The reason for the flip side of that decision — why Allen is no longer a member of the Boston Celtics — is up for debate. Several explanations have been given for Allen's departure, with the most popular theory circulating around a devolving relationship with point guard Rajon Rondo.
According to this theory, Allen was rankled by his declining role in the Celtics offense to give greater freedom to Rondo. The veteran shooting guard even lamented to one reporter that the younger point guard was not as open to advice and constructive criticism as he used to be.
Allen denied that any one person or thing prompted him to leave Boston, but people were bound to believe what they wanted to believe. Doc Rivers made comments that were published Wednesday that supported Allen's claim that Rondo was not to blame for Allen leaving the Celtics. In Rivers' version of events, the fault lay with Rivers.
Rondo may not have been the easiest teammate to deal with and Rivers may have been able to tailor the gameplan to feature Allen more extensively, but in the end Allen had complete control over where he signed. The unrestricted free agent chose to sign for fewer years and less money with the Heat, and that was nobody's decision but his own.
