Ray Allen hoped for more from Celtics

Ray Allen hoped for more from Celtics

By Mark Murphy

Ray Allen met with members of the Boston media following today’s introductory press conference in Miami, and admitted that he was hoping for more outreach from the Celtics [team stats] during free agency, including a three-year contract that would have guaranteed he was a Celtic for the same amount of time as Kevin Garnett, who has agreed to a three-year deal.

In an interview as far-ranging as his press conference, Allen expressed the belief that he will always be a Celtic, that he was starting to feel isolated in the Celtics’ game plan, and that he will always care about the fans.


Here’s a few excerpts:

On not feeling urgency from the Celtics:

“To a small extent, yeah. When Kevin signed I was excited for him. He signed a three-year deal and I expected to be somewhere along the same (length). Then they went in another direction and started to sign their other free agents. In a free agency period, I’m looking at Miami and they’re so excited to have me come here and have an opportunity, and I didn’t sense the same excitement coming from that side of the equation.”

On not wanting to answer questions about his issues with Rajon Rondo [stats]:

“It’s not that I didn’t want to answer it, but I’m here as part of something that’s good moving forward. I can’t say it was an issue for me in this free agency. I wanted to make a decision that was going to keep me happy. I wouldn’t put it on one person.”

On being overlooked because he was always the good soldier:

“There’s some truth to that. Sometimes it’s my own fault. Sometimes you have to step out and clear your own path and let it be known a little more. But I acquiesced so much, that at some point they said, ‘Ray will be all right. He’ll get his touches, or he’ll figure it out, we don’t have to worry about him,’ and at some point it was to my own detriment because at some point I didn’t create enough of a wave to let them know you have to speak for yourself.”

On whether he now sees the Celtics as a rival:

“No, forever I will always be a Celtic, no matter what. I saw Big Baby down here during the playoffs and I look on him as a brother. We played against Perk during the year. It doesn’t change. (James) Posey came into the locker room after we lost Game 7 (of the Eastern Conference finals) here, and he’s forever a Celtic. Eddie House came into the locker room every time we played against him. In my mind it doesn’t change. No matter what people say about me, in my mentality I’m always going to stay true to the fans of Boston, because they’ve been great to me, my family, and I will always consider that place home.”

On his love for the fans, and his anticipation of how they will treat him next year:

“Typically, my response even before I think about theirs is looking forward to being back in the building. The Epsteins sitting by the bench. Seeing Mike Rotondi in the building. Boston has so many great fans who were pivotal in being part of home court advantage, that that’s what I look forward to. People, if they don’t like me, doesn’t change who I am. My character isn’t going to change. I’m the same person. It’s unfortunate, but I can’t do anything about it.”

112288

DEFINITION:

A delusion is a belief held with strong conviction despite superior evidence to the contrary.

HEY RAY...YOU WERE NOT THE STRAW THAT STIRRED THE DRINK!

112288

The unnamed former Celtic is fUll of that brown sticky stuff.

Dboss

dboss wrote:The unnamed former Celtics is fUll of that brown sticky stuff.

Dboss

Not sure if it is sticky.... may i ask how you know it is?

beat

I take a few every day.

Dboss

On whether he now sees the Celtics as a rival:

“No, forever I will always be a Celtic, no matter what."

A delusion is a belief held with strong conviction despite superior evidence to the contrary.

......when your wearing an Miami Heat Uniform.........Ya Ray Sure!


112288

112288 wrote:
On whether he now sees the Celtics as a rival:

“No, forever I will always be a Celtic, no matter what."

A delusion is a belief held with strong conviction despite superior evidence to the contrary.

......when your wearing an Miami Heat Uniform.........Ya Ray Sure!


112288

In regards to that, Ray reminds me of a bologna sandwich, without the bread or mustard, pure BOLOGNA!!

Gyso

Which leads to heart burn....which this has caused most Celtic fans!


112288

"I saw Big Baby down here during the playoffs and I look on him as a brother. We played against Perk during the year. It doesn’t change. (James) Posey came into the locker room after we lost Game 7 (of the Eastern Conference finals) here, and he’s forever a Celtic. Eddie House came into the locker room every time we played against him. In my mind it doesn’t change."

RAY ALLEN

A delusion is a belief held with strong conviction despite superior evidence to the contrary.

Hey Ray, your story falls apart as all those Celtic players left for the chance to make bigger salaries..........that's ok.......they need to do what's best for their family and future financially..............AH......Ray.......You made far more then those players combined ($175,000,000) in your day and left the Celtics for less!!!!!!


112288

“Sometimes you’ve got to step out and clear your path a little bit more than you would have done otherwise and just let it be known,” Allen said. “But I acquiesced so much to the point where, at some point they said, ‘Well, Ray will be all right, he’ll figure himself out or he’ll get his touches, he’ll figure it out, we don’t worry about him.’ At some point it was to my own detriment because I didn’t create enough wave of an ego to let them know you have to stand up and speak for yourself and be accounted for.”

Allen’s relationship with Rajon Rondo was strained to the point where he didn’t mention the Celtics point guard by name Wednesday. But he maintained it wasn’t the determining factor in his exit. It appeared Paul Pierce didn’t exactly recruit Allen hard, either. Allen said he primarily talked with Garnett, who told him that Ainge would “step up to the plate and do whatever you need him to do.”

Ray Allen

A delusion is a belief held with strong conviction despite superior evidence to the contrary.

Hey Ray....Doc worked on you pretty hard...to get you to come back.........
Pierce and KG may not have worked hard enough to you liking to get get you to come back but they did.................but then again................................does someone really have to work hard to convince someone to come back:

1) to a potential championship team in 2013.
2) double the salary of Miami offer.
3) no cut contract.
3) not disrupt your family (especially young kids) with a 1,500 mile move.

Ray................you think Celtic fans are that stupid!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

112288

Allen gushed about the next chapter in his basketball career and how Spoelstra's vision for his role as part of the reigning champs excited him. Riley talked about a desire to send Allen's number to the rafters at AmericanAirlines Arena --

A delusion is a belief held with strong conviction despite superior evidence to the contrary.

Hey Ray.........you'll be sitting on the bench behind Wade and whoever........playing for 1/2 the money...............getting excited about Spoelstra's vision for your role ..............playing in front of fake, phoney fans............that have no idea what tradition and loyalty means!

WOW!!!!!!!!!!!!! GET THE STRAIGHT JACKET FOR THIS GUY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

112288

112288 wrote:Allen gushed about the next chapter in his basketball career and how Spoelstra's vision for his role as part of the reigning champs excited him. Riley talked about a desire to send Allen's number to the rafters at AmericanAirlines Arena --

A delusion is a belief held with strong conviction despite superior evidence to the contrary.

Hey Ray.........you'll be sitting on the bench behind Wade and whoever........playing for 1/2 the money...............getting excited about Spoelstra's vision for your role ..............playing in front of fake, phoney fans............that have no idea what tradition and loyalty means!

WOW!!!!!!!!!!!!! GET THE STRAIGHT JACKET FOR THIS GUY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

112288

Totally agree.

You know, I've been thinking a little more about this, coming down off my adrenaline high, and listening to what Ray is saying about how he wanted to be pursued by the Celtics more avidly and was disappointed he wasn't.

If he thinks we should have gone after him before KG, then the definition of "delusional" repeated above applies.

If he thinks we should have gone after him before we went after Jason Terry, well, maybe he has a point.

If he thinks we should have gone after him before we went after Jeff Green, well, that's not exactly apples-to-apples like the Terry comparison is, but maybe he has a point.

It is occurring to me that this is not as haphazard, nor as vindictive, as it initially looked. Maybe a decision was made by the Celtics front office (including Doc) that prioritizing a 37 year old SG coming off of ankle surgery (and who has been missing more and more games over the past 2 years due to various and assorted tweaks) is not the direction we want to go in.

If so, how does one politely, respectfully hand one of the 3 Amigos his hat? One way would be to say all the right things ("We want Ray back", "We expect Ray to be back", "We love Ray") but pursue a player who would be taking some of his minute instead? Make it inceasingly clear that his deal is maybe top 3, if not lower?

We're blaming Ray, and perhaps some of that is legit, but as I said in my initial rant "he couldn't go somewhere they didn't want him" and if Danny, Wyc and Doc decided that we need to go younger (ok, 34 vs 37 isn't that big a deal, but Ray's injuries and surgery are indicators) at that position then all Ray did was see the writing on the wall before the rest of us did. Actions speak louder than words and Ray was getting lip service from the Celtics while they actively pursued other players. The key word there is "actively".

I agree with what 112288 is saying, about how he had a better package here, but we also have to remember that he never received that offer. All we know is what we read in the rumor mills about what was thought to be coming Ray's way, but it never was actually offered. Once again, happy warm thoughts coming from the Celtics, but no actions. Just what you might expect from a class organization who doesn't want to look like bad guys but don't really and truly want to re-sign this guy.

Ray is saying what Ray has to say. "I love being in Miami". He is in Miami, what do you expect him to say? "I'll always be a Celtic". He won a championship here and he doesn't want to be the bad guy either. "I'm excited about coach Spoelstra's vision for my role". Smart thing, saying nice things about your new coach, wouldn't you say? Jared Sullinger says that "falling from a lottery pick to #21 was a blessing in disguise", and we all nod our heads and say he's a smart kid. C'mon, falling from being probably top 10 to the bottom half of the 1st round is good? That alone probably cost him $3M on his rookie contract, but he's saying the right things because he is here now.

If Ray has a great year and Terry doesn't, we'll be re-opening this wound again, I don't doubt. If the opposite happens, we'll be crowing about Danny's genius, seeing how Ray was on his last legs etc. Remember how we felt when Baby got traded for Bass? We were a bit unsettled, because Baby was a known quantity and we didn't know how Bass woud fit in. Halfway through the season, Danny was a genius. Let's keep our powder dry, there's still lots of time over the coming six months to use it.

bob

.

Bob

Only problem with you analysis is that the Celtics DID offer Ray a contract....that was worth twice as much as Miami AND had a no trade clause.

As I heard on one media report - when DA spoke with Ray and his agent, they were putting the Celtics off. When he contacted Jason Terry's agent...Jet was ready to get a deal done THEN. Big difference.

I have no issue with Ray wanting to "play the field" but implicit in that strategy is the fact that your old team (or old girlfriend) may not be as interested when you finally figure it out.

Ray bluffed Danny....Danny called his bluf by signing Jason Terry - and then Ray tried to cry about it, saying his move was down to feeling "disrespected"

Far as I am concerned, I lost a lot of respect for Ray as a business man. As a person - no, he was great here....and seems to be a very generous person who has given a lot to the community. If he wanted to play in Miami all along, fair play...but I think he wanted to stay here...and his lack of commitment caused Danny Ainge to make other plans.

MK,

DITTO

112288

Ray is a fine person and a fine basketball player who did great for us. His move to Miami was an emotional not a rational decision and those are't usually the best. He made his bed. He has to sleep in it. I for one would much rather have Boston fans at my back rather than the opportunistic, fair weather Heat fans that are FAMOUS here in Florida for being fickle and shallow.

Don't expect to see his #20 retired, ever. I wish him well in his personal life, just not on the court against us. I also trust Danny's judgment on these matters and think we'll be better off now in the long run. Nuff said.

I don't know about your theory, Bob, when it comes to Doc. All that I have read before AND after THE DECISION, points to a very disappointed, kind of angry Doc Rivers. Today's Boston Herald has a small article where someone asked Doc about Ray's comments yesterday. His reaction was, "I am not talking about Ray anymore, he is not a part of us." period. Sounds to me like he is hurt by all of these comments. What would we expect him to say.

You will notice one thing through all of this, Danny has kept his mouth shut. He is not commenting yet. Taking the high road???

There's no gain in talking about it.