Today there was a story on the undefeated.com that brought a huge smile to my face. The 2008 Boston Celtics are having a reunion this summer to celebrate the 10 year anniversary of their NBA Championship at an undisclosed location, organized by none other than Rajon Rondo. Rondo has been given a lot of crap over the past year because of the way he talked about how the Chicago Bulls veterans (Dwayne Wade/Jimmy Butler) have cried to the media rather than deal with team issues within the team members themselves. He doesn’t play a lot, and has often butted heads with Bulls coach Fred Hoiberg leading to a somewhat confusing season for the 31 year old. Rondo is on the record as saying that the Celtics were the best team he ever played for and that it was his favorite team to play for as a professional. But the best part of this reunion he’s planning? You may notice that a certain someone is missing from Rondo's instagram post. Ray Allen is NOT invited. There was a clear falling out between Rondo and Allen and it is no secret that the two didn’t like each other while they were teammates in Boston. But it was not just Rondo’s call to not invite Allen, and he said that when he asked his former teammates, he got “a no, and a no head shake.” Rondo had this to say when asked why Ray would not be invited, "I don’t know a good analogy to put this in. It just wasn’t the greatest separation. It wasn’t the greatest thing that could’ve happened to us as a team, a bond. We were at war with those guys [Miami]. To go with the enemy, that’s unheard-of in sports. Well, it’s not so unheard of. It’s damn near common now. “The mindset we had. The guys on our team. You wouldn’t do anything like that. It makes you question that series in the Finals … Who were you for? You didn’t bleed green. People think we had a messed-up relationship. It’s not the greatest. But it’s not just me. I called and reached out to a couple of other vets and asked them what they wanted to do with the situation. They told me to stick with what we got [without Allen].” Ray Allen became Boston’s public enemy number one in the summer of 2012. The Celtics were reloading after losing in the Eastern Conference Finals to the Miami Heat in 7 games and still had their eyes on a championship. They planned on getting everyone back and healthy to make another run for a title while the core of their team was still in their prime. But Ray Allen decided to take his talents to South Beach and sign with the enemy. The contract he signed with the Miami Heat was for 3 years and $9.5 and he turned down 2 years and $12 million with a no trade clause from Boston. He left $4 million a year on the table to go down to Miami and play with LeBron & company after they just beat the Celtics, because he and Rajon Rondo didn’t get along. A Kevin Durant caliber move, before Kevin Durant had the chance to make it. My favorite part of the situation was the way that Kevin Garnett reacted when the Celtics played in Miami in Ray Allen’s first game against his former team. Allen came off the bench for Miami and when he walked over to shake the hands of his former teammates, coaches and medical staff after checking into the game for the first time, Paul Pierce and KG were having none of it. And Ray thought it was ok!
Don’t get me wrong, without Ray Allen there is no 17th banner. Allen was traded from Seattle to Boston on draft night in 2007 and without that deal, I don’t know if Kevin Garnett waives his no trade clause from the Minnesota Timberwolves to come to Boston either. So without Ray Allen, there would be no reunion possible. But I absolutely LOVE this move to leave him out. Allen had the delusion that he would still be friends with his former teammates and his “family” (his words, not anyone else’s) after leaving them in the dust? The guy pulled arguably the biggest Benedict Arnold move for any Boston athlete ever and then thought he’d still be welcomed back to the Garden with open arms? Please. Somewhat tame, but completely different than what a true heroes welcome is like: You may ask why the fans, as well as Ray’s former teammates and coaches, did not have such a warm and fuzzy reception to his gestures. Look no further than Mark Stein’s article about Allen’s retirement this past summer, in which he asked Allen’s former Celtics teammates, most notably Paul Pierce, about their time in Boston and his departure to Miami: “That was a tough situation because we thought it was betrayal,” Pierce said. “That’s why the whole thing evolved like it did with us not talking to him. Ray didn’t really have the best relationship with Rondo anyway. That was nothing. [Rondo], me and Kevin, he didn’t have any talk with us [before his Miami decision]. “I tried to call him and I didn’t get any return calls before he signed with Miami. That was our rival. We were brothers. We came in together. We just wanted a heads-up or a ‘what’s on your mind?’ or something like. Then, all of a sudden, he left. That was the biggest disappointment on my end. Not even getting a callback at that moment.” Ray had this to say on the matter: He claims that it was a business decision, but after the contract numbers that I mentioned earlier went public it’s tough to believe. And Paul also said this about their relationship in an interview with Jackie MacMullan in 2015: "It was a weird relationship. We were all good friends on the court, but Ray always did his own thing. That's just the way Ray was. Even when we were playing together, we'd be having a team dinner and Ray wouldn't show up. We'd go to his charity events but Ray wouldn't show up to somebody else's." That’s just the tip of the iceberg of stories about Allen distancing himself from the team. The bottom line is that Ray Allen will never be a true Boston Celtic. He played for them and was a part of something great, but he will never be remembered as one of the all-time greats. Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett bought into what the Celtics are. Winners. They understood and appreciated what it means to wear the green and play for the city. There’s no doubt that Ray will be a hall of famer and his resume as a player speaks for itself. But Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett will have their jersey numbers hanging up in the rafters at TD Garden someday for the work that they put in and what they meant to the city. They brought a winning culture back and the 2008 Celtics made it fun to watch basketball again. But as far as their reunion this summer, leaving Ray Allen off of the invite list just solidifies the fact that this team was special. They handled their business the right way and they fought for each other each and every night without making any excuses. The Celtics were a brotherhood, and on July 10, 2012 one of their brothers betrayed them. I’m happy that Rondo took it upon himself to get the gang back together to celebrate an incredible season and I’m even happier that "Judas" Shuttlesworth won’t be at this last supper.
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Pat O'Hearne
Just a kid from Boston trying his luck in Cleveland Archives
March 2017
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