In a last ditch effort to possibly add a 2nd NBA championship to his resume, Ray Allen (formerly of the Boston Celtics) has decided to sign on with Lebron James and the rest of the Miami Heat.
Allen will reportedly accept the Heats mid-level exception that starts at $3.09 million and could move to upwards of $9.5 million over 3 years.
#HeatNation please welcome our newest teammate Ray Allen #Wow #JesusShuttlesworth
— LeBron James (@KingJames) July 7, 2012
By accepting a deal with the Heat, Ray will have turned down more money to remain with the Celtics. Boston offered Allen a 2-year deal worth approximately $6 million a season.
According to reports, Allen’s deteriorating relationship with teammate Rajan Rondo was one of the main factors in his decision to leave Boston.
Ray averaged 14.2 points, 3.1 rebounds and 2.4 assists while shooting a career-high 45.3% from three-point range last season for Boston.
Grade for Miami: B +
While this signing is certainly a major coup for the Miami Heat, it certainly doesn’t guarantee the franchise a championship in 2012-13.
Outside of shooting the long-range jumper, there is little more that Ray can offer at this stage in his career. After battling injuries for a majority of the season, it appears that Allen’s health may be a serious issue and concern moving forward.
Luckily for Allen, he probably won’t be expected to do more than hit open shots in Miami. The ball-handling responsibilities will still remain with Lebron James and Dwayne Wade. All Allen will have to do is sit back, wait for the pass from his teammates and hit his clean looks.
Sounds easy enough.
There will clearly be some animosity from Boston Celtics faithful moving forward because of this move. Ray joining the rival Miami Heat will definitely create some ill-will towards the 16-year vet.
With the emergence of young shooting guard Avery Bradley and now the signing of veteran Jason Terry (who can offer more at this point in his career than Allen can), there wasn’t really a spot left for Ray on the Celtics roster anymore. I’m sure coach Doc Rivers would have loved to keep Ray, Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett together for one more go at an NBA championship, but the reality of the situation is that Boston and Allen needed to go their separate ways.
The Celtics aren’t any worse off now than they were at the end of the postseason. In fact, they may stand a better chance with Terry on the team instead of Allen. While Allen has been regulated to the role of spot-up shooter, Terry can still make plays with the ball on his own and create his own shot.
As far as shooters go, it doesn’t get any better than Allen though. As we all saw in the NBA Finals against OKC, the Heat love to shoot three-point shots. Miami now has the greatest shooter in NBA history at their disposal.
That’s a scary thought.
Does this move mean will be seeing the Heat defending their championship in June of next year? It helps, but nothings for sure.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NkwaW3ROfe8
Christopher Walder is a sports blogger and lead editor for Sir Charles in Charge. You may follow him on Twitter @WalderSports