Boston Celtics big three era featuring Kevin Garnett , Paul Pierce and Ray Allen was successful, considering the trio won the championship in 2008. However, four years later, Ray was the first to decide to leave. Not only did he leave, he joined Boston's biggest rival at the time, Miami Heat.
It caught the Celtics off guard, especially Garnett who feuded with Allen for years . The two-time champion understood that his decision would disappoint the Celtics and its fans but he also didn't expect the backlash to be as vicious as it was.
" I knew fans in New England wouldn't be happy with my decision," Allen wrote in his book entitled From the Outside: My Journey Through Life and the Game I Love.
"But I never could have imagined the degree of unhappiness. They acted as if I was Benedict Arnold. My sin was that I had the nerve to leave on my own ."
Ray felt disrespected by the Celtics first
In the final years of his tenure in Boston, the 10-time All-Star didn't feel appreciated by his team and management. A lot of that had to do with the fact that the Celtics didn't want to offer Allen the three-year, $24 million contract he was asking for and instead offered him a two-year, $12 million pact. Then there's the fact that the C's tried to trade Ray during the trade deadline, which angered the shooting guard even more.
Aside from his status on the team, Allen also didn't like how Doc Rivers lessened his touches on the court and ran most of the offense through Rajon Rondo — who also didn't get along with the Hall of Famer in Boston. In fact, there was a point where Rivers wanted him to come off the bench for Avery Bradley.
"So let me see if I got this straight," Ray-Ray wrote . "You want to pay me less money. You want to bring me off the bench. You want to continue to run the offense around [Rajon] Rondo. Now tell me again exactly why I would want to sign this contract?"
Related: "I remember him sitting in the bathroom close to tears" - Doc opened up about a heartbreaking way Shaq's career ended
Allen still loved Boston and it's fans
It's unfortunate that Ray's relationship with the Celtics management turned ugly because he has a genuine fondness for the organization. This was the city where he won his first championship in 2008 and became the NBA's All-time three-point leader in 2010 before Stephen Curry overtook him in 2021. These two incredible moments are why Allen will never be angry towards the Celtics organization and its fans.
" I don't particularly have any angst toward anybody. You know when somebody's not for you and you just move in a different direction. There's no sense from me to be angry at anybody because anger owns you, and I don't want anything to own me. I want to be a free spirit ," the sharpshooter concluded.
Ray's championship with the Celtics will be remembered forever, but now, the only question left is whether or not he will get his jersey retired in Boston. Time will tell if Allen's contributions were enough for the Celtics organization to forget the move he pulled in 2012.
Related: Doc explained why he had no problem with Ray Allen leaving the Celtics: "When you have a lot of complaints, you probably need to go somewhere else"
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