Ray Allen to Consider Leaving Heat for Celtics

Fresh off beating the Indiana Pacers and clinching their third NBA Finals berth in the past three years, the Heat should only be thinking about today, about now. The offseason doesn’t matter. Winning a second straight championship—that’s what matters. Well that, and the fact that Ray Allen may already be plotting his escape from sunny South Beach.

According to the NBA on NBC Boston, those close to the top three-point shooter in league history are saying he plans to opt out of his contract with the Heat, sign a one-year deal with the Boston Celtics and retire in Beantown.

People close to Ray Allen claiming he is thinking about opting out of his contract hoping to return to Boston for 1 year & retire a celtic.

— NBA on NBC Boston (@NBAonNBCBoston) June 3, 2013

Don’t just take this report with a grain of salt. Take it with a few shots of whiskey. And then a few more. Then get some of those vibrantly-colored umbrella drinks. Next, understand that this is a long shot. Finally, understand that it’s possible.

Allen signed a three-year contract with the Heat over the offseason, but he has the right to opt out after the first and second years. If he wants to, he can become an unrestricted free agent.

Also understand that Allen left the Celtics to chase rings. Not because he loves the Heat or LeBron James. He loves championships. He only had one. He wanted another. Now, he’s on the verge of getting it.

Should the Heat win their second straight title, Allen could conceivably return to Boston and retire a Celtic. Boston was the franchise that he won his first ring with and it’s the one he still holds dearest to his heart.

Let’s also not forget that his departure was more than just about championships. The Celtics nearly traded him during his final season in Boston and he obviously felt slighted. That doesn’t mean he hates them. On some level, he probably misses them. All of them. Doc Rivers, Paul Pierce and even Kevin Garnett and Rajon Rondo.

Though Rondo and Allen always had their issues, they were a tight-knit group. That’s why Garnett was so angry when he signed with Miami. Not only was he spurning Boston, but he was abandoning the Celtics for their arch nemesis. And for less money to boot.

There’s the problem: Would the Celtics welcome Allen back with open arms?

Rivers lamented over Allen’s loss for the better part of the offseason and Pierce never conveyed the same sense of disdain for Allen that some of his teammates (cough, Garnett and Rondo, cough) did. It’s the other two (Garnett and Rondo) that are the problem.

Would Garnett really want Allen back? Would Rondo? Does Allen even want to come back?

The idea of Allen returning to Boston seems farfetched now because it is. Allen plays for the Heat, who are playing for a championship. This is not a distraction he or the Heat need.

Miami always understood Allen wouldn’t necessarily last the life of his contract. That’s not the issue. The issue is the timing. This surfaced just before Game 7 and will now follow Allen and the Heat into the finals against the San Antonio Spurs.

Their saving grace is that this theory seems pretty flimsy at this point. Should it gain serious traction, then it could pose a a quandary. For now, the Heat will just sit back and let this (alleged) saga unfold, perhaps hoping on some level that Garnett publicly comes out, declares he’s returning for next season and admits that he’d rather demand a trade to the Heat himself then play another season with Allen.