Report: Suns Serious Contenders to Pursue Ray Allen

by Ricky Doyle on Fri, Jun 29, 2012 at 9:13AM

Now that the NBA draft is out of the way, Danny Ainge and the Celtics can turn their attention to locking up their free-agent veterans.

The C's could have some competition when it comes to Ray Allen, though, as the Phoenix Suns have surfaced as serious contenders to pursue the veteran guard, according to Yahoo! Sports' Adrian Wojnarowski.

This report comes on the heels of an ESPN.com report earlier this week stating that there's mutual interest between Allen and the NBA champion Heat. Miami has long been considered a potential destination for Allen if he elects to leave Boston. Wojnarowski reports, however, that while the Heat remain a possibility, they're not currently the leaders.

The Suns reportedly have plenty of salary cap space and could offer Allen more money than either the Heat or Knicks. Phoenix reportedly interests Allen regardless of whether or not the Suns can retain Steve Nash.

Kevin Garnett, of course, is the other big name free agent the Celtics will be looking to bring back.