I got back from vacation yesterday and obviously the biggest
story in the New England sports world in the past week is the Miami Heat’s
acquisition of shooting guard Ray Allen.
He decided to sign with the Heat for a 3 year, $9.7M deal (less than
half of what the Celtics offered him) citing that he wanted to win another NBA
Championship and work on his golf swing heading into retirement. He demanded a 3-year, $27M contract from the
Celtics, which was not met. The all-time
3 point shot leader shot 14.2 points per game with 46% field goal percentage
last season and can still make those big threes despite injury problems.
People have been talking about Ray’s relationship with Rondo
and how that may have impacted Ray’s decision to leave, but I’m not really
buying that. I think Ray just wants to
play with the Heat because he wants to be carried to a Championship. The Heat are backed up by the NBA and have
freakish athletes (I won’t say his name) who can win Championships. I guess for Ray Allen the potential for
success far outweighs any sense of loyalty or camaraderie.
He is the new Johnny Damon of Boston. Johnny Damon, of course, went to the New York
Yankees after winning the World Series with the Red Sox in 2004. After being an elite icon and symbol of
Boston, he’s going to the one franchise we hate most. The Miami Cheat… er
I mean, the Miami Heat. Now they got two
hairless dudes to shoot threes in Miami.
I reported earlier that Terry is coming to Boston, and as of
right now he has the starting shooting guard position without a doubt. Guard E’Twaun Moore and Avery Bradley will
also have to step up their shooting games in the absence of Ray Allen.
I’ve lost a lot of respect for Ray Allen. It’d be one thing if he went to ANY other
team in the NBA other than the Miami Heat… but he had to go there. Good luck with your golf handicap, Ray, you’re
no longer welcome here in Boston. I really hope the Miami Heat don't win another NBA Championship in the next 10 years. But when David Stern has your back, who knows?
