Ray Allen took a proactive approach in shooting down questions about his former Boston Celtics teammates.
Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, Rajon Rondo, Kendrick Perkins and Glen “Big Baby” Davis appeared on Garnett’s “Area 21” segment earlier this week as part of TNT’s NBA playoff coverage. The former Celtics teammates expressed displeasure with how Allen, who wasn’t in attendance, left the organization to join the Miami Heat in 2012.
Knowing he’d inevitably be asked about the recent criticism, Allen requested through his publicist Thursday at an event in South Florida for his Ray of Hope Foundation that there be no questions regarding the topic, according to the South Florida Sun Sentinel’s Ira Winderman.
“Now, three days later, Allen had his opportunity to fire back,” Winderman wrote Thursday. “Instead, during a private moment he said he saw no reason or any value in such discourse, other than to affirm that a Facebook post seemingly cast in response to the TNT discussion was not of his doing, with the page in question no longer listed as his verified account.”
All told, Allen was asked about Dwyane Wade’s future with the Chicago Bulls. Wade, who was teammates with Allen in Miami, has a $23.8 million player option to return to Chicago next season, but there’s been some speculation that the 12-time NBA All-Star could opt to play elsewhere.
Obviously, this isn’t really comparable to Allen’s situation with Boston in 2012. Allen had just spent five seasons with the Celtics, winning an NBA championship in 2008, whereas Wade is coming off his first season with the Bulls. But Allen’s response Thursday still is noteworthy given that he turned down more money from the Celtics to join the Heat, just like Wade could take less money to play with a team other than the Bulls next season.
“One thing I can always say, being a free agent in any situation, you’ve always got to go to your happiness. Because, at the end of the day, whatever that dollar figure is, it does have an impact on your decision, but I think at the end of the day, you have to choose where it is you’re going to be happy and where you think you’ll fit the most,” Allen said, according to Winderman. “Because 82 games is a long time to be in some place where you may not be happy or may not feel like it fits. So I think for all of us, that’s kind of the impetus behind our decision.”
All in all, it sounds like Allen is just going to keep doing his thing — just like he always has.
Thumbnail photo via Soobum Im/USA TODAY Sports Images
