Ray Allen feels validated for leaving Boston Celtics



When Ray Allen turned down more money from the Celtics to sign with their hated rival Miami Heat, it obviously didn't go over well in Boston.

Now here we are, close to one year later, and the two teams couldn't be in a more different situation.

The Boston Celtics are sitting at home right now. They've been there for over a month. Their young star is rehabbing an ACL tear while their other stars are either considering retirement or wondering if they'll be bought out, amnestied or traded. The Celtics could be looking at starting from scratch and rebuilding, with several years to go before they can legitimately contend for an NBA title again.

The Heat? They're in the NBA finals and heavy favorites to win it. Either way, win or lose, they'll be heavy favorites to win it again next year too. After that, it's anyone's guess with LeBron James' impending free-agency. By that time, its a likely possibility that Ray Allen will be retired, playing his last ever NBA game in a Heat uniform with perhaps 3 rings to show for his career. All things considered, it seems like going to South Bech might've been the right choice after all.

Allen acknowledged as much himself while basking in the glory of winning Game 7 against the Indiana Pacers. The Miami Heat colored confetti rained down on him for the second year in a row, except this year, that was a good thing.

Sporting News:
I asked Allen if winning this game, being at this point, served as validation for that decision [to leave Boston].

“Yeah, it does,” he said. “When we sat down and we talked about it, we being my family and the people that supported me over my life, we talked about being selfish and giving ourselves the best opportunity to win. We wanted to win, we didn’t want to be in a situation where we were going to struggle. Sitting here in this situation, it’s a great relief. Because sometimes you take a gamble. Your family believes in you, and we’re here and I can say that we’re in the situation we put ourselves in and we’re happy with it. We know that we can see the end of the road.”

Boston fans have every right to feel shunned after one of their core players left to chase a ring with a hated rival. You can't argue with the results however. Allen's gotten almost everything he's wanted so far. At the least, he's made it further than last year. Was it the right decision? Probably. That won't do anything to quell the animosity he created in Boston, something that's likely to stick for a very long time knowing these fans.

Just a season ago, Ray Allen chided David West for choosing to sign with the Indiana Pacers over joining him in Boston. Ray said West cared more about money than winning. The Celtics then pushed Miami to the brink, ultimately losing in Game 7. Ironic that it was West's Pacers doing the same this year.

Ray stayed true to his principles in his decision. He didn't care about money, he cared about winning. If he feels that his decision has been validated, he's probably right.

Via HoopsHype