Further Thoughts On Ray Trade

Ray Wants To Stay: The Boston Celtics have a huge trade chip in the $18.7 million ending contract of Ray Allen.

Celtics' team president Danny Ainge has been adamant he does not want to touch any of his core players, but with Allen's contract likely returning a major talent upgrade, the February 18th trade deadline may present temptations too good to pass up.

For his part Allen wants to remain in Boston, not only for the balance of this season, but for the balance of his playing days.

"I would love to be here," Allen said to Gary Washburn of The Boston Globe. "In my mind right now, for me there's no other place to be. It's a great tradition. This is really NBA basketball to me, being a part of a team and the tradition of winning, a great fan base. But the situations have to be addressed. There is a business connected to it. The team is going to do what they think is necessary. We'll have to make a decision based on how they come to me business-wise."

The ideal scenario for Allen would be to ink a contract extension off the same terms he is currently under, however that means a 2010 salary based off the $18.7 million he's earning this year, which is almost twice what the Celtics want to spend, meaning an extension is unlikely.

"I am a loyalty person. If the opportunity presented itself to get a deal at the current moment as we speak, I would be all over it," said Allen. "So moving forward, I don't have to worry about how the summer is going to go and long term we at least between myself, Kevin [Garnett] and Paul [Pierce], we know we are going to be here, Rasheed [Wallace] and [Rajon] Rondo. You know what the core is going to be."

Allen was presented with the idea of a "home team discount" - meaning taking less money to remain in Boston.

"I haven't thought about it. I have and I haven't," he said. "It's really hard to say what the state of this team is going to be by the time July comes and the state of other teams as well. It's hard to say what it is that I am looking for or what I am potentially capable of getting.

"I've made great money in the league. You talk about a market value that's going to present itself based on what other teams are willing to pay and obviously what situation this team is going to be [and] for me, what they are going to need from me. It doesn't reveal itself until that time comes, I believe."

"I think we might see how it goes," Allen said. "As much as we'd obviously like to get something done, it is up to the team to feel as though they want to get something taken care of."

The Celtics were linked recently to an Allen-for-Monta Ellis deal that would likely include Boston taking back one or more unfavorable contracts from Golden State. The Warriors side of the deal would be a pure salary dump.

Monta Ellis is set to earn $11 million in 2010, and has four years and roughly $44 million remaining on his deal. If the deal included say Vladimir Radmanovic's $6.88 million 2010 salary, the Warriors could conceivably jump head first into the 2010 free agent class with more than $20 million in possible cap space.

The rumored deal is precarious for the Celtics who are a defense first team, something Monta Ellis is not known for. However cashing Allen out for a high volume scorer like Ellis could be a huge talent infusion for the Celtics and give them a bright future with Rajon Rondo and Ellis as a backcourt of the future.

If Ellis' temperament doesn't derail the situation in Boston, it could be a huge move for the Celtics especially if Kevin Garnett and Rasheed Wallace can teach Ellis to play some defense.