DA already thought of blowing the team up in the '11 summer, per R. Allen

[Drucci]

Ray Allen did an interview with SLAM and gave a lot of details on his final year with with Boston, along with his discussion with Ainge when he got traded to Memphis, and then about his negociations once he hit free-agency :

SLAM: Doesn’t that situation make you feel a bit better after all the drama and criticism for leaving the Celtics?

RA: I had to take interviews and hear all year that I abandoned the team. But just like anything else in sports, when you become a free agent, the team has the right to continue to pay for your talents or bring somebody else in. I was in a unique situation, ’cause for three years the team had shopped me around and tried to move me. For that final year I was there, I was actually traded to Memphis. I got the phone call and told that I was traded for OJ Mayo. I was in San Francisco to play the Warriors. Danny Ainge and I talked and he asked me how I felt about it—I told him I was upset, that I couldn’t believe it. I said, “I can’t knock you, you have to do what you do for your team. I understand it’s a business [and] there’s nothing I can do about it.” He was like, “Well, I’ll be in touch.” I told my family we’ve been traded to Memphis. One of my sons said, “Don’t worry about it Dad, we’re Grizzlies fans now. We’re gonna make this work.” I took that into my summer, that I could potentially—regardless of what I did for the team, there’s no great loyalty shown amongst the teams to the players, ’cause they’ll trade you in a heartbeat. When they trade you, they’ll tell you, “We’re a team but we have to do what’s best for our squad.” As a player if we want more money or ask for a trade we are looked upon as being greedy, or disloyal.

SLAM: Which is sometimes worse.

RA: Yeah. I was branded as disloyal and I was the guy that was put on the trading block. But since I decided to leave on my own I was disloyal.

SLAM: How did you deal with that all summer? The Memphis deal broke down obviously, but how did that make you feel heading into free agency?

RA: There were some things negotiated trade-wise that I wasn’t particularly happy with. The direction of the team, so many things that I wasn’t happy with, and the team wouldn’t give me any assurances. It bothered me. I had to move on. I had the choice between going to the Clippers, Memphis, Minnesota or Miami. I came to visit Miami and I’m thinking, we just lost to them in the Conference Finals. They just won the Championship and I’m over here thinking—it was hard. It was hard for me to come to Miami. This is a team that we just went toe to toe with in a Game 7—can I see myself playing here? I spent two days meeting the general manager, meeting the owner. Then the other options started to shape: The Clippers said, “We signed Jamal Crawford, so we are no longer interested in recruiting you.” So I said, OK. Now my only other options were Memphis, Minnesota or go back to Boston. Boston had already proven to me they weren’t really going in my direction. Case in point now ’cause they traded the whole team. I knew from the previous summer that if things didn’t work they were going to blow the whole thing up. I was like, I’m not signing back to a team where you guys are going to say we are going to trade everybody in order to move forward in rebuilding. Now you start to sit down and look at it like, Memphis has a good team and they made it deep into the Playoffs. Minnesota had made the Playoffs. I was like, I don’t know who in their right mind, knowing the skills that you possess—you start looking at the Miami situation as more and more attractive, ’cause they could use me in this position and they just won a Championship. So, the rest is history.

SLAM: Throughout the time you’re making this decision, are you getting calls from your teammates? Did you get calls from your old teammates on the Celtics?

RA: No. Nobody. I didn’t get a call. Nobody called me. When we made the decision, it was me circling the wagons and everybody was doing their thing, going in their directions and it was just us sitting here. It was about what we had to do to keep my family happy and together.

SLAM: Seems like it was the right choice—you got a ring and you seem to be in a good place. When you saw the team get broken up and sent to Brooklyn, what were your initial thoughts?

RA: Just like I thought. That was my thought. Going into the situation, they were going to blow it up. I told my wife, “Imagine where we would be right now.” People were disgruntled and angry because I left, but it would’ve been easier for them if I got traded away. They felt better about it themselves.

And another interesting answer about mostly enjoying his ride in Boston because the team was always on TV (kind of contradicting himself when he says is a a team player and puts his ego aside, but whatever) :

SLAM: You’ve been around so long I think people forget about you as a Buck. What were your years like in Milwaukee?

RA: That’s the thing that I tell people all the time, as much as people talk about what happened in Boston, and we won and played a lot of basketball on TV—part of of that, too, is one of the things I really loved about playing in Boston and the east coast, being on center stage ’cause we were always on TV. When I was playing in Milwaukee, I would go into a store there would be no Bucks hats, nothing. It always felt like you were second fiddle in the NBA. Even Seattle was so far outstretched away from everybody that I felt like I was on another plane. Boston was such a great feeling of being alive, being there. One thing that I always have to remind people is that Boston wasn’t my first rodeo. You see me  saying how great it was to see me as a Celtic—go to Milwaukee and talk to some of the people there who watched me play my first seven years. Those people will tell you that I’m like a natural born son to them because they watched me grow up as a young player coming to the League. I got booed by everybody in the Bradley Center, not everybody, but—I got traded by Minnesota when they picked Stephon Marbury. It goes way back. We’ve got so much history there.

It’s the same thing like how I grew up. I’m not just from South Carolina. Every time I play in L.A., one of my original coaches when I first started playing comes to every game. Taught me how to shoot free throws. He’s a Clippers season ticket holder. I have friends from the first grade that come and see me when I’m in Portland. So I remember and connected to everything and not one place to pay homage too. That’s how my career is: I’m just not a Boston Celtic, [though] I’ll always be a Boston Celtic. I’m just not a Milwaukee Buck, [though] I played there the longest. I’m a Seattle Supersonic. Now I’m a Miami Heat. My connections, now I have friends and family in each location now. I pay tribute to people being good to me.

[csfansince60s]

Blah, blah blah...Judas...blah, blah, blah....

[Chris]

This is all pretty much what I assumed happened, and it makes sense from all sides.

And I think Ray is absolutely right.  When a team tries to trade you, and you know they are on the verge of a transition, why would you go back there, if you value the comfort of knowing where you are going to be for the next few years?

I never blamed him.  He did was he felt was best.  Good for him. 

[pearljammer10]

I still wish the Mayo trade had happened.

[BleedGreen1989]

This is all pretty much what I assumed happened, and it makes sense from all sides.

And I think Ray is absolutely right.  When a team tries to trade you, and you know they are on the verge of a transition, why would you go back there, if you value the comfort of knowing where you are going to be for the next few years?

I never blamed him.  He did was he felt was best.  Good for him.

Agreed.

It was emotional from a fans perspective but once that all calmed down and you really thought about it, he made the right decision no doubt.

[manl_lui]

I agree with Ray Allen, but I do not blame Danny one bit. His job is to make the team better or transition forward. He should not be showing loyalty to players when the right opportunity comes up.

That being said, had the OJ Mayo trade actually went through, who would've known what would have happened. Would we have beaten Miami with a younger SG (in OJ Mayo)? Would that prevented us from rebuilding??

Judging, trading PP and KG for scraps and multiple 1st rounders was really good.

[gpap]

I don't blame Ray one bit for going to Miami.

When it first happened, as a fan, I was ticked off because in the summer of 2012 (even after Miami won their 1st title) I still kinda looked at the Celts as being equal to Miami.

But now that our own GM clearly doesn't even view us as a contender, who could blame Ray?

Looking back, if I were him, I would've gone to Miami without even thinking twice about it.

And that botched Ray for OJ deal...what a disaster.

I can't think of anything worse than trying to acquire a player, telling your current player he's being dealt only to later say "nope, no deal after all."

[kozlodoev]

This is all pretty much what I assumed happened, and it makes sense from all sides.

And I think Ray is absolutely right.  When a team tries to trade you, and you know they are on the verge of a transition, why would you go back there, if you value the comfort of knowing where you are going to be for the next few years?

I never blamed him.  He did was he felt was best.  Good for him.

It's a pity reporters have no balls to ask him whether he was really offered a no-trade, and if he were, how it figured into his trade worries. Or perhaps whether he thought this team would have been too good to dismantle the team in case he stayed. You know, curious little stuff like that.

Thanks for 2008, and good riddance. Please stop talking.

[gpap]

This is all pretty much what I assumed happened, and it makes sense from all sides.

And I think Ray is absolutely right.  When a team tries to trade you, and you know they are on the verge of a transition, why would you go back there, if you value the comfort of knowing where you are going to be for the next few years?

I never blamed him.  He did was he felt was best.  Good for him.

It's a pity reporters have no balls to ask him whether he was really offered a no-trade, and if he were, how it figured into his trade worries. Or perhaps whether he thought this team would have been too good to dismantle the team in case he stayed. You know, curious little stuff like that.

Thanks for 2008, and good riddance. Please stop talking.

I think it's kinda irrelevant, really.

By then, it was made painfully obvious to Ray that Danny Ainge could go in a million different directions in a matter of a week.

The damage had already been done, regardless of whether Ainge offered Ray a "no-trade clause" or free nachos for life at the Fours restaurant.

It was clear to Ray that it was time to move on.

Let's not forget KG also had a no-trade clause but he more or less got that Brooklyn deal forced on him as well so who's to say the same thing couldn't have happened to Ray

Also, furthermore IIRC, the Celts had decided to sign Jason Terry BEFORE Ray signed with Miami.

By then, Ray literally had NO reason to stay in Boston

[gpap]

I agree with Ray Allen, but I do not blame Danny one bit. His job is to make the team better or transition forward. He should not be showing loyalty to players when the right opportunity comes up.

That being said, had the OJ Mayo trade actually went through, who would've known what would have happened. Would we have beaten Miami with a younger SG (in OJ Mayo)? Would that prevented us from rebuilding??

Judging, trading PP and KG for scraps and multiple 1st rounders was really good.

I wouldn't have blamed DA one bit if he dealt Ray for OJ. I don't think anyone would have and quite frankly, it would've been a steal for Boston because at the time Ray was battling ankle spurs and for all we know, OJ Mayo could've been the difference maker that year in the ECF vs Miami.

The problem is when you are a GM, you can let yourself get into a situation where you tell a long-time NBA veteran he's getting traded only to then tell him, he's staying.

Quite frankly, it's pretty embarrassing.

[kozlodoev]

This is all pretty much what I assumed happened, and it makes sense from all sides.

And I think Ray is absolutely right.  When a team tries to trade you, and you know they are on the verge of a transition, why would you go back there, if you value the comfort of knowing where you are going to be for the next few years?

I never blamed him.  He did was he felt was best.  Good for him.

It's a pity reporters have no balls to ask him whether he was really offered a no-trade, and if he were, how it figured into his trade worries. Or perhaps whether he thought this team would have been too good to dismantle the team in case he stayed. You know, curious little stuff like that.

Thanks for 2008, and good riddance. Please stop talking.

I think it's kinda irrelevant, really.

By then, it was made painfully obvious to Ray that Danny Ainge could go in a million different directions in a matter of a week.

The damage had already been done, regardless of whether Ainge offered Ray a "no-trade clause" or free nachos for life at the Fours restaurant.

It was clear to Ray that it was time to move on.

Let's not forget KG also had a no-trade clause but he more or less got that Brooklyn deal forced on him as well so who's to say the same thing couldn't have happened to Ray

Also, furthermore IIRC, the Celts had decided to sign Jason Terry BEFORE Ray signed with Miami.

By then, Ray literally had NO reason to stay in Boston

No, it's not irrelevant. If Ainge did indeed offer him a no-trade, then Ray Allen decidedly didn't leave because he was worried that he'll be traded, or because the team could be dismantled (remember, Garnett had a no-trade, too). Which makes everything that has come out of his mouth since to be little more than smoke, mirrors and PR.

And Ray Allen doesn't have the stones to come out and say that he didn't like that he shopped around, and that he didn't care enough about Pierce and Garnett deal with that. Ray Allen, the "consummate professional". News flash, professionalism has more to it than showing up early to work and chuckling a bunch of shots in an empty gym.

[McHales Pits]

I can't blame Danny for trying to make the team better in his estimation - that is his job. I can't blame Ray for not returning to Boston - that is his decision and frankly it was the correct one.

No educated fan should blame Ray for leaving. The whole "traitor" talk was drummed up by Boston media heads and was propagated by people who compared it to Damon going to the Yankees (an in accurate comparison on many levels).

Ray Allen is still one of my favorite basketball players of all time and that won't ever change.

[kozlodoev]

I can't blame Danny for trying to make the team better in his estimation - that is his job. I can't blame Ray for not returning to Boston - that is his decision and frankly it was the correct one.

No educated fan should blame Ray for leaving. The whole "traitor" talk was drummed up by Boston media heads and was propagated by people who compared it to Damon going to the Yankees (an in accurate comparison on many levels).

Ray Allen is still one of my favorite basketball players of all time and that won't ever change.

I don't blame Ray Allen for leaving. I blame him for how he left and what he said (or didn't say) on the way out.

I guess "Ray Allen turned his back on his teammates on a roster that was one year removed from losing the NBA finals in 7 because he held a grudge with the management" is not a story the Sugar Ray Spin Machine likes too much. Can't blame them, but don't have to like it, either.

[LarBrd33]

I absolutely do not hold a grudge against Ray for leaving.  This is just the one deal that actually came closest to happening.  We were shopping Ray as far back as the middle of the 2008-09 season.  He was old and an expiring contract.  Yes... literally months after helping us win our first championship in 20 years, he was for sale on the open market. 

He eventually signed an extension, but it didn't prevent Boston from using him as a trade chip.  Dude picked his own destination, hit the biggest 3 pointer in NBA finals history... and earned himself another championship.  Completely vindicated.  Pierce, KG and Doc followed him out the door a season later.

[csfansince60s]

I can't blame Danny for trying to make the team better in his estimation - that is his job. I can't blame Ray for not returning to Boston - that is his decision and frankly it was the correct one.

No educated fan should blame Ray for leaving. The whole "traitor" talk was drummed up by Boston media heads and was propagated by people who compared it to Damon going to the Yankees (an in accurate comparison on many levels).

Ray Allen is still one of my favorite basketball players of all time and that won't ever change.

I don't blame Ray Allen for leaving. I blame him for how he left and what he said (or didn't say) on the way out.

I guess "Ray Allen turned his back on his teammates on a roster that was one year removed from losing the NBA finals in 7 because he held a grudge with the management" is not a story the Sugar Ray Spin Machine likes too much. Can't blame them, but don't have to like it, either.

Completely agree. Judas' motives were petty and spiteful. He was so p---ed at Danny and Doc that he wanted to screw them, friendships be [dang]ed.

One of the questions that you kind of allude to Koz that the reporters should have asked him was "Why didn't KG and PP call? Could it have been that they were the ones who saved your arse and helped nixed the Mayo trade to keep you, and that they felt you were disloyal to them after they had been loyal to you?" Et tu, Brute!!??