Ray Allen: Doc Rivers Called Off Chris Paul Trade to Celtics in 2011

by **bobheckler** Tue Mar 13, 2018 12:31 pm

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2763962

Ray Allen: Doc Rivers Called Off Chris Paul Trade to Celtics in 2011

SCOTT POLACEK

MARCH 12, 2018

If not for Doc Rivers, Chris Paul might have joined the Boston Celtics ahead of the 2011-12 campaign, according to a new book from Ray Allen.

On Monday, Sean Deveney of Sporting News shared excerpts from Allen's book From the Outside: My Journey through Life and the Game I Love, which is due out in two weeks and was written with Michael Arkush.

In one of those excerpts, Allen said Rivers didn't want to trade Rajon Rondo to New Orleans for Paul because of his relationship with then-Pelicans head coach Monty Williams.

"In the end, Doc decided he couldn't do that to their coach, Monty Williams. Doc was a mentor to Monty, having coached him in Orlando," Allen explained.

It's notable that Rondo would have been shipped to New Orleans, as Allen delves into his relationship with the mercurial point guard in his book. Allen initially served as a veteran mentor to Rondo, but Deveney said their relationship was "in tatters" by 2011.

"Allen describes Rondo as a player who expected that he would be treated as a leader without having done the work to deserve the role, and describes the Celtics as an organization that could not figure out how to handle Rondo," Deveney wrote.

After the trade fell through, Allen said Rivers elected to build the offense around Rondo, and he called the following season "the most stressful by far. It got to the point that Rondo would not even throw the ball to me."

The idea of Paul landing on the Celtics before the lockout-shortened 2011-12 season is an intriguing game of "What if?" for NBA fans. New Orleans ultimately shipped him to the Los Angeles Clippers, but a Boston team that took the Heat to seven games in the Eastern Conference Finals would have had one of the best point guards of his generation leading the way had the trade happened.

While Rondo averaged 11.7 assists per game that season, Paul shot 37.1 percent from three-point range compared to 23.8 from Rondo. Paul also averaged 2.5 steals per game compared to Rondo's 1.8 and would have been able to harass the Heat's perimeter ball-handlers.

Additionally, Paul may have provided Boston more long-term stability at point guard. He remained with the Clippers until the end of the 2016-17 season, while the Celtics traded Rondo to the Dallas Mavericks in 2014.

bob

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by **RosalieTCeltics** Tue Mar 13, 2018 2:47 pm

When is this all going to stop? Now Ray writes a book and all hell breaks loose. Sorry, he was great while he played here, but I am really sick of this whole story. Grow up, move on, get another life Ray

by **wideclyde** Tue Mar 13, 2018 4:07 pm

Ray Allen is in our far back history, and needs to be forgotten.

He was a part of the 2008 championship, but he is no longer part of the Cs and will not help in any way towards winning another championship.

For those reasons, I absolutely refuse to even read anything further about Ray Allen.

by **worcester** Wed Mar 14, 2018 12:10 am

I was not happy about Ray's departure, but I am happy about him as a man. He's been criticized lately for going to Poland as part of a Holocaust Museum committee. Basically Ray was criticized for not solely addressing black American issues. He responded by saying,

" I didn’t go to Poland as a black person, a white person, a Christian person or a Jewish person — I went as a human being."

The man has a keen moral conscience. He does not make a dime sticking up for Jewish people or urging us not to forget what happened to them and moreover urging us not to forget to display our common sense of humanity to one another.

Ray has fully redeemed himself in my eyes. Read this before you think of trashing him again for switching basketball teams. Please.

https://www.theplayerstribune.com/ray-allen-why-i-went-to-auschwitz/

by **NYCelt** Wed Mar 14, 2018 8:07 am

worcester wrote:I was not happy about Ray's departure, but I am happy about him as a man. He's been criticized lately for going to Poland as part of a Holocaust Museum committee. Basically Ray was criticized for not solely addressing black American issues. He responded by saying,

" I didn’t go to Poland as a black person, a white person, a Christian person or a Jewish person — I went as a human being."

The man has a keen moral conscience. He does not make a dime sticking up for Jewish people or urging us not to forget what happened to them and moreover urging us not to forget to display our common sense of humanity to one another.

Ray has fully redeemed himself in my eyes. Read this before you think of trashing him again for switching basketball teams. Please.

https://www.theplayerstribune.com/ray-allen-why-i-went-to-auschwitz/

+1

by **cowens/oldschool** Wed Mar 14, 2018 11:11 am

worcester wrote:I was not happy about Ray's departure, but I am happy about him as a man. He's been criticized lately for going to Poland as part of a Holocaust Museum committee. Basically Ray was criticized for not solely addressing black American issues. He responded by saying,

" I didn’t go to Poland as a black person, a white person, a Christian person or a Jewish person — I went as a human being."

The man has a keen moral conscience. He does not make a dime sticking up for Jewish people or urging us not to forget what happened to them and moreover urging us not to forget to display our common sense of humanity to one another.

Ray has fully redeemed himself in my eyes. Read this before you think of trashing him again for switching basketball teams. Please.

https://www.theplayerstribune.com/ray-allen-why-i-went-to-auschwitz/

Once a traitor always a traitor, he should shut up on basketball issues

by **worcester** Wed Mar 14, 2018 12:07 pm

There is more to life than basketball. On the other fronts he is a good dude.

by **RosalieTCeltics** Wed Mar 14, 2018 12:40 pm

Anyone who was on this forum when Ray was signed can attest to my joy. No one could have been more excited than me to finally see Ray in Green. The years he gave us were great, without him, no title. When he decided to leave it broke my heart, but he was a free agent and could do what he wanted. The fact that he went to Miami killed me, it was like he was slapping the Celtics in the face. But....again...he had the right to do what he felt was right for him.

It was after he left, whenever he was interviewed, that he took swing after swing at the Celtics. Granted he was ticked off that he was involved in trade talks. But, I am a Celtic fan first. The more he talked the more bitterness came out. Then the "I will always be a Celtic" statement. Well Ray, you were a Celtic for five years. After that, it was over. So, why do you find it so hard to move on with your life without flinging the garbage you do. Rondo, he was good, at times great, but in the end he was a pain. So i am not defending him here.

For the last time, just walk away Ray, move on with your life. You will be voted first into the HOF, you deserve it. But who's uniform will you be enshrined with? Life is cruel, let go.

by **Shamrock1000** Wed Mar 14, 2018 1:24 pm

NYCelt wrote:
worcester wrote:I was not happy about Ray's departure, but I am happy about him as a man. He's been criticized lately for going to Poland as part of a Holocaust Museum committee. Basically Ray was criticized for not solely addressing black American issues. He responded by saying,

" I didn’t go to Poland as a black person, a white person, a Christian person or a Jewish person — I went as a human being."

The man has a keen moral conscience. He does not make a dime sticking up for Jewish people or urging us not to forget what happened to them and moreover urging us not to forget to display our common sense of humanity to one another.

Ray has fully redeemed himself in my eyes. Read this before you think of trashing him again for switching basketball teams. Please.

https://www.theplayerstribune.com/ray-allen-why-i-went-to-auschwitz/

+1

+2

Thanks for the link Worcester - great read. Ray is a thoughtful dude.

Regarding Ray's other recent writing, I don't get all the outrage. Actually, maybe I sort of get it. People get upset when their image of a beloved team or player is challenged. We like the image of a band of brothers, selflessly united in their quest for glory. We all love heros, and it's easy to root for something so purely and unselfishly "good". However, I would argue that what makes sports really great is that it is played by real three-dimensional human beings, people that rise to greatness in spite of their personal faults and frailties, who can work through petty personal differences and animosities to do something as difficult as win a championship in the greatest basketball league in the world. I like hearing the inside story, the human element. I am a Ray fan. He was a great player, a generational talent. I am also a big Rondo fan; to this day, I still believe that his court vision is other-wordly brilliant. I think its possible to like them both. Although I am interested in these behind-the-scenes accounts, I wasn't there; even if I was, the truth is often subjective. In my mind, both Ray and Rondo are Celtics. Take away either one, and the whole complexion of that beloved team changes.

On another note - these pieces in the players tribune are often very good. People who think these guys are "dumb jocks" who need to "stick to dribbling" should read a few before they let their mouths spew out more nonsense.

by **dboss** Wed Mar 14, 2018 7:31 pm

The first sign that Allen was outside was actually his doing. If you recall, early on in the big 3 era all participated collectively in post game comments. All 3 at the table. But then Ray decided to stop being part of that.

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