Image by Keith Allison via FlickrThe
Boston Celtics are hoping to keep their window for another
NBA championship open for at least two more seasons.
On Wednesday night, free-agent guard
Ray Allen confirmed that he had agreed to a two-year, $20 million deal to remain with the Celtics. Allen’s agent, Lon Babby, indicated that the second year of the contract holds a player option.
The agreement with Allen comes on the heels of
Doc Rivers’ decision to return next season and a forthcoming four-year, $60-plus million extension with
Paul Pierce.
Celtics president of basketball operations
Danny Ainge worked quickly to keep his team together and can now take his time courting complementary pieces to play alongside their core. We’ll talk more about that later.
Keeping Pierce in town was imperative for a number of reasons, both in terms of basketball and public relations, but retaining Allen may have actually been more important in the grand scheme of things.
Allen spreads the floor, giving Pierce and Rondo lanes to attack the basket and
Kevin Garnett the ability to bang more effectively in the paint, as well as hit an elbow jumper, and gives Rivers an on-court extension of his coaching staff. He’s the most level-headed player in Boston’s rotation.
It’s no surprise that Boston lost to the Lakers in the Finals when you consider Allen’s play. He averaged 14.6 points on 36.7% shooting (including 12-for-41 from downtown) in seven games after scoring 16.3 points during the regular season and shooting 42.3% from three-point land during the first three rounds of the playoffs.
There is some concern that Pierce has already begun to decline and that he’ll be a shell of his former self at the end of his four-year deal, but there should be no such worries about Allen even though he’s more than two years older.
Allen’s True Shooting percentage in 2008-09 was 62.4%, the highest mark of his career, and his number this past season was the third-best he’s registered (60.1%).
His PER dropped to near the league average in 2009-10 (15.2), but he was still a plus-seven per 100 possessions for the Celtics. His consistency and health will continue to be key to Boston’s success as well. He’s missed just 14 games in the last three games (he’ll turn 35 years old later this month).
There are stark differences in their respective games, but Allen has gone down the same avenue as Reggie Miller. Allen is content as the third or fourth option in Boston as long as he’s close to a title, while Miller allowed Indiana’s younger guns (
Jermaine O’Neal and Ron Artest) to take the reigns in the latter stages of his career.
Allen’s stroke is much quicker and more textbook than Miller’s and he has replaced him as the
NBA’s best offensive player without the basketball and coming off screens.
This contract also ensures that Allen will overtake Miller as the NBA’s all-time leading three-point shooter while with Boston. Allen trails Miller by just 116 threes (2,560 to 2,444) and the mark will likely be his at some point after the All-Star break barring injury.
Grade for Allen: B+
If the Celtics were headed for a rough season, I could have seen Allen leaving for a mid-level exception deal with another contender, but Boston remains in the race to come out of the
Eastern Conference yet another time, even with the constructing of a superpower in Miami.
Allen is the glue that keeps the Celtics together as a team rather than four individual stars, which is why he’s worth $20 million over two seasons.
Grade for Celtics: A
Ainge has to write a lengthy ‘Thank You’ note to owner Wyc Grousbeck, who gave him nice leash in the mid-2000s and has allowed him to spend freely to keep Boston’s core intact in addition to purchasing complementary pieces.
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A few hours after agreeing with Allen on a $20 million deal, the Celtics worked to fortify their bench by adding free-agent center Jermaine O’Neal.
O’Neal’s two-year deal is worth $12 million and will use up the full mid-level exception.
The decision to sign O’Neal is an eye-opener for three reasons: Rasheed Wallace will in fact retire, Boston won’t court Shaquille O’Neal and they are confident Tony Allen will be retained.
O’Neal himself is an enticing option. He seems like a perfect replacement for Wallace, but looked awful for a majority of Miami’s first round series against Boston. He’s really only one-fourth of the player he was at his peak with the Pacers and will turn a relatively old 32 in October.
Grade for Celtics: C
Simply put, O’Neal is a huge health risk for a variety of reasons. He’s far past his prime and is more of an injury-risk because of his own body than the amount of miles he’s accumulated.
Grade for O’Neal: A
He’s coming off a max contract that was a tremendous weight on his shoulders and he’s immediately closer to a title than he’s been in six or seven years -- if not ever.
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