Red considering trades with the 76ers or Lakers back in the 80's - everyone is a little too friendly these days for my tastes.

why aren't more people putting some of the blame here on Ainge - and i do agree that Allen intentionally stuck it to the Celtics by signing with the enemy.

[kozlodoev]

why aren't more people putting some of the blame here on Ainge - and i do agree that Allen intentionally stuck it to the Celtics by signing with the enemy.

Allen knew full well about Ainge's approach to trades -- and that didn't stop him from resigning with us in 2010.

[Roy H.]

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I bet you 20 tommy points I can find a quote from Ray Allen where he says 'I had to do what was best for me and my family'. Accept?

"It's a step process. You try to figure out what's best for your family. And here I am."

Read more at: http://www.nesn.com/2012/07/ray-allen-news-conference-live-blog-heat-to-introduce-future-hall-of-famer-at-11-am.html

[indeedproceed]

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I bet you 20 tommy points I can find a quote from Ray Allen where he says 'I had to do what was best for me and my family'. Accept?

"It's a step process. You try to figure out what's best for your family. And here I am."

Read more at: http://www.nesn.com/2012/07/ray-allen-news-conference-live-blog-heat-to-introduce-future-hall-of-famer-at-11-am.html

Its pretty much right up there with 'it is what it is' for departing Free Agents.

[mmmmm]

Commenting on the bold:  It doesn't make logical sense to fans because those fans are not Ray Allen and don't have a clue as to what is going on in his life.

Folks should just give up trying to pretend they intimately know what goes on in the heads of professional athletes.

I can imagine a dozen legitimate reasons (and none of them would have anything to do with 'screwing' Boston) why Ray might have chosen to go to Miami.  I don't know any of them to be true or false.  So I just let it go.  Ray had his reasons.  Big deal

He meant the reasonst GIVEN, not the reasons in Ray Allen's head.

Reasons given by who, though?  As far as I can tell, the only 'reason' that Ray has given has been the vague 'best for myself and my family' reason.

All the other 'reasons' I've heard given have been speculations by others.

[fairweatherfan]

=
I bet you 20 tommy points I can find a quote from Ray Allen where he says 'I had to do what was best for me and my family'. Accept?

"It's a step process. You try to figure out what's best for your family. And here I am."

Read more at: http://www.nesn.com/2012/07/ray-allen-news-conference-live-blog-heat-to-introduce-future-hall-of-famer-at-11-am.html

Its pretty much right up there with 'it is what it is' for departing Free Agents.

Both teams bid hard, man.  Both teams bid hard. 

[mmmmm]

Folks should just give up trying to pretend they intimately know what goes on in the heads of professional athletes.

Who is pretending to be Miss Cleo? This is very clearly a reaction to the yawning gap between 1) what Ray Allen has said, and 2) what he actually did. Given multiple opportunities to explain himself, he's delivered a mealymouthed load of nothing. Not a single teammate or member of the organization has stepped forward to defend him, or say anything but the blatantly obvious (he's a free agent!).

1) What Ray has said:  He was going to Miami because ... "best for myself and my family".  Nothing else, really.
2) What Ray did:  He went to Miami.

Where's the yawning gap?

I can imagine a dozen legitimate reasons (and none of them would have anything to do with 'screwing' Boston) why Ray might have chosen to go to Miami.  I don't know any of them to be true or false.  So I just let it go.  Ray had his reasons.  Big deal

This vastly overstates the case. The apologists for Scumbag Ray Allen are in a more precarious position every time that 24 hours pass, and we find out something ELSE that casts his decision in a worse light. This cycle's fun trivia: his contract with Miami is actually only 2y with a PO, which makes it worse than the Celtics offer in every respect, rather than just MOST respects.

At some point, are people going to have to settle for arguing that maybe he was kidnapped by aliens and replaced with an imperfect clone? We're very nearly at "UFO sighting" levels of believability as it is.

What the heck are you even talking about?  What 'case' has been overstated here?

The rest is gibberish that doesn't seem to have any connection to what I posted so I'll just ignore.

[Celtics4ever]

Ray is trying to win a title on their coat tails.  Trouble is ringchasers even when it's your second don't look good.

It is it good for your family to move away from their roots?   I don't by the family thing and if you do I have a bridge I would like to sell you and some property on the moon real cheap...

[mmmmm]

He wanted a better quality of life for him and his family and he thought he could get that in Miami. Perhaps his inner circle isn't saying anything because they support his decision?

No-one buys this, because everyone knows his family resided in CT, and he has hinted multiple times about hoping not to have to uproot them.

Hypothetical:  Ray's mom says, "Ray, son, I'm feeling my age and can't take the winters here anymore.  I'm going to move to a nice warm upscale retirement community in Florida."   Ray says, "Really?  Well, I'd like to stay close.  I'll see about getting a job down there."

[vinnie]

I still find it extremely interesting that not one Celtic player has been quoted about Ray leaving and it has been well more than a week since he made his decision. I think this is one of those "things that make you go hmmmmmmmmmmm."

[Interceptor]

Where's the yawning gap?

See my response to nickagneta, because it's the same deal.

What the heck are you even talking about?  What 'case' has been overstated here?

The strength of those "legitimate" reasons, many of which are undermined every time something else comes down the wire about Allen.

Hypothetical:  Ray's mom says, "Ray, son, I'm feeling my age and can't take the winters here anymore.  I'm going to move to a nice warm upscale retirement community in Florida."   Ray says, "Really?  Well, I'd like to stay close.  I'll see about getting a job down there."

Explain 3y/27M, please. Is this the price of staying away from his mother, perhaps? And how do we weave the Clippers into this one?

[Onslaught]

Ray is trying to win a title on their coat tails.  Trouble is ringchasers even when it's your second don't look good.

It is it good for your family to move away from their roots?   I don't by the family thing and if you do I have a bridge I would like to sell you and some property on the moon real cheap...

Are all the players who came to Boston during and after their title run ring chasers? Did you look down on them?

And please don't talk to me about moving kids as a bad thing. NBA players move all the time when they want to or even when they don't. Just ask Perk and his family.  I'm sure his kids will be just fine playing in their mansions while the house servants feed them. Oh the humanity!!!!!!

[nickagneta]

Where's the yawning gap?

See my response to nickagneta, because it's the same deal.

What the heck are you even talking about?  What 'case' has been overstated here?

The strength of those "legitimate" reasons, many of which are undermined every time something else comes down the wire about Allen.

Hypothetical:  Ray's mom says, "Ray, son, I'm feeling my age and can't take the winters here anymore.  I'm going to move to a nice warm upscale retirement community in Florida."   Ray says, "Really?  Well, I'd like to stay close.  I'll see about getting a job down there."

Explain 3y/27M, please. Is this the price of staying away from his mother, perhaps? And how do we weave the Clippers into this one?

Its really easy to explain. He wanted a change of scenery. He wanted Miami and how much Miami was going to pay him didn't matter unless Boston would exorbitantly overpay him. Boston wouldn't so he left.

I once didn't think I was working at a place that was best for me and my family short and long term. So I made the decision to take my customer base with me and start my own company. When I gave my notice the company asked what would keep me from leaving. I asked for the sales manager to be fired, for me to take his place, to have my salary doubled and to get a percentage of the commissions of all the sales force if I managed the sales force into larger sales numbers than was currently occurring. They declined. I opened my business. After a decade I just sold that business at a very hefty profit.

Ray wanted out and wanted Miami. Wyc Grousbek harbors no ill feelings. Neither do Danny or Doc. All have come out stating as such. They are disappointed but still love the guy.

Business is business and sometimes business leads a person to Miami. It really is that simple.

[vinnie]

Where's the yawning gap?

See my response to nickagneta, because it's the same deal.

What the heck are you even talking about?  What 'case' has been overstated here?

The strength of those "legitimate" reasons, many of which are undermined every time something else comes down the wire about Allen.

Hypothetical:  Ray's mom says, "Ray, son, I'm feeling my age and can't take the winters here anymore.  I'm going to move to a nice warm upscale retirement community in Florida."   Ray says, "Really?  Well, I'd like to stay close.  I'll see about getting a job down there."

Explain 3y/27M, please. Is this the price of staying away from his mother, perhaps? And how do we weave the Clippers into this one?

Its really easy to explain. He wanted a change of scenery. He wanted Miami and how much Miami was going to pay him didn't matter unless Boston would exorbitantly overpay him. Boston wouldn't so he left.

I once didn't think I was working at a place that was best for me and my family short and long term. So I made the decision to take my customer base with me and start my own company. When I gave my notice the company asked what would keep me from leaving. I asked for the sales manager to be fired, for me to take his place, to have my salary doubled and to get a percentage of the commissions of all the sales force if I managed the sales force into larger sales numbers than was currently occurring. They declined. I opened my business. After a decade I just sold that business at a very hefty profit.

Ray wanted out and wanted Miami. Wyc Grousbek harbors no ill feelings. Neither do Danny or Doc. All have come out stating as such. They are disappointed but still love the guy.

Business is business and sometimes business leads a person to Miami. It really is that simple.

Not sure how you can say for sure that Ray, Danny nor Wyc harbor no ill feelings toward Ray. I also do not know how anyone can say they do harbor ill feelings toward him. Just in the same way that none of us know why Ray really left.

I bet one thing though, the people at the company you left were not overly friendly toward you when you started your own company. I did the same thing, also ending up selling a company for a very hefty profit. I do not think the two situations are analogous, however.

I will never cheer for Ray Allen again -- Never. His legacy in Boston is damaged forever. I cannot even look at the huge, signed and framed photo of him hitting the record three that sits in my basement.