According to multiple sources, Ray Allen has agreed to a 3 year contract worth just over $9 million with the Miami Heat.

#CelticsTalk: Two league sources confirm that Ray Allen has informed the #Celtics he will sign 3-year deal worth more than $9M w/#Heat.
— A. Sherrod Blakely (@SherrodbCSN) July 7, 2012

Maybe it was the extra year, but Adrian Wojnarowski is reporting that Ray was angry over the near-trade to Memphis at last year's trade deadline.  He felt that the hard feelings over that were a bit too much to get past. Also, Wojo points out that the deterioration of Ray's relationship with Rajon Rondo played a significant factor in his leaving for Miami.


There is a lot of negativity from Celtics over Ray's decision. I don't think it stems as much from his decision to leave as it does from the fact that he chose one of the Celtics' biggest rivals to sign with. Celtics fans hate the Heat and by extension, some of that hate is pouring out onto Ray. Maybe rightfully so, maybe not.

But, if we think about it, the situation may not be all that bad for the Celtics. Ray was moved out of the starting lineup because the team was better with Avery starting. Ray was also a liability on defense, even before the ankles kicked up. He couldn't create his own shot, either. Jason Terry can handle the ball, can create his own shot and can also hit big shots.

With Stiemsma possibly going to get an offer from another team that the Celtics won't be able to match,  the Celtics may be able to use some of the money budgeted for Ray to bring Nenad Krstic back to the Celtics.  They own his Bird rights and as far as centers go, they could do a lot worse.  He did very well in Europe last season.   We could also use a back up point guard and Dooling would be a good player to bring back. 

I say move on and bring back Mickael Pietrus. Peaches wants to come back. He loves the Celtics. He is also a good defender and can defend both the 2 and the 3. He is also a good 3 point shooter as well as being a decent rebounder. The Celtics may have just been handed a blessing in disguise.

Ray was part of Banner 17 and so I wish Ray the best and hope he doesn't regret his decision. I also hope to see the Celtics shut him down when they play play the Heat and I want to see the Celtics beat the Heat for the Eastern Conference Champs next season. The Celtics can now move on and get better. Winning is the best revenge. 

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