If Ray Allen ever does decide to come out of retirement, Doc Rivers believes he will make an impact somewhere.
Why exactly?
Because, well, he’s Ray Allen.
From MassLive.com’s Jay King:
“I think if Ray was in the right spot he may play. I think Ray wants to golf a lot too right now,” Rivers said Tuesday night at the TD Garden, where he and Brad Stevens highlighted an event for the ABCD Hoop Dreams foundation. “But Ray is in amazing shape. I don’t know how he does that. I didn’t know how he does that as a player; I don’t know how he does it as a non-player. He’s probably in top-five shape in the NBA. So could Ray play? Absolutely, I believe he could.”
It’s difficult to imagine Allen, 41, making a huge dent anywhere. He hasn’t played in the NBA since 2013-14, and there’s no way he would be anything other than a demonstrative liability on the defensive end at this point in his career.
That said, there’s clearly no point worrying about his shooting. He is the second-best shooter in NBA history, behind only the active Stephen Curry. Maybe it takes him a while to get his in-game stroke back, but he would figure out the mechanics before long.
That’s what makes the potential of his return so intriguing. You can still see him thriving as a situational spot-up shooter, someone who provides a legitimate offensive punch off the bench, as he flanks primal ball-handlers. And yet, if Allen was going to return, you kind of think he would have set it in motion already. Training camps will open later this month, and he needs all the reps he can get.
Which is why, in the end, his return feels unlikely. He’s had two seasons to let his departure marinate. If he had the itch necessary to keep going, it’s unlikely he would have resisted it for this long.
