Ray Allen is still in "amazing shape" and could return to NBA according to Doc Rivers

The Best of Times

Recently, Doc Rivers shared some thoughts on some former Boston Celtics you may have heard of. He mentioned the permanent ties between Paul Pierce and the Celtics, and how necessary he felt it that Pierce retire here. I think anyone with any sense of sentimentality would agree. Paul Pierce was universally beloved by Celtics fans by the end of his tenure, and would be welcomed back with open arms.

Another player who contributed greatly to those glory years of the Big Three, and an argument could be made that he was the most important one since without him there would be no KG and no Big Three, is Ray Allen. Whether or not he would be welcomed back with open arms? I'll give my opinion in a bit.

As far as what Doc says about Ray, who last played in 2013, is that he is still in amazing shape, and would possibly return to the NBA in the right situation.

It was no secret Ray kept himself in amazing shape while in the league. If he is still in NBA game shape after being out of the league for 2 years then that is insane. Doc went even further in his praise for Ray's conditioning. Here's a quote from Masslive.com's Jay King.

"But Ray is in amazing shape. I don't know how he does that. I didn't know how he does that as a player; I don't know how he does it as a non-player. He's probably in top-five shape in the NBA. So could Ray play? Absolutely, I believe he could"

The Worst of Times

While I'm sure that is Ray's former Coach exaggerating to make a point, you can't really 100% rule it out if you remember watching Ray Allen. Rest assured, I am 99% ruling that out. That 1% doubt I'm giving is a tribute to you Ray, bask in it.

Allen hinted at interest in the Milwaukee Bucks and the Boston Celtics, going as far as to say he had spoken with the Celtics about it. I can't speak for Milwaukee (or technically the Celtics either, though I will), but it seems like the Celtic's roster is pretty much full. Can't see them giving Ray minutes and sitting our younger guards like Terry Rozier and Jaylen Brown.

Now for arguments sake, if he filled a need on this Celtic team and it seemed beneficial to sign him, would he be welcomed back like his championship hoisting teammate Paul Pierce? Not by me.

Sure, after leaving Boston, Ray played in two of the most famous NBA Finals ever. The way he left always bothered me. While it is true that the Celtic front office could have treated him a little more carefully, and yes they also dangled him in trades, but one of my favorite things about the 2008 Big Three was how a goal was to toss "ego" out the door. He was the first to turn his back on the egoless team concept of Ubuntu, and the fact that he also joined our chief rival at the time in LeBron James and the Miami Heat made me sick.

The exchange, or lack there of, between Allen and Kevin Garnett in their first game as post Big Three Era opponents said it all to me. To KG, the game is personal. For Allen, it's business.

So for me, not much with him has changed. It's pretty sweet that Ray Allen is still in shape. I'm glad he's still running. I'm glad he's still looking for greener pastures. That's how I already remembered him anyway.



Top Photo Credit: Andrew D. Bernstein/NBAE/Getty Images



Middle Photo Credit: Steve Mitchell/US Presswire



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