Veteran free agent guard Ray Allen has not decided what he wants to do yet. Although there were reports that he was leaning towards heading to Cleveland to join his former teammates LeBron James and Mike Miller on the Cavaliers, Allen says he’d also be content with just retiring.
via ESPN:
Allen, who has been coveted by multiple teams this offseason, emphasized during a recent interview with the Hartford Courant that he is not committed to returning for a 19th season in the NBA.
“My family is very important in making the decision,” Allen told the Courant. “Right now, there is nothing that I need to do. If I ultimately decide this will be it for me, I’m content with that.”
Allen, told the Courant that he is not rushing toward his decision.
“I’m not in any rush,” he said. “I’ve played 18 years, and the way I look at my career, I’m content with everything that I’ve done. I just want to take this summer and see how it goes.”
Allen, who turned 39 last month, was a key bench contributor for the four-time reigning Eastern Conference champion Heat this past season, averaging 9.6 points while shooting 37.5 percent from 3-point range.
The 10-time All-Star discussed the positive and negative aspects associated with continuing his career.
“To continue playing, really, the only argument is I can because I’m in great shape,” Allen said. “But just because you can doesn’t mean you have to. Many people over these last couple of weeks have lobbied for me to continue to play.
“My argument for not playing is, I have done a significant amount in my career and I appreciate everything that has come my way and as I’ve gotten older — I’m 39 — there are so many things in life I want to be able to do to affect change, like being around kids full time, which I enjoy. So at this point I just feel so good about where I am.”
