Free agent guard Ray Allen will visit the NBA champion Miami Heat on Thursday, league sources confirmed to ESPN The Magazine’s Chris Broussard.
Allen, one of Miami’s top offseason targets, will also meet with the Los Angeles Clippers on Friday, the sources said.
NBA.com and The Associated Press had earlier reported Allen’s planned visits.
Miami can offer the soon-to-be-37-year-old Allen, who’s spent the past five seasons with the Celtics, only the mini mid-level exception worth just over $3 million a year, while Boston is positioned to offer a two-year, $12 million contract, sources have told ESPN.com.
Celtics coach Doc Rivers talked to Allen on Sunday and called it a “stretch” that the NBA’s leading 3-point shooter will play elsewhere next season.
“We really want him back and I really think at the end of the day that he will be back because this is such a good fit for him,” Rivers said. “We need him back and we’re trying to get him back. We can offer him more money. Yes, there are a couple of teams way under the cap who might be able to offer more money. But other than that, we can offer him more (than Miami or Memphis). He already lives here. He knows his role and everything else. It’s a stretch for me to see him go somewhere else.”
On Monday, Celtics president Danny Ainge said he wasn’t sure “if there’s progress or no progress” in the Celtics’ talks with Allen. “We really want Ray to come back. Time will tell,” Ainge said.
The Memphis Grizzlies have offered Allen their full mid-level exception, worth $5 million, for two years.
Like the Grizzlies, the Clippers can offer Allen the full mid-level exception. The Clippers view Allen as a starter, sources have told Broussard.
In addition to Boston, Miami, Memphis and the Clippers, the Minnesota Timberwolves, Atlanta Hawks and Dallas Mavericks have also expressed interest in Allen, the sources said.
The Heat are also talking to free-agent guard Rashard Lewis, who was recently waived by theNew Orleans Hornets. The 6-foo-10 forward played only 28 games last season due to a troublesome knee.
“I’ve talked to the Heat several times, and we’ll continue to talk to them,” agent Tony Dutt told the South Florida Sun-Sentinel on Monday. “We’re just looking at all of the options at this point and we’re going to sit down later in the week and figure out the top three or four spots that make sense and then he may visit those particular spots.”
-Information from ESPN The Magazine’s Chris Broussard, ESPNBoston.com’s Chris Forsberg and The Associated Press contributed to this report & FULL STORY HERE
