Ray Allen Visiting The Clippers And Heat Before Making Decision

According to David Aldridge, Ray Allen will visit the Heat on Thursday and the Clippers on Friday before making his decision. He's also spoken to Memphis and Minnesota and of course, he's mulling over a 2 year, $12 million deal from the Celtics.

The fact that Ray is doing his due diligence in free agency and checking out all his options shouldn't surprise anyone or discourage Celtic fans who want to see #20 play out his career in Boston. This is a guy that shows up three hours before game time and gets up three hundred shots before the jump ball. He was in a similar situation two years ago and in 2010, he did the exact same thing (H/T to MrTripleDouble10): Miami came a-courtin'--albeit it without LeBron James and championship swagger--but Ray opted to stay in Boston.

"The Routine" (via bostonceltics)

Some people might question his loyalty to the team and The Big Three. Pierce and Garnett have always seemed more romantic about the idea and legacy of being a Celtic, but let's not forget that Ray Allen was practically traded in March. There's also the supposed feud between him and Rondo. Whatever he uses to weigh his decision, I still think Ray is a Celtic on July 11th. Doc's confidence may have wavered today, but mine hasn't:

Doc Rivers Unsure of Ray Allen's Future in Boston, Might Call John Calipari to Help Recruit Him

"I don't know," Rivers said on The Dan Patrick Show on Tuesday when asked if he had any idea which way Allen may be leaning. "We're working hard, and we have a lot of options. It's going to be interesting. I don't have a feel on it. With these things, I usually have a feel, but I don't know."

That doesn't mean Rivers isn't trying to convince Allen to return. He wants the future Hall of Famer back in green, and he's willing to go the extra mile to make that happen.

"[I talked to him] yesterday. I'm going to talk to him today. I'm going to talk to him tomorrow. And I'm going to talk to him the day after."

It's not because the Celtics can offer the most money, but it's what the money says. I have no doubt that he realizes that KG took a pay cut to keep The Big Three together and that kind of respect from a teammate matters to him. I think he knows that Danny could have offered that contract to a number of vets (Crawford, Terry, etc.), but he didn't. They went to Ray first. And I'm sure that after removing the bone spurs from his ankles, Ray knows that he's got a lot of basketball left in him and he'll push Avery Bradley for that starting position next year. I know it's crazy to think that a 10-time All Star and league leader in three pointers made could play the disrespect card this late into his career, but Ray Allen is all about respect. You can see it in how much time and effort he puts into his game. If he left for Miami and won a ring there, no one would give him credit for that; he would be a footnote in LeBron's legacy. But if he stays in Boston, win or lose, he'll cement himself as a Celtic great.