Pierce and KG Didn't Want Ray Allen Here Neither

Catching up on some of my cut-and-pastes, now that I'm back.

Might as well get the dirt out of the way, so we can move on to more current and relevant stuff.  At least this was written by Adrian W., who is usually a spot-on and solid reporter.

So, if this is to be believed, it wasn't a case of Rondo vs Allen as we thought. Not even KG and Pierce wanted Ray here anymore.


http://sports.yahoo.com/news/nba--kevin-garnett-fires-back-at-lebron-james-as-nets-heat-rivalry-grows-162601827.html



Kevin Garnett fires back at LeBron James as Nets-Heat rivalry grows
Adrian Wojnarowski By Adrian Wojnarowski
October 18, 2013 12:26 PM
Yahoo Sports


NEW YORK – For all the respect LeBron James' prodigious talent commands, Kevin Garnett has long disdained the planet's best player. Part of it has been the cutthroat competition in the Eastern Conference, part of it James' precarious progression to maturity, part of it simply a belief that LeBron's full of it.

"Tell LeBron to worry about Miami," Garnett grumbled late Thursday. "He has nothing to do with Celtic business."

Garnett punctuated his words with a pound of the podium and snarl burning straight to South Beach. In his rush to defend Ray Allen, James blasted Garnett and Paul Pierce with flawed and forced logic. James called them out as hypocrites for such a harsh response to Allen's free agent fleeing to Miami, only to make the move themselves a year later.


Of course, James' assault made little sense, considering the Celtics traded Pierce and Garnett to the Brooklyn Nets. The Celtics pushed Garnett to waive his no-trade clause, insisting they no longer wanted him as part of a rebuild. As a free agent, Allen turned down $12 million from the Celtics to take $6.5 million from the Heat.

Allen had his reasons, and they're well-documented. In the end, Doc Rivers could no longer get Garnett and Pierce to recruit Allen to stay, sources told Yahoo. Neither player would call Allen, and only Pierce could be counted upon to even text him. The partnership had run its course, and Allen made the right, if unpopular, decision for himself.

Nevertheless, two championships have emboldened James to take his shots – perhaps because he's tired of absorbing them for years. When asked about James' criticisms on Thursday night, Pierce said, "I left Boston?" It was his way of simply saying: What the hell's LeBron talking about?


At 36, Pierce understands words don't carry the clout of deeds. This is why he delivered a shoulder block to James on a breakaway in the first quarter of Thursday's 86-62 victory over Miami. Garnett landed a soft blow upside James' head, too. For October, this wasn't bad theater. "That's going to be our identity," Pierce said. "That's a message to the league."

For everything the Pierce and Garnett deal represented about the Nets championship aspirations, it wasn't until the bargain-basement signing for an A-list free agent, Andrei Kirilenko, that some within the Heat organization truly considered the Nets a major problem.

Kirilenko gives the Nets a versatile defender for James and Dwyane Wade, an offensive threat who can fill the box score columns like few peers.

After chasing $8 million to $10 million a year on the market, Kirilenko settled on a $3.2 million exception with the Nets. Much of the NBA cried conspiracy, and the league office was forced into conducting an impossible investigation to understand the fluidity of Kirilenko's free-agent process. If the league office was trying to find an opening for a side deal, Kirilenko and the Nets simply explained this as a circumstance where the market dried up and a player accepted less to play for a big-market contender.


The NBA brought AK-47's agent and a union representative into the league office to meet with the lawyers, but the stories checked out. League lawyers reached out to front-office executives who had been in contact with Kirilenko on free-agent discussions – some who had interest, some who didn't. Ultimately, people couldn't do anything but grudgingly congratulate owner Mikhail Prokhorov and general manager Billy King on a job well done.

Prokhorov gave King an unprecedented threshold for luxury-tax pain – $80 million on top of a $100 million payroll – and King cobbled together the assets to make big trades, and had the recruiting chops to sell talented veterans on below-market money. In a lot of ways, it's been very Riley-esque.

Several teams demanded an investigation, but the Heat never complained, league sources told Yahoo Sports. Part of the reason is that Miami owner Micky Arison has a strong relationship with King and respect for him, but mostly the Heat understand what it means to be a target in free-agency conspiracy accusations. Truth be told, too: Miami's an organization that craves the competition.

As long as Deron Williams' ankle doesn't become a major recurring issue this season, Brooklyn should emerge as a relentless pursuer – along with Chicago and Indiana – of the three-time defending Eastern Conference champions. It started on Thursday, and maybe it doesn't stop until springtime.

An old fight with familiar old faces tumbled out of New England on Thursday night, and down into New York: LeBron Against the World. Celtics business had turned into Nets business, and only one currency remains accepted at the counter: Pure, unfiltered hatred.



bob


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"In the end, Doc Rivers could no longer get Garnett and Pierce to recruit Allen to stay, sources told Yahoo. Neither player would call Allen, and only Pierce could be counted upon to even text him."

I did not know this. Interesting . . .

Think about it, it was pretty obvious that neither PP or Garnett cared about Ray. He had become a problem in the locker room, everyone was so quick to blame Rondo. Ray's ego had taken a real turn for the worse. He was ticked off that Danny did not pursue him before he signed KG, give me a break. I have lost alot of faith in Ray Allen, sorry to say. It was easy to paint Ainge as the bad guy, then throw Rondo in. A massive ego seems to be the issue here.
Neither Pierce or Garnett would have left the Celtics if not pushed out the door by the thought of playing a season with a bunch of kids. look at the attitude Wallace has shown in the past few days. I am not knocking him, he is right with alot of what he says, but, there is a chip on his shoulder, no doubt.

So, I will pack away all my Ray Allen memorobilia with the hopes that someday, I will just forget all this garbage and relish the five years he spent with us.

Rosalie

Things are going well Sam, I saw the cardiologist yesterday, had an echo cardiogram last week and he was thrilled with the outcome. Everything seems to be going well, am at the gym walking about a mile or a little more. I hope to push myself a little more. It is unbelieveable that it has been six months since the surgery.

I know it sounds harsh, my thoughts on Ray. I think in time they will mellow, but right now it seems as if he was so unhappy here, and I can't believe that! We all go thru things in life, I guess he just had to get away from this enviornment. It is funny, he would have been the guy I could see representing the Celtics after he retires. The more that comes out, the more I believe he made the right decision, he no longer belonged in green. Sad, I waited so long for him to come.

Isn't it funny, as a long time fan, I can remember a few guys who left here unhappy, yet, look at Paul and KG, they really have been true Celtics, moved on and not throw any nasty remarks about being traded/ Remember the nasty relationship that Max had with Red when he left, yet they were able to reconcile. Time will tell if this happens in this case.

Well, off to the game, I think I will be able to pick my seat, maybe even on the bench, looks like half of Brooklyn stayed home! I dread the ride in, the traffic will be awful, but the ride home will be okay, the game will be over long before the traffic from the Red Sox. Now, there is something to be happy about. From last to first, they should be proud.

Rosalie

Beat  It is always great to hear how the kids are doing. It seems they have grown up all the time we have been on line together. They look like they are enjoying college life. It is an exciting time for them both.  Thanks for sharing, I love seeing and hearing about them both.

Rosalie