Despite winning a Championship together in 2008, Paul Pierce and Ray Allen haven’t necessarily been the best of friends.
After Allen infamously joined the Miami Heat, his former Boston teammates all but disowned him for what they saw as an act of betrayal. Today, more than ten years later, people are wondering if their relationship has finally recovered.
Pierce talked about it on the latest episode of “All The Smoke” podcast:
“This is my whole deal with Ray and the reason I had a problem with him. One, he went to our rival,” Paul Pierce said. “LeBron James was a rival of the Celtics, regardless if he was in Cleveland or Miami … Two, I was calling him when [the Celtics] were in the middle of contract negotiations before he left. He’s not answering anybody’s calls and I’m hearing he’s going to Miami. He’s not returning my call. I just feel like as a certain respect as a teammate, as a brother, we can have this conversation.
“If you’re not wanting to play with us no more, at least let us know … I felt that was a slap in the face or disrespect from a brother. So that was my whole beef with him, and other guys felt the same way. Since then, me and him have talked … I don’t have no problem with Ray today.”
It’s apparently all good between him and Ray now, but it’s understandable why he’d have such a problem with him in the first place.
Allen left his team, and his friends, to go and join a rival team without even telling them. After all they had been through, it must have hurt to see him leave like that, especially to go join LeBron James.
