Ainge Calls Ray Allen Snub 'Silly,' Says Celtics Should Invite Him To 2008 Reunion Party
BOSTON (CBS) -- The 2008 NBA Champion Celtics are planning a party to celebrate the 10-year anniversary of their title, but not everyone is invited to the shindig.
That upsets the man who constructed that title team.
Rajon Rondo recently talked about the gathering with Yahoo! Sports, and let it be known that Ray Allen will not be invited to the grand celebration. His former teammates are still a little sour that Allen took his talents to Miami in the summer of 2012, turning down more money from the Celtics to keep the band together for another title run.
Paul Pierce hasn't spoken to Allen since the end of the 2011-12 season, and we all saw how Kevin Garnett reacted (or rather, didn't react) during Allen's first game as a member of the Heat. KG also lost Ray's number when he became a "former teammate."
While he probably still isn't happy Allen left the Celtics for their biggest rival at the time, Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge doesn't sound happy that the team would celebrate the anniversary of their title without a man who played an integral piece to the puzzle.
"Ray not getting invited to a reunion of that team would be like me celebrating the 1986 title without Kevin McHale. It seems silly," Ainge told The Boston Herald. "We got where we got because of Ray. He was an important part of that team's success."
Clearly Allen and Ainge have moved on, give that Ainge attempted to trade Allen to the Memphis Grizzlies the year before he signed with Miami.
"You just hope that time heals all wounds," added Ainge.
The Celtics traded for Allen on the night of the 2007 NBA Draft, a move that led to Ainge acquiring Garnett a month later. The "New Big Three" of Garnett, Pierce and Allen put their personal numbers to the side and went on to win the NBA Championship in their first year together. Allen averaged 20.3 points per game that series, shooting 51 percent from the floor and 52 percent from three-point range, as the Celtics beat the Los Angeles Lakers in six games for the franchise's 17th title. It was an incredible team to watch because they played as a unit from top to bottom, a tight-knit group that didn't care about their personal stats and focused on the singular goal to raise a banner.
Allen spent five seasons with Boston before signing with Miami, a move that led his former teammates to consider him a traitor. It probably didn't help that the Heat won an NBA Championship in Allen's first season in Miami, with the sharpshooter playing a key role in the series win over the Spurs.
Surprisingly, Ainge did not have a comment on Scot Pollard not receiving an invite to the party.
