In a guest appearance on ‘The Draymond Green Show,’ Celtics legend Paul Pierce broke down what really went wrong between him and his former championship teammate, Ray Allen. According to Pierce, it wasn’t just that Ray left that caused problems, it was the manner in which he made his move in the summer of 2012.
“That hurt,” said Pierce. “When it hit, I think we just lost to [the Heat], by the way. I didn’t know he had issues with the contract or starting but the thing is, if you gonna leave us, like give me a call like ‘look P it ain’t working out they not gonna give me the contract I want. They not giving me the role I want so I’m gonna go this route.’ Okay man I can respect that, you making a business decision for you and your family. But when you never get that call and you leave and go to our rival, I just didn’t feel like there was a respect thing there.”
Ray Allen and Pierce won a championship together side-by-side during their days with the Celtics. At the time, many believed they were poised to win even more championships but injuries, age, and the rise of the Miami Heat would lead to Boston’s inevitable downfall.
In their final season together, the Celtics lost in the Eastern Conference Finals to LeBron’s Heat team, the same one that Ray Allen would join a few months later. For Pierce, the worst part about it wasn’t even that he joined the heat, but the fact that he joined them without a warning or heads up beforehand.
Fortunately, Pierce and Allen have since buried the hatched and their “beef” is now ancient history. Even so, it doesn’t mean that Ray Allen’s actions have been forgotten and it’s clearly something that sticks with Paul to this day.
Why Did The Celtics Split Up In 2012?
With Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett, Ray Allen, and Rajon Rondo, the Celtics from 2008-2012 have a case for being one of the NBA’s first modern superteams. They had four stars or borderline stars in the rotation being led by the well-respected Doc Rivers.
But after winning their title in 2008, the Celtics have yet to capture another Larry O’Brien trophy and the core group that won it all that year was only together for a few years before splitting up.
Ray Allen was the first one to go in the summer of 2012 and his departure signaled the end of the Pierce and Garnett era in TD Garden. Ultimately, only Danny Ainge knows why he decided to make the trade when he did but maybe, like Ray Allen, he was the writing on the wall.
Pierce was 35 at the start of the 2012-13 season and it was arguably his worst season of all with the Celtics, who won just 41 games that season to finish 7th in the East.
Love him or hate him, you can’t blame Ray Allen for accepting the opportunity to play with LeBron James that summer and it paid off in the form of a championship ring. By all accounts, Ray made the right move in 2012 but perhaps it would have been better for him to give his former teammates a proper heads-up.
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