He was pretty disrespected while here. There is a clear difference in how Boston has treated Kevin Garnett and how Boston has treated Ray Allen. The Celtics have treated KG like he's an important part of this franchise who deserves respect. The only time I ever really heard KG's name come up in trade rumors was that nonsensical Clippers thing this year that was completely overblown and never came close to happening... and I'm sure if it had any basis in reality, the team was open with KG from the start and made it HIS decision. On the flip side, Ray had been treated like an afterthought trade chip since he first arrived. As far back as 2009, Danny was trying to dump him for a young upgrade. We came close to trading him multiple times... and apparently we were so close to trading him last year for OJ Mayo that Ray was told it was a done deal.
Is it really that hard to see it from his perspective? Say you're a future hall of famer. Say you're one of the greatest shooters ever. Say you were a huge part in bringing a title to a franchise who had been irrelevant 20 years. Now say that despite this, the GM of the team sees you nothing more than a trade chip. Say some hot-head young pup is now the leader of the team and doesn't respect you. Say despite your many ridiculously clutch game-saving performances and key function in the team's offense, the coach of the team has lost confidence in you and has decided to bench you for some unproven undersized late 1st rounder who was a d-leaguer the year before. Say the fanbase frequently blames your "streaky shooting" for all the team's problems and every fan forum is packed with ways to get value for your "expiring contract". Say you get a call that you're being traded to some dump of a franchise and to pack your bags... then 20 minutes later "er, nevermind... the other team decided they didn't want you... go back to work, soldier"... Say free agency hits and the team doesn't bother to visit you in person... say the team signs some inferior undersized shooting guard just as poor defensively and just as old... and someone who very likely will be fighting you for bench minutes. Say they reluctantly finally offer you a contract paying you 50% of what you made the previous year... And say that the team is on the verge of a mediocre .500 win season.
Why would you go back? If you weren't an obsessive fan of the franchise like you and I, you probably wouldn't bother returning. Not if you respected yourself. You'd be like "The heck with that team... it's time for a change". There was really no reason for Ray to return here considering how he was treated. I know we are Boston fans and we all bleed green and can't imagine anyone passing on the opportunity to play for this franchise, but Ray Allen didn't owe us squat. He didn't need to be loyal to us... we traded for him in 2007-08 and floated him the very next year at the deadline. He could see our run was already over and he only had a couple years left in him. We wanted to stick him on the bench and let him fight for minutes with Jason Terry and Courtney Lee (supposedly we met with him a day after Ray signed with Miami, but I had been hearing rumors that we wanted him even prior to Ray's decision)... There was nothing left for him here. Why fight for minutes with Jason Terry for who gets the honor of backing up lowly Avery Bradley on a potential 41 win Celtic team.
Meanwhile, a great opportunity opened up for him in Miami... a team that had a strong need for his skillset. A pretty perfect fit. A chance to contend for a championship and contribute. Had Ray signed with Oklahoma City or San Antonio, I guess nobody here would have cared as much. Unfortunately, Celtic fans like to imagine Miami as their rival, because they happened to be the team who eliminated us two years in a row. I mean, at least it wasn't the Lakers. I would have hated it a lot more if he had gone to the Knicks. Miami made him feel welcome. It's a chance for him to add to his legacy as one of the greatest guards of all time. He served his time with an unappreciative Boston...
In 2009, there were rumors we were trying to package him with Rondo and send him to Detroit for Rip Hamilton, Prince and Suckey.
In 2010, there were rumors we were trying to send him to Golden State for Ellis or Sacramento for Kevin Matin
In 2011, there were rumors we were sending him to the Bulls for some drivel.
In 2012, we traded him for OJ Mayo and a draft pick, but Memphis backed out 20 minutes later.
You can't blame him for wanting to finally pick his own destiny. The sooner you start to respect LeBron's talents and brush aside the fact that the Heat just happened to be the team to eliminate us twice, the sooner you can forgive Ray and stop calling him a traitor.
I mean really... Miami isn't a rival to me. In the early 2000s, we lost back-to-back playoffs vs the Nets followed by back-to-back playoffs to the Pacers... and yet I really don't consider the Nets or Pacers to be major rivals to the Celtics. They were just better teams at the time. Same here with Miami. Get over it.
