Ray Allen’s options have just dwindled after the Los Angeles Clippers signed Jamal Crawford and Chauncey Billups.
The Clippers were informed on Thursday that guards Jamal Crawford and Chauncey Billups intend to sign contracts with the team when the NBA’s moratorium period is lifted for free agents to sign deals, according to NBA executives who were not authorized to speak publicly on the matter.
Crawford, an unrestricted free agent who opted out of his $5.2 million contract with the Portland Trail Blazers, has been offered a spot by the Clippers. He is expected to sign a three-year, $15.7 million contract, according to the executives.
Billups, who played in just 20 games last season with the Clippers before suffering a season-ending left Achilles tendon surgery, will sign a one-year deal that could be worth up to $4.3 million if he reaches bonuses, the executives said.
With Crawford and Billups reaching deals with the Clippers, L.A. cancelled the visit they had planned for free agent shooting guard Ray Allen on Friday.
I guess we can forget the Nick Young sign-and-trade idea, then.
So it looks like Ray Allen will have a choice: Go to Miami for $3 million… or come back to Boston for $6 million and, according to the Herald, either a no-trade clause or a trade kicker.
A source close to Allen indicates the Celtics are making a heavy push to get this done, attempting to answer his issues along the way.
Allen told the Herald months ago that he didn’t want to have to sweat out another trade deadline after nearly being moved in the past, and word is the Celts are ready to comply with either a no-trade clause or a trade kicker that would get him a good sized raise in salary if he does get moved.
If this is true, I don’t see why Ray would leave. They’re clearly trying to make nice with him and ease his fears of being moved mid-season. The trade kicker might not be as big of a deterrent since it basically amounts to a 15% raise on the remainder of his deal if he’s moved.
Still, it’s an incentive to stay. If Ray truly leaves $12 million the table plus a trade kicker or a no-trade clause to go to Miami, then the stories of how pissed he’s been at Boston’s management will have actually been understated. The money is in Boston. The incentive is in Boston. The comfort level is in Boston. The only thing Miami has is a better chance at a ring.
It’s really up to Ray now. To me, the choice would have to be Boston. But I can see the lure of another ring. We’ll just have to wait and see.
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