One year ago at this time the story we were all sick of was the “feud” between Ray Allen and his former teammates on the Boston Celtics. Allen didn’t feel respected or part of the Celtics plans (Avery Bradley had taken his starting job) and so he took less money to bolt for Miami. He was called “Benedict Allen” in and worse in Boston, he just shrugged then went on to hit the biggest shot of his career and win a ring Miami.
Now Kevin Garnett — who famously said he lost Allen’s phone number — and Paul Pierce are members of the Brooklyn Nets as Boston has gone into full rebuilding mode.
Before the Heat face the Nets this preseason, LeBron James and Dwyane Wade politely called out the Celtics players for what they see as hypocrisy, as reported by Brian Windhorst at ESPN.“I think the first thing I thought was, ‘Wow, Ray got killed for leaving Boston and now these guys are leaving Boston,’” James said.
“I think it’s OK; I didn’t mind it. But there were a couple guys who basically [expletive] on Ray for leaving, and now they’re leaving. That’s the nature of our business, man. I don’t know what Boston was going through at the end of the day. I know Ray had to make the best decision for him and his family and his career. Doc, KG and Paul did that as well. You can’t criticize someone who does something that’s best for their family….
“We all know the world, how it works,” Wade said. “The biggest thing is Ray is happy [in Miami]. If they’re happy in Brooklyn, then let them be happy. People say things about people when they do something when they themselves would do the same thing. It’s about putting yourself in the best situation, and at the end of the day we all do that. You can’t really say anything about someone that does it for themselves.”
In Boston Allen leaving is seen as different because the Celtics fans thought their team was still a contender, not an older squad one injury away from blowing it up. They also say Allen left of his own free will — for far less money to a rival — while Pierce and Garnett were traded. I don’t buy that logic. Garnett had a no-trade clause, he could have shot the whole thing down or walked away, but he didn’t in large part because Pierce pushed for him to go through with it. Pierce and KG had options (including retirement), instead they chose the trade.
This should simply serve as a reminder that your passionate fan allegiances have little to no impact on players, who see this as a business, as their job. Remember how KG was going to retire a Celtic? Exactly.
