Ray Allen’s Departure in 2012 Still Stings Among Ex-Teammates
Apparently the players on Boston’s 2008 championship team are still sour at Ray Allen for leaving the Celtics for Miami
Marc J. Spears of The Undefeated released a story Monday about ex-Celtics point guard Rajon Rondo coordinating a celebration for the ten year anniversary of Boston’s 17th championship back in 2008. The main story revolving around this celebration is that there was only one player left off the invite list. Ray Allen.
Allen of course was a major part of the Celtics’ run to the championship nearly ten years ago, but broke the hearts of his teammates and fans when he decided to join LeBron James on the Miami Heat in July of 2012. Allen turned down more money with the Celtics to chase rings with their bitter rival, so the sting of that move still resonates among fans and former players.
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The reason for his departure is still unclear, but the popular opinion is that Allen’s relationship with Rondo was not the best. Also, he probably wasn’t all that happy with being moved to the bench for Avery Bradley to get more minutes.
In this story, multiple players on the 2008 title team were telling Rondo not to invite Allen. This wasn’t Rondo causing a stir, this was a collective “NO” from the players that went to war with Allen for multiple years in Boston. Paul Pierce, who played with Allen for five seasons, said that Allen leaving, “Felt like betrayal.”
A lot was made of the reaction Allen got from fans and his former teammates. People were either on the side that wished Allen would never score another point, or the side that respected his decision to try and win more championships. While we had the reaction of Kevin Garnett as shown below, there wasn’t a clear idea of how the rest of the players felt; Until now.
It’s about five years removed from the infamous decision that Allen made. Most fans are probably over it by now. Talking about it at length again can’t feel great, but what he did for the Celtics far outweighs the hurt he put on the fans for leaving.
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Either way, when Allen left it hurt. Anyone who had anything to do with the Celtics felt the pain when their beloved shooting guard elected to play with the most hated player among the fan base. While I’m sure this isn’t the last we’ll hear of this situation, it is interesting to know that even the players are still sour at Allen for choosing South Beach over Beantown.