Ray Allen Merged Threads

[BballTim]

He has a point...

How does he have a point when the contract the Celtics offered was far superior? No problem if you personally don't know I'm just asking. I don't think THAT is a point in his favor at all. If his answer was," Hey, I was sick of then trying to trade me and I got felt Miami wouldn't do that to me so it was worth less money," I'd think that was honest and to the point.

He said he felt like he had more in the tank and the Celts wanted to start Bradley instead of Allen of course he get mad, he wanted $9 million a year but the Celts only offered $6 million

  Pretty sure that's what I'd do if I felt that I had more in the tank, go to a team where I was all but guaranteed to play fewer minutes and have a smaller role.

[Celtics18]

It just seems kind of sad and pathetic to me, at this point.

Who you trying to convnce, Ray? 

[SHAQATTACK]

at this point......all I can say is. "go Spurs"

no ring would be a fitting ending for this man

[SHAQATTACK]

go Spurs........destroy Allen

[Celtics4ever]

Grow up, Ray.  This is a business.

Down with the ring chaser!   GO SPURS!

Ray used to be a class act, until I got to know him more, now I think of him as a whiny #$@@#!

[Celtics18]

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.

Go back further:  Ray was traded here against his personal desires, and KG had to agree to an extension before the trade here could happen.

Poor, poor Ray.  My heart aches for the trials and tribulations that he had to endure while a Boston Celtic.

Somebody hand me the Kleenex.

[ACF]

**** him.

[PhoSita]

I don't know that I agree. I dislike him for how he handled the situation but, at the end of the day, he is a legend. Can't blame him for being sensitive in such a situation. And delusional implies the opposite - he misunderstood the situation. He is one or the other... certainly sensitive, but seems relatively normative for a professional at his level. Just felt he deserved more respect.

Delusional because he seemed to think he deserved star treatment when he's no longer a star.

Also, what he said just doesn't make sense.  The Celtics put the best contract offer on the table that Ray could have gotten.  It seems like he wanted them to pay him on the same level as Garnett or Pierce, and when they didn't, he pouted, took his ball home, and went to play in Miami for a pittance.

In other words, he's a spoiled brat.

[Bankshot]

Part of the reason why there was so much vitriol about Ray leaving was that he was going to a better team. 

That's not to discount other factors like the Heat being our rivals, having just taken them to 7, Ray taking less money, etc etc.  But most honest fans knew he was making a smart move if he wanted to win, which was part of what was so maddening about it.

Not sure him going to a winning team was the reason for the vitriol, at least not for me.  Who would blame him for going to a better team?  For me, it was him going specifically to Miami, a team the C's hated.

[Bankshot]

Ray will be vindicated IF he wins another championship, nothing less.

[ronaldo943]

He has a point...

How does he have a point when the contract the Celtics offered was far superior? No problem if you personally don't know I'm just asking. I don't think THAT is a point in his favor at all. If his answer was," Hey, I was sick of then trying to trade me and I got felt Miami wouldn't do that to me so it was worth less money," I'd think that was honest and to the point.

He said he felt like he had more in the tank and the Celts wanted to start Bradley instead of Allen of course he get mad, he wanted $9 million a year but the Celts only offered $6 million

  Pretty sure that's what I'd do if I felt that I had more in the tank, go to a team where I was all but guaranteed to play fewer minutes and have a smaller role.

Hey id rather play back up to Wade then to Bradley and as for roles and minutes they are abbout the same

[csfansince60s]

… When this contract situation came down, everybody in my circle — mom, family, brother, sister, friends from college, people who watched me since I was in high school and since I was in college — nobody wanted me to resign in that situation because they thought, ‘There [is] so much left in you and this team isn’t taking care of you or treating you right.’ That’s the way I felt and it was like, if you are going to come and not put out a good contract on the table then, hey, we gotta think about going somewhere else. – Ray Allen

Judas is just a whiny little female dog.

I am convinced that his primary motivator of leaving the team was spite. He wanted to screw Ainge/Doc/Rondo, and anybody else who got hurt in the crossfire (KG/PP/fans)be [dang]ed.

Now that I am rereading this quote that I had read before, I am convinced that pride is right up there with spite as a motivator for him. (Chasing a ring was a tertiary motivator, at best for Judas, in my opinion, and his image and he look far less petty and small if people believed the ring-chasing story than spite being the culprit.)

I believe that pride was a huge motivator for him, not just because it was "OK" to sit behind Wade as opposed to Bradley, but rather the corner that he painted himself into with his circle of family and friends.

Judas is like a person in a relationship who, both during the relationship and after breaking up with someone, badmouths that person in every way, shape and form to his family and close friends, even providing intimate details of the negative side of his former partner in the relationship.

Once that happens, the well is forever poisoned and there is no way the badmouther (Judas) can EVER get back together again with the badmouthee (our Cs)without losing complete face with his inner circle.

Atta boy, Judas, after all your whining and complaining about your "mistreatment", you had no choice, did you? Hence the ridiculously absurd 9M demand of the Cs that you could conveniently use as another excuse.

Appropriate that this was a song often used on Miami Vice:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gh0oSrjLlwY

[Monkhouse]

Let me put it this way.

Ray felt we disrespected him. I understand, as I said countless times, the organization was never innocent. But that is NBA business. Sure the way we treated him was messed up, but he was coming off a serious injury, and last season was pretty terrible.

What I really dislike, and what is the main issue with Ray. Is that he still thinks he's right, and can keep making excuses to justify himself.

Just admit it Ray.

You didn't like being dangled in trades, being benched behind Bradley. And you especially didn't like Rondo. Which I never understood, because everyone in the locker room loves and defends Rondo whenever anyone says something bad about him. This is actually the only thing I've never understood.

Is it because Ray never receives consistent open looks? Rondo may not be the most charming guy, but he has matured over the years. Did Ray feel like Rondo was taking all of his spotlight?

Overall Ray should just be upfront.

He didn't leave because of his family, it seems like even in the end that honesty, wasn't never the sole priority on his mind. By the way, his mother had always wanted him to retire a Celtic, so that family excuse goes flying out the window. That to me, makes me lose all respect for him. I always thought of him as a stand up guy, and a very humble person. But I see he's nothing more like a petulant child. Yes, the organization has done you dirty. Why couldn't you be the bigger man? Say you disliked that, and you're going to join a team to win a championship? He could've even joined OKC and I couldn't have cared a sliver, although I would miss him.

Now I no longer even think of him. Just an above average regular role player who contributed to us winning the championship.

We gave him the better contract, begged him not to leave, a longer contract by far. Not to mention we gave Ray Allen, a trade NO CLAUSE!

Think about that for a second if you will..

How many players in the NBA have a no trade clause? Do you realize that Paul Pierce who has been with us day in and day out still doesn't have one? The face of the franchise? The one who's being dangled in trades right now? Do you think they would ever trade Kobe? Heck no! The right thing to do would be to keep Paul Pierce. Because if that says anything, that loyalty is still the important thing. We're not going to win a championship next year, and I hope Allen doesn't either.

Allen also joined a team which has plenty of drama queens, divas, and dirty players. Also I hope if Allen doesn't win the championship, and doesn't retire. That Pat Riley trades him for some young asset. Which he most likely will.

Allen the fans loved you. The organization made a mistake, and wanted to keep you with a better contract than any other team offered. Now since you left a bad taste in our mouths, you'll never get your jersey retired, nor will your legacy be remembered. You'll just be that 'one guy/traitor.'

And I guess somehow along the lines it fits you.

[ACF]

Let me put it this way.

Ray felt we disrespected him. I understand, as I said countless times, the organization was never innocent. But that is NBA business. Sure the way we treated him was messed up, but he was coming off a serious injury, and last season was pretty terrible.

What I really dislike, and what is the main issue with Ray. Is that he still thinks he's right, and can keep making excuses to justify himself.

Just admit it Ray.

You didn't like being dangled in trades, being benched behind Bradley. And you especially didn't like Rondo. Which I never understood, because everyone in the locker room loves and defends Rondo whenever anyone says something bad about him. This is actually the only thing I've never understood.

Is it because Ray never receives consistent open looks? Rondo may not be the most charming guy, but he has matured over the years. Did Ray feel like Rondo was taking all of his spotlight?

Overall Ray should just be upfront.

He didn't leave because of his family, it seems like even in the end that honesty, wasn't never the sole priority on his mind. By the way, his mother had always wanted him to retire a Celtic, so that family excuse goes flying out the window. That to me, makes me lose all respect for him. I always thought of him as a stand up guy, and a very humble person. But I see he's nothing more like a petulant child. Yes, the organization has done you dirty. Why couldn't you be the bigger man? Say you disliked that, and you're going to join a team to win a championship? He could've even joined OKC and I couldn't have cared a sliver, although I would miss him.

Now I no longer even think of him. Just an above average regular role player who contributed to us winning the championship.

We gave him the better contract, begged him not to leave, a longer contract by far. Not to mention we gave Ray Allen, a trade NO CLAUSE!

Think about that for a second if you will..

How many players in the NBA have a no trade clause? Do you realize that Paul Pierce who has been with us day in and day out still doesn't have one? The face of the franchise? The one who's being dangled in trades right now? Do you think they would ever trade Kobe? Heck no! The right thing to do would be to keep Paul Pierce. Because if that says anything, that loyalty is still the important thing. We're not going to win a championship next year, and I hope Allen doesn't either.

Allen also joined a team which has plenty of drama queens, divas, and dirty players. Also I hope if Allen doesn't win the championship, and doesn't retire. That Pat Riley trades him for some young asset. Which he most likely will.

Allen the fans loved you. The organization made a mistake, and wanted to keep you with a better contract than any other team offered. Now since you left a bad taste in our mouths, you'll never get your jersey retired, nor will your legacy be remembered. You'll just be that 'one guy/traitor.'

And I guess somehow along the lines it fits you.

TP.

[ederson]

i can understand him wanting another chance for a ring. it `s not the first time a player get a serious cut to join a contender.

but the rest is pure bs

i don`t get that for the players it`s business but the organisations should be sentimental