Maybe a reunion between Ray Allen and the Boston Celtics isn’t the best idea.
Allen has been considering an NBA comeback. He’d like to get Stephen Curry away from his three-point record. The Milwaukee Bucks have admitted they want him and both the Golden State Warriors and Celtics have come up in conversations around the retired shooter.
But maybe Boston isn’t the best idea for Allen, no matter how much it would present the world with a feel-good story.
WEEI’s Josue Pavon recently argued against the reunion:
However, at this stage, this young team led by coach Brad Stevens is still predicated on developing young talent into impact players. The same place where Isaiah Thomas blossomed into an All-star, where Avery Bradley became an NBA All-Defensive First Team guard, where Evan Turner was a sixth man of the year candidate and where Jae Crowder arrived as a bench warmer from the Mavericks and transformed into one of the better small forwards in the Eastern Conference.
This isn’t the place for Allen to turn back the clock for one final hurrah.
It’s hard to argue against the logic.
Danny Ainge and the Celtics have worked really hard to ensure success long into the future. Not only is there a crowded young depth chart that just made the playoffs in place, Ainge has plenty of future draft picks to work with.
A team like the Celtics probably wouldn’t mind a veteran presence on the bench and someone who can knock down key shots, but Boston has so many guards on the roster already that Allen’s limited playing time would wind up stealing from a developing youngster.
Reigniting the past always seems fun. Boston and Allen had an epic run together, but most should agree Allen returning to the Celtics would do more harm than good for the franchise. Another legendary franchise just gave a player an odd retirement tour and it took years and years off its ability to compete.
Don’t expect Boston to make the same mistake.
