Many viewed Paul Pierce’s recent jersey retirement with the Boston Celtics as a perfect opportunity for Ray Allen to put the past behind him and rejoin the family.
Instead, Pierce and a slew of Celtics legends watched No. 34 rise to the TD Garden rafters, while Allen was golfing with George Lopez. The former Boston sharpshooter later congratulated Pierce in an Instagram post.
But was Allen’s absence truly as nefarious as some have said? Not at all, according to Los Angeles Clippers coach Doc Rivers, who was at the ceremony.
Here’s what Rivers, who coached Pierce and Allen with the Celtics, said about the controversy Wednesday before his team’s matchup with the C’s in Boston, per The Boston Globe’s Gary Washburn:
There you have it, Green Teamers.
While it’s easy to understand where Allen was coming from, it’s difficult to imagine his presence garnering that much attention on a day that was, first and foremost, about honoring one of the best players in Celtics history.
Furthermore, Allen’s rationale begs the question: When, if ever, will he, Pierce, Kevin Garnett and Rajon Rondo let bygones be bygones?
Could it happen during Garnett’s potential future retirement ceremony at the Garden? Probably not, as it would be an even worse look having him attend one player’s event after skipping the other’s. And outside of future anniversary celebrations for the 2008 NBA championship team, opportunities will be scarce for the former Celtics to reunite in Boston.
(Oh, and don’t even get us started about the Celtics retiring Allen and Rondo’s numbers.)
But hey, maybe they’ll do a four-way Skype call, or something.
