Ray Allen says don't hate the player, hate the team

Ok, now I really want to slap him.


http://www.cbssports.com/nba/blog/eye-on-basketball/20607624/ray-allen-says-dont-hate-the-player-hate-the-team





Heat's Ray Allen says don't hate the player, hate the team




By Zach Harper | CBSSports.com staff

October 19, 2012 5:20 pm ET

Ray Allen had a business decision to make this offseason. (Getty Images)

Ever since Ray Allen left the friendly confines of the Boston Celtics for the much-hated Miami Heat, he's felt some backlash from the Celtics players and fans.

Paul Pierce took it in stride, saying that he was “a little bitter that he went to Miami, but he's still a brother of mine.” Kevin Garnett said he didn't have Ray's number anymore because of a personal choice
he was making about the situation. And some of the fans have thrown
around the word traitor for the future Hall of Fame shooting guard who
spent five of his 16 seasons in the NBA on the Celtics.

Allen was asked on WMEN in Miami with host “Big O” (Orlando Alzugaray) how he's
dealing with the negativity from Boston because he chose to play in
Miami (via SportsRadioInterviews.com):

“Well it was just really a shame because on one hand you could say so many
great things about me as a player and my impact on the floor, and not
only on the floor but off the floor, like we did so many great things in
the community — not only as a team, but as individuals — and that was
my community and I support it as much as I could. We had some foundation
initiatives that we still continue to do, so that doesn't change me.

It was a business decision and the team put me in the position where we
had to move. We had to go. Miami was a better choice for us based on
what the team was doing, so it wasn't, don't boo me, boo the team in a
sense. Now it's out of my control. … 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.”

This is the tricky part of sports. There are the ideas of loyalty to a team,
being too greedy for fame or money, and never playing for your anointed
rivals. The problem with these ideas is nobody can really say what is
real and what is just conjecture for the sporting world.

If Ray Allen didn't feel respected by the contract situation with the Celtics,
is he really supposed to remain loyal to a team he played for in just
one-third of his career? Is there supposed to be such a thing as a
discount when a veteran wants to re-sign with a retooling team?

If Ray Allen left for New York or the Lakers or the Clippers, would there
be such a sense of resentment toward him among some fans? Or is there a
certain hint of being mad that he's signed with the team that stands in
your way of getting back to the Finals?

Hopefully, Celtics fans realize the business of the entire situation and don't hold it against
him for wanting to play in Miami. And there's nothing wrong with booing
him when he's playing for an opponent, but there's a fine line between
booing an opponent and hatefully booing a guy because he left your team
to sign with your supposed rival.




bob




.

"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 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.”

so two years, 12 million is not a good contract but 3 yrs and 9 million is?

either Ray is really dumb (or at least bad at math,) or full of sh*t..

either way he fits in now quite well in miami at least

or does he?? this is from the miami herald: Allen went 3 of 11 from the field and 1 of 5 from three-point range. He had seven points in 22 minutes. Maybe it was just an off night; maybe Allen is still adjusting to coming off the bench. Allen was first player off the bench and was paired with two other guards on the court, Wade and Norris Cole. Heat coach Erik Spoelstra went with the same rotation pattern in the third quarter. It’s clear the Heat is still getting used to having Allen on the team. They don’t exactly seem to know what to do with him yet. The signature single- and double-screens Boston ran for Allen haven’t been completely integrated yet by the Heat."

anyhow... he's now the enemy..

This, from a blog at the Miami Herald about last night's game between the Heat and the Pistons (cue the snickering laughter...)


WORST OF LAST NIGHT: Ray Allen off his game

Allen went 3 of 11
from the field and 1 of 5 from three-point range. He had seven points in
22 minutes. Maybe it was just an off night; maybe Allen is still
adjusting to coming off the bench. Allen was first player off the bench
and was paired with two other guards on the court, Wade and Norris Cole.
Heat coach Erik Spoelstra went with the same rotation pattern in the
third quarter. It's clear the Heat is still getting used to having Allen
on the team. They don't exactly seem to know what to do with him yet.
The signature single- and double-screens Boston ran for Allen haven't
been completely integrated yet by the Heat.

Read more here: http://blogs.herald.com/miami_heat/2012/10/about-last-night-heat-105-pistons-78.html#storylink=cpy

BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!! BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!

Ok, the maniacal cackling was mine, not the Miami Herald's...


bob


.

boy did we set up Miami good

So Ray is trying to rehab his image.

Sorry Ray but I am not booing my team.

And I am not rooting for you. One way or the other you were not going to be a starter. It happens to a lot of great player.

The best thing to say is nothing. Go find a pick so that you can get off on your little jumper.

Dboss

Physical skills erode..........

really tough when the mental ones do to.

beat

Things that make you say, Huh???

Hopefully, Celtics fans realize the business of the entire situation and don't hold it against him for wanting to play in Miami. And there's nothing wrong with booing him when he's playing for an opponent, but there's a fine line between booing an opponent and hatefully booing a guy because he left your team to sign with your supposed rival.

Zach Harper doesn't understand the huge line between bullshit and truth and I'm calling BS on this one. You don't need a dairy farmer to know which way the stink flows!! (sorry to Bob Dylan for that !!)

Ray, you need to find a new posse, because the one you have now is severely limited in their math skills and their understanding of how sports fans think!!

gyso

To say the Celtics didn't treat him right is actually hateful on his part. From Wyc on down, this is a classy organization. They've gone out of the way for Ray and for many other players. He's asking to be booed.

Not that I know this from personal experience, but when you can't admit to the truth, your logic gets all twisted and distorted. So a generous contract offer to an aging, injured star becomes "not treaing you right." He should have said, "I wanted 3 years. They only offered 2." That would have sufficed. Of course, he couldn't say he wanted to start because he won't in South Beach either. He probably won't even get as many minutes as he would have here. And he won't have that pushy, uppity Rondo passing him the ball. It would be awfully funny if he ends up missing the guy he hated the most! Maybe Ray isn't getting what he wanted, but he's getting what he deserves.

Bone spurs are ugly. After Larry got operated on for his bone spur issue, other problems surfaced and his career went downhill all the way to retirement. Wonder how Miami fans will treat Ray when he can't produce the way he once did. They may boo louder than Boston fans.

The thing that still bothers me about Ray leaving is a little statistical fluke that Bob H or somebody on this board picked up on a year or two ago. The stats showed that Ray's presence on the floor made whatyever teammates were on the floor with him perform better. Not Paul or KG or Rondo, but Ray. After that, I watched Ray carefully, trying to figure out what it was about him that created that effect. I never did come up with an explanation.

spike

gets me thinking your comment " he could have said he wanted 3 years"...

Look at some of the "long term" contracts.....

Ask the Yankees how they feel about A-Rod and being in the tank with him for the next 5 years at 25 Million a year....

Or I wonder if the LA Angels will feel OK about their huge 10 year deal with Pujlos as his numbers have declined steadily last 5 sesons and he has 9 years to go with them.

Remember Posey wanted 4, think we offered 3 and really what was did he do the NEXT season. Certainly not much.

Ray was damaged goods yet we still extended a reasonable offer IMHO.

As a Celtics fan MY team comes before any player.

Always wondered if by some strange happening if we had gotten Laimbeer.........naw didn't happen so why speculate

As for Ray.......... really don't care, he's gone.

beat

hes gone and with the moves of Danny were so much younger faster deeper better.....we so don't need him going forward, I'm rejoicing that he left and it made us so much better!!!

Here is how I see it.

First time Ray is introduced in Boston on Jan 27th, the fans will give him a standing ovation. From that point forward, they should boo the ever loving crap out of him.

He was a great player here......he helped the team get back to relevance....he cant get along with Rondo....he moved on, to a lesser deal with the archenemy. Not hard to see how this is going to end.

Over time, Ray will become less and less relevant as a player - and as his foundation is replaced with the Jet Foundation, or the Jeff Green fund - people in Boston will move on. Ray was classy while he was here and he does deserve our respect for that.

The part about the story that gets me is Ray's delusional attitude...that Boston fans should still root for him, or that he will have his number retired in the Garden. Not gonna happen.

Ray talking do delusionally reminds me when I was real young and dumb and could end up at an after hours club in the city.....then ending up going to breakfest later on with some older burnt out stripper, they were still attractive enough to pursue, but once they started talking it was all blah blah blah and blah blah blah trying to understand what the fock they were talking about was fruitless as their minds were shot and all I wanted to do was split.

cowens/oldschool wrote:Ray talking do delusionally reminds me when I was real young and dumb and could end up at an after hours club in the city.....then ending up going to breakfest later on with some older burnt out stripper, they were still attractive enough to pursue, but once they started talking it was all blah blah blah and blah blah blah trying to understand what the fock they were talking about was fruitless as their minds were shot and all I wanted to do was split.

So Cow how was YOUR MIND at those times???

beat

well there were some GOOD times too as its fun to be young and dumb

Hi,
Oh boy, the media still trying to squeeze one more drop out of yesteryear story.
RA is gone. He is playing for Miami Heat. He made the decision.
When Celtics play Mavs Dirk is an enemy, when Celtics play OKC KD is an enemy, when Celtics play Spurs Dunkin is an enemy. The same applies to RA.
End of story.

AK

I guess I have to offer my opinion since I was the die hard "Ray" fan here on the board.

I am really disappointed at Ray's attempt to throw the mud in the Celtic's face instead of just leaving without doing this. No matter how he really feels, why do this? Doesn't he realize that the slogan of the Celtics is "I AM A CELTIC". That is the way most fans feel. Now instead of appreciating his time here they are glad he is gone and he is setting himself up to get booed, something everyone said would never happen. MOVE ON RAY. MOVE ON DOC.

You went your way Ray, and they brought 2 people to take your place. It is sad to see this happen. DOES HE REALLY THINK THE FANS WILL BOO THEIR TEAM????

Rosalie

Kind of funny. I didn't care much for Ray before we got him. I was actually excited when we played his team, hoping Ray would end up guarding Paul. Didn't know much about Ray other than he was a scorer. I learned after he played with the C's that he was a classy individual. I guess I learned even later that he wasn't as classy as I thought.

Rosalie,

Maybe I misread the original post, but I thought Ray said, "Boo THE team, not the individual." And I interpreted that as meaning Celtics fans should consider booing the Heat rather than Ray. Perhaps it's a small point, but it's hard to believe he'd be advising Celtics fans to boo the Celtics.

Sam

When you read the journalists notes and not just the article you learn even more. RA not only said the fans should boo the C's for forcing him to sign a contract with the arch rival for half the money the C's offered, but that we should also boo during the National Anthem because the USA didn't order the C's to pay more than he was worth. To make matters even more clear, he said "It really isn't voter suppression here in Fla. They just want to weed out any C's fan who don't put me above their team." (or somethin like that )

That's the way I took it too, mulcogiseng--I just want it all to be over. I think the Celtics are living in his head alot more than he wants to admit. It is rather a sad ending to five great years.

Rosalie

Sorry guys, I'm not convinced.

Here's the article I read. Ray specifically does NOT say "Boo the Celtics." He specifically says, "Boo THE TEAM." And he says that in the SAME SENTENCE where he previously had said: "Miami was a better choice for us based on what THE TEAM was doing." I believe there's every likelihood that he was referring to the Heat because it would make no sense to specify MIAMI (rather than any other city) as a desirable landing spot because of what the Celtics were doing. (Think about that for a minute.)

Ray's quote appears to have been interpreted by some blogger with a "Dead Spin" moniker as alluding to the Celtics.

I don't enjoy being involved in what I consider to be beating a dead horse when there is so much positive Celtics news to discuss, but I'm not one to stand aside if I believe there may be a misunderstanding or misinterpretation.

Sam

The article:

How did you deal with all the negativity of you leaving Boston because you chose to come here?
“Well it was just really a shame because on one hand you could say so many great things about me as a player and my impact on the floor, and not only on the floor but off the floor, like we did so many great things in the community – not only as a team, but as individuals – and that was my community and I support it as much as I could. We had some foundation initiatives that we still continue to do, so that doesn’t change me. It was a business decision and the team put me in the position where we had to move. We had to go. Miami was a better choice for us based on what the team was doing, so it wasn’t, don’t boo me, boo the team in a sense. Now it’s out of my control. … 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.”

From Dead Spin

So Ray Allen’s woaw is me tour presses on. Continuing his media blitz that’s lasted his entire career, Ray says, don’t boo me, boo the team [Celtics].

Beating a dead horse? Hah! This dead horse could come back and bite the Celtics in the ass. We can only hope that people like Avery Bradley and Courtney Lee eventually will convince Ray that he should have retired gracefully as a Celtic and not gone south with his game.

What Ray has put forth in these pronouncements is really twisted, convoluted logic, Sam, so that's probably why you don't understand it. You even said at one point that it makes no sense. Your're just too straightforward and honest, too decent to comprehend such claptrap. Can you even imagine blaming anyone else for your mistakes? That's not suggesting that you've made any mistakes, just that you readily would own up to them if you ever did.

The way I read Ray's statement is that he's blaming the team (Celtics) for putting him in the position where he had to move. When he says, "based on what the team was doing," my reading is that he means what the Celtics were doing, i.e., not taking care of him or treating him right.

He never explains how it became an insult for the Celtics to offer him twice as much as Miami did. But he does say (very revealing), when he's talking about what family and friends thought, "There's so much left in you . . ." That to me means that what bothered him was either playing time or length of contract or both. The Cs wanted him to come off the bench and only offered two years. They gave KG three years, which was a public insult to Ray.

To suggest that Boston fans should boo the Celtics for forcing him to leave, that's so narcissistic, so beyond logic, it's easy to see your reluctance to believe it. Remember your Shakespeare: "Oh what a tangled web we weave, when we but practice to deceive."

The only thing I wish is that he would just close the door. Walk away and stop trying to make people HATE the Celtics the way he obviously does now. I pictured Ray with more class than this. Let it go, Ray. You have a new team now, I wish you nothing but missed three pointers against the Celtics!!

JoJo White got traded, so did Danny Ainge, thats part of the business, he should have known that and known how to deal with it better, like just shutting his fockin mouth. Couldn't handle it that KG got a bigger longer contract and was taken care of first.....too bad, hes like alot of spoiled privledged athletes, he can dish it out, but can't take it. Hes showing his true colors, please don't invite him back for any championship reunion.

this is what is so sad about this whole thing. It took years for Red to forgive Cedric Maxwell, and he just dogged it a little. I think that the Celtics are in Ray's head and he just doesn't know how to deal with it. I would never boo him, never. However, I will not applaud him either. Those days are gone.

Did you ever lose a job you loved? It happens every day. The real world is a cold place.

I promise this is it for me on this thread....no more, it is irrelevant.