Ray Allen sitting out this season; will re-evaluate options for next season
Despite the big names of Rajon Rondo, Josh Smith, Kevin Garnett and Goran Dragic leading the host of players who were traded during leagues mid-season trade window, one free agent who was expected to shift the scales in favor of the team was Ray Allen. However, he has decided to sit out the rest of the season and re-evaluate his options.
Since the beginning of the season, Allen was reported to be approached by many team, but nothing pulled through.
On Wednesday Allen made things official after he announced that he would not play the rest of the ongoing season, however he did make sure to not mention anything about retiring.
"Over the past several months, I have taken a lot of time to deliberate what is best for me," Allen said in a statement released by his agent. "I've ultimately decided that I will not play this NBA season. I'm going to take the remainder of this season, as well as the upcoming off-season, to reassess my situation, spend time with my family and determine if I will play in the 2015-16 season."
There were a host of teams that were reportedly trying to sign Allen but the Atlanta Hawks, Golden State Warriors, San Antonio Spurs and the Cleveland Cavaliers were considered frontrunners. After a disappointing performance in the 2014 NBA Finals as a 39 year old free agent, he had made his intentions of playing for a team only around the All-Star break yet as the trade deadline drew closer and no news appeared, teams began to embrace the inevitable.
A statement released by his agency reads as follows:
"Ray has received enormous interest from a number of NBA teams throughout this season," his agent, Jim Tanner said in the statement. "We will communicate with interested teams as Ray makes a decision for the 2015-16 season."
The chances of Allen playing an entire season are pretty much done as the sharpshooter turns 40 in July.
In his 19 years in the league, Allen played for four teams- the Milwaukee Bucks, the Seattle Supersonics, the Boston Celtics and the Miami Heat. He averages 18.9 points at 40% shooting from beyond the arc for his entire career. With 2,973 3-pointers are the most in NBA history. His former teammate LeBron James climbed to 21st in the all-time scoring list by getting past Allen.