As confident as Doc Rivers might be that Ray Allen will be back, Ray will make the Celtics sweat a bit and give other teams a shot to secure his services.
The 36-year-old free-agent guard will visit the Miami Heat on Thursday and the Los Angeles Clippers on Friday, according to a source, and listen to their pitches.
Allen is also being pursued by the Memphis Grizzlies, who are seeking a replacement for free agent guard O.J. Mayo. The Grizzlies didn’t tender Mayo a qualifying offer last week, making him an unrestricted free agent. Memphis will offer Allen its $5 million exception.Allen had conference calls on Monday with the Grizzlies, as well as the Heat, Clippers and Minnesota Timberwolves, according to the source. But Allen is not currently scheduled to make visits to Memphis or Minnesota.
Ray is a free agent so he’s well within his rights during this moratorium period to talk to every team in the NBA. Each team has its own little selling point. Obviously Miami is the champ, and they’re the heavy favorites to do the same next year. The Clippers could make Ray a starter, but they’re in that second tier of contenders at best.
Then again, so are the Celtics right now. We’ll have to see if Ray likes what these teams have to say.
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