Ray Allen is doing what East Coast retirees do — living in Miami, loving the weather and golfing nearly every day. He probably gets some early bird dinner specials at Denny’s, too.
He’s also been staying in shape and considering an NBA return for the second half of the season, bolstering a contender. Cleveland was considered the front-runner (because of Allen’s relationship with LeBron James) but a number of teams — Clippers, Warriors, Spurs, Bulls, Wizards, Grizzlies — have interest in him as well.
The question is does Allen have interest in them? ESPN’s Brian Windhorst, a guy well sourced in Miami and Cleveland, was on ESPN1540 radio in Cleveland and said Allen may choose not to choose.
Windhorst: "I have now heard that Ray Allen is leaning towards retiring."
— ESPN Cleveland (@ESPNCleveland) December 26, 2014
This option was always on the table for him, people around the NBA just never thought he’d choose it. But I had heard as far back as last summer that when LeBron left the Heat Allen was hesitant to follow and leave his family and life in Miami to chase a ring in a cold-weather climate. Now Cleveland is far from a sure thing in the East (I’d say their defensive issues leave them third or fourth in the conference) and while there are teams in the West Allen could help that playoff run will be a bloodbath for everyone (you can make a good case for seven teams at least to come out of that conference and make the Finals).
Maybe in the end Allen will run through his options and, like the computer in War Games, decide “the only winning move is not to play.”