Anyone who believes time will heal the wounds created by Ray Allen when he departed Boston for Miami… think again. These guys are holding grudges (via Marc Spears):
Just like Rajon Rondo used to set up the fast break for the Boston Celtics, he is setting up a vacation with his former Celtics teammates from the 2008 NBA championship team to celebrate the nearing of the 10-year anniversary of their title. This party, however, doesn’t include an invite to ex-Celtics star guard Ray Allen.
“I asked a couple of the guys. I got a no, a no head shake,” said Rondo to The Undefeated when asked why Allen wasn’t invited.
[…]“It will be a long story about that, but it is what it is,” Rondo, who plays for the Chicago Bulls, told The Undefeated. “I don’t know a good analogy to put this in. It just wasn’t the greatest separation. It wasn’t the greatest thing that could’ve happened to us as a team, a bond. We were at war with those guys [Miami]. To go with the enemy, that’s unheard-of in sports. Well, it’s not so unheard of. It’s damn near common now.
“The mindset we had. The guys on our team. You wouldn’t do anything like that. It makes you question that series in the Finals … Who were you for? You didn’t bleed green. People think we had a messed-up relationship. It’s not the greatest. But it’s not just me. I called and reached out to a couple of other vets and asked them what they wanted to do with the situation. They told me to stick with what we got [without Allen].”
One former Celtics player from the 2008 NBA championship team said of Allen’s exclusion from the party: “I mean, Ray left. He left to the enemy.”
Make no mistake about it, this call is being made by Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce. If either wanted to forgive Ray, he’d be at the party.
Spears revisits Pierce’s comments from last year when the Truth labeled the move a “betrayal.”
Garnett hasn’t said much over the years about the situation. In 2014, he claimed to have lost Allen’s number. I’m fairly certain this video captures Garnett’s feelings:
https://j.gifs.com/pgmO6m.gif
I’ve been consistent on this issue since Traitor Ray bolted for Miami in 2012. I’ll never forgive him for leaving and his number doesn’t belong in the rafters. Ray’s entitled to make a business decision, and, as a fan, I’m entitled to make an irrational emotional decision.
A lot of my anger about the situation stems from the media (mainly Gary Tanguay and Donny Marshall) coverage which was blatantly tilted in Ray’s favor. It wasn’t until Paul Pierce starting talking that we learned Ray Allen was a selfish diva.
And finally, if a grudge is good enough for Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett, it’s good enough for me.
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