A few days ago, the 2008 Celtics reunited on TNT to reminisce over the championship they won together. However, there was one notable person missing. Ray Allen, an original member of the Big Three, was once again excluded from the festivities as the other Celtics continue to hold a grudge over his leaving the team for the Heat in 2012.
The former Celtics spoke at length about the decision to exclude Allen and why the grudge is ongoing:
Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, Rajon Rondo, Kendrick Perkins and Glen Davis talk about the situation with Ray Allen pic.twitter.com/o8IqC8jgBU
— Def Pen Hoops (@DefPenHoops) May 9, 2017
So yeah, there’s some hard feelings there.
But at least one NBA player thinks it’s all for nothing. Miami Heat forward Udonis Haslem, Allen’s teammate after the latter moved on from Boston, had a blunt response to the Celtics, via Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel:
“It’s not like the year before with Ray they beat us,” Haslem said of the Heat defeating Allen, Garnett and Pierce in the 2012 Eastern Conference finals. “Put it this way, it wasn’t the similar situation to maybe Kevin Durant going to the team that beat him. It was, you got your ass whooped with Ray, and we got Ray and we whupped your ass again.”
“I mean, they got to let that go,” Haslem said. “I think when you get to a point where you’re a free agent, you have the opportunity to make the best decision for you. Quality of life: Boston, Miami? Ahh, you guys can figure that one out.”
You can always count on Haslem to speak his mind and stand up for his teammates. He did both here, and he has a legitimate point.
