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

[elcotte]

Ray needs to shut the hell up and move on. This DA thought about blowing up the team in '11 and that somehow means that Ray had to move on is utterly ridiculous.
Any business does 'What if's' and the Celtics are a business. So yes, they looked at many scenarios in '11 and guess what they didn't blow it up. They kept the big three together.
So, give it a rest Ray. You moved on. Shut up and play.

[Onslaught]

He was asked these questions in a magazine. What's he going to do?

[McHales Pits]

The anti-Ray people on this thread baffle my mind...

The dude is a sure fire HoFer, helped bring KG to Boston, helped bring a title to Boston, has a squeaky clean personal image unlike some professional athletes, has an impeccable work ethic and he's being crushed by you guys for doing what was best for his career and his family.

Ray Allen was looking out for Ray Allen? So what? The guy is a professional athlete. They are wired to have egos. He is one of the greatest players of this era.

As someone else said before, without any hard evidence backing up these source less media reports regarding his frosty relationships with the Cs - this is baseless character assassination. Remember the good times with him and move on.

[BballTim]

The anti-Ray people on this thread baffle my mind...

The dude is a sure fire HoFer, helped bring KG to Boston, helped bring a title to Boston, has a squeaky clean personal image unlike some professional athletes, has an impeccable work ethic and he's being crushed by you guys for doing what was best for his career and his family.

Ray Allen was looking out for Ray Allen? So what? The guy is a professional athlete. They are wired to have egos. He is one of the greatest players of this era.

As someone else said before, without any hard evidence backing up these source less media reports regarding his frosty relationships with the Cs - this is baseless character assassination. Remember the good times with him and move on.

  Most of the Ray stuff wasn't sourceless. Much of it came directly from Doc and (IIRC) Danny. We've also hear from some of the players.

[obnoxiousmime]

I don't know what people really want from him. Everybody knows the primary reason he left was the Heat were the best winning situation, but of course he can't admit that publicly since the Celtics were ostensibly still "going for it." Would him admitting that really make Celtics fans feel better?

Sure I wish he would stop talking about it, but at the time the criticism was intense. Not offering some logical-sounding defense would have just condemned him forever. Maybe he has justified it in his mind by convincing himself he really was mistreated beyond reason, but that's just par for the course when it comes to athletes. 

I don't think Ray owed me, a fan, anything more. We've already established that he didn't owe the Celtics organization anything.

The only question is, did he owe his teammates, coaches, and especially Pierce and Garnett something more? I would think so, but since we don't actually really know any of these people or their relationships I can't sit here and comfortably throw terms like "traitor," "ego," or "narcissistic" around.

[Interceptor]

I don't know what people really want from him.

The truth, and I don't mean Paul Pierce. Also, keeping that insulting 9M/y counter-offer in his pocket would have helped.

The negative reaction is the price of his ego, which he has paid with interest. And that, as they say, is that.

[obnoxiousmime]

Only the team didn't compete for two years. It tried one year and then dealt Garnett, Pierce, and Terry.

... because Rondo tore his ACL. Rondo, who is still not back after 29 games into a new season. Can't blame injuries on Ainge.

So Ainge should have told Ray, "Listen I assure you we plan on competing the next two years... unless Rondo gets injured again and an ideal opportunity to tank arises." If LeBron had a similar injury the Heat would have still gone for it this season. Different situations.

The reason why they decided to blow it up isn't relevant. I don't believe the Rondo injury was the only reason, anyway. We don't know what Rondo will look like this season but they could have treaded water and still been good enough to make the playoffs while anticipating his return. It didn't work out for the Bulls but again, like the Heat they are young and could afford to wait. The Celtics as we all know were old.

Also, contract length doesn't mean anything. In fact, it benefits the Celtics because you're under their control. Just because Ainge signed everyone to two years doesn't mean they were definitely "going for it" those two years. A no-trade clause is a little better, but the best leverage is still being a free agent.

Haha, just realized Ray is on TV now. Lookin' pretty good!

[Interceptor]

The reason why they decided to blow it up isn't relevant.

It's sure as heck relevant when you use it as an argument. You cannot separate Rondo's injury from The Trade™. It was a freak event, not at all connected with anything that was going on with the Allen negotiations.

People respect the truth. Doc came clean, and got an unequivocal standing ovation.

[TitleMaster]

Folks, throughout the final years on the Celtics, Ray was fighting through screens but becoming a one trick pony ... the Robert Horry kind.

Sorry, but that's a low quality of work environment, esp with the reoccurring trade rumors. If I'd already banked a lot of money earlier, I wouldn't want to spend the twilight of my career in that environment.

In Miami, his job's simple and easy to execute and at the same time, Riley promised to never trade him. Since one didn't spend one's entire life on the Celtics roster, but like an army brat, was shuffled from base to base for decades, I wouldn't want my last years to be on a sagging team, where I couldn't perform my work.

[guava_wrench]

He was asked these questions in a magazine. What's he going to do?

It gets old when people act like players called a press conference to say something when they actually just answered questions.

Either way, what he says is very reasonable. We all knew Ainge was trying to get future assets for the aging guys. Danny made way too many public comments about holding onto Bird and McHale for Ray to not know what Ainge stood for.

The end result is that if Ainge was going to shop Ray that hard, and even tell him that he was traded, Danny needed to make sure that Ray really got traded. You can't take the failed trade back -- the damage to the relationship was done.

[kozlodoev]

He was asked these questions in a magazine. What's he going to do?

It gets old when people act like players called a press conference to say something when they actually just answered questions.

No, what's getting old is Ray Allen coming up with reasons why he just had to leave the Celtics. It's been about everything from being "underused" to worrying about being traded... but it's never been about Ray Allen looking to get his own. SMH.

[Celtics4ever]

Ray thinks he is doing damage control I am sure but he took a huge hit from all that running of his mouth to his good guy image.   Now he is a ringchaser, plain and simple.

[alley oop]

He was asked these questions in a magazine. What's he going to do?

It gets old when people act like players called a press conference to say something when they actually just answered questions.

No one has to give an interview, or answer a question fully or extensively (that happens all the time). The thing is KG has said very little about the subject, and Pierce little more. Ray is the one that goes on and on about the matter. 

Either way, what he says is very reasonable. We all knew Ainge was trying to get future assets for the aging guys. Danny made way too many public comments about holding onto Bird and McHale for Ray to not know what Ainge stood for.

The end result is that if Ainge was going to shop Ray that hard, and even tell him that he was traded, Danny needed to make sure that Ray really got traded. You can't take the failed trade back -- the damage to the relationship was done.

OJ Mayo has said the trade didn’t go through because some players, one can assume KG and Pierce, opposed it. Ainge's fear may have been that KG wouldn't re-sign that summer if he traded Ray. Some day, likely after they’re retired, they may give their account of what happened.

[alley oop]

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

Days before Ray agreed to go to Miami, he had stopped returning phone calls to Doc. This is Doc's account of what happened. It’s not clear, from the facts I recall, that the Celtics would have agreed to acquire Terry and used up their mid-level exception, had they been confident Ray wanted to stay.

-----------------------------------------------------------------

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.

KG was becoming a restricted free agent at the same time, and was in the process of deciding whether or not he wanted to retire. He wasn't going to be calling up Ray and encouraging him to stay, before he had decided to stay himself. 

[Celtics4ever]

Ray is the one that goes on and on about the matter.

Guilt and fear of legacy will do that to a guy.