OT: KG, Pierce, Rondo, Perkins, & Big Baby Speak on Ray

[the Q]

My biggest problem with these guys running their mouths like this is that they only won the NBA Finals once.

The only finished atop the Eastern Conference once.

They were 1-1 in the NBA Finals against a relatively overrated Laker team and ended their season losing to the Magic and constantly losing to the Heat towards the end.

They couldn't continue their success after 2007-2008 and now they're just salty. Ray did what he thought was a good career move and they are criticizing him for a business move, when all of them left in the end.

A lot of extenuating circumstances to their run. Losing the magic in 09 without KG is not exactly a negative either.

And don't get get into 2010. That was an embarrassment that the NBA allowed game 7 to go down like that.

 

[intlzncster]

Your right, Ray isn't a superstar. Haha...just holds the record for most 3's made of all time, considered the greatest shooter of all time, 1st ballot HoF, top 25 player of all time (IMO) but yeah...hes not a superstar. You're a joke bro.

We were talking about at that particular point in time man. In regards to what a guy brings on the court. I think it was pretty easy to figure that out in reading the thread. That's like saying Dirk Nowitzki is a super star player right now. Which is not true. He certainly was. But he's not any longer.

Of course Ray was a superstar 1st ballot HOFer when you look at his whole career. No .

 

[UConn990411]

Pierce seems like a pretty real guy but does anyone take Garnett seriously? Dude is the fakest tough guy the league has ever seen. These guys really need to move on, Ray did 5 years ago.

Yes - everyone whose ever played with him.

 

[ihatepants]

I agree with Russillo that him calling to tell them wouldn't have changed anything. I think there is a tendency to make things more complicated than they have to be in these situations - break-ups are about as fundamentally hurtful as it gets and oftentimes the search to dignify them is futile.

By the same rate, though, the "his feelings got hurt" is an all too convenient way to normalize insensitive behavior. So what if that's the case? "Hurt feelings" are from the same rotation as "political correctness" in that they seek to trivialize the source of the conflict when it doesn't really matter. If "hurt feelings" means "something that was really special to us ended abruptly and I'm upset about it" then I don't see what the problem is.

Ultimately, I think he left for three reasons:

1. He was losing minutes to Bradley

2. He hated Rondo

3. The idea of playing with LeBron sounded really fun

I don't really think there is a need to make meaning of it beyond that. I can understand why Ray did what he did and I can understand why they're upset. It ended up working out better for one party than the other and that's probably why one is still complaining about it and the other isn't. It's just not really worth arguing about beyond that, IMO.

You forgot #4 - not only did he lose his starting job to Bradley at the end of the season and in the playoffs, but the Celtics signed Jason Terry as soon as free agency started, so he was bound to lose even more minutes and maybe thought he was going to be the 7th or 8th guy in the rotation. Also, you can't really blame Ray Allen, because I wouldn't want to play with Jason Terry either.

 

[GetTheFacts]

I side with KG and the rest of the Celtics here. Love UConn bball and I'm a diehard Celtics fan, but leaving for the Heat after they just beat you in the playoffs? That will never go over well. That team was really close and absolutely hated LeBron and the Heat, and for him to make the decision to sign with a rival, without talking to anyone, was taken as disrespect by many. Just my opinion though.

 

[UCDaveD]

That team was really close

I don't believe this was true.

 

[RichZ]

Actually their amalgamation as the first "Big 3" completely changed professional basketball. Agree with everything else

Magic, Worthy, Jabbar
West, Baylor, Wilt
Barkley, Erving, Malone

 

[Excalibur]

I don't believe this was true.

KG, Pierce and Perkins were close. The rest, not as much.

 

[GetTheFacts]

KG, Pierce and Perkins were close. The rest, not as much.

Rondo is Perkins' best friend. That's four of the starting five. Almost any quote from the starting five will reiterate the same thing.

 

[superjohn]

KG, Pierce and the rest are getting absolutely destroyed on sports media. Seems like most are getting sick of the whiny b-#ch act.

 

[nomar]

Oh okay. For 2 years Danny Ainge held Ray as trade bait. Literally every trade deadline there was rumor after rumor swirling about Ray. Ainge handeled him the worst way possible. At the end Ray said effffff you as he should have. And as for the "if he just called us to tell us he was leaving..." bit, this is a business. Worth millions of dollars. Grow the efffffffffff up. All 5 (6 including doc) would not have a title if it wasn't for Ray, and Pierces retirement story would be about a bunch of "what ifs". Seriously- what a bunch of ungrateful, little whining babies.

Nice internet tough guy routine.

This is a perfect example of someone (a) having bias dictating their position and (b) lacking the ability to put himself in someone else's shoes.

You work with someone for 3 years. You're friends outside of the work place; your wives are friends. But you feel like management at your company is mistreating you. You know that your friend also feels like he's been mistreated by management, but he feels more loyalty to the organization. Then you decide to leave (for a direct competitor) and you don't pick up the phone to give him a heads up? And you think HE'S the baby for talking honestly about being disappointed??? Right.

Stop fronting.

Paul Pierce's name got offered up in 10x more trades than Ray's ever did. (Wow, for two whole years Ray's name got held out as trade bait!!!!! OMG!!!!!) I get why Ray may have been ticked off by Ainge, Doc and Rondo. But all those other dudes in the video were nothing but friends to him. What he did is hardly a war crime. But let's be real: he illed these guys. Is that what you'd have done?

I've said this 50 times and I'll say it again: UConn fans who don't like the Celtics are always going to back Ray, and Celtics fans who don't like UConn are always going to hold a grudge against Ray. Those of us who are fans of both UConn and the Celtics are the only ones looking at this through neither green nor blue eyes. I've defended Ray to Celtics fans and I have to defend Pierce et al now. These guys did and are doing nothing wrong. I love Ray, but he mishandled this. I don't know if it's because he was embarrassed or just wanted to avoid awkward conversations, but he chose not to give them the courtesy of a phone call, which was poor form. Period.

 

[intlzncster]

Magic, Worthy, Jabbar
West, Baylor, Wilt
Barkley, Erving, Malone

It's more about how it was put together. Team's were built a bit more organically in the past. Basically, he's talking about the plug-and-play superstar model we have now: Warriors, Heat, Cavs, etc...

 

[nomar]

Paul Pierce and KG left to go to Brooklyn for money.

???

 

[Hoophound]

The bottom line is when you continually shop a player, you can't expect loyalty from the player. This is so simple. Loyalty is important to me, but the Celtics weren't loyal to Ray so he didn't owe them anything.

 

[nomar]

I can't imagine anyone's going to post anything more cringeworthy than this today. Good lord. "is known as a voracious reader." You weren't embarrassed for yourself typing this? He's not your daughter. He's a dude you don't know.

The cognitive dissonance shown by people calling Pierce and KG babies while saying Ray was right to leave because he was "mistreated" is hilarious.

Ray had every right to leave. It's a business. But how you treat your friends is something different. (Though I guess they weren't friends after all because Ray's a voracious reader.) These guys have said enough about it, and they should probably stop talking.

But I would bet that every single person criticizing them just happens to hate Boston teams. A big coincidence, I'm sure.

 

[nomar]

The bottom line is when you continually shop a player, you can't expect loyalty from the player. This is so simple. Loyalty is important to me, but the Celtics weren't loyal to Ray so he didn't owe them anything.

Pierce got shopped all the time. And he eventually was traded.

 

[superjohn]

Nice internet tough guy routine.

This is a perfect example of someone (a) having bias dictating their position and (b) lacking the ability to put himself in someone else's shoes.

You work with someone for 3 years. You're friends outside of the work place; your wives are friends. But you feel like management at your company is mistreating you. You know that your friend also feels like he's been mistreated by management, but he feels more loyalty to the organization. Then you decide to leave (for a direct competitor) and you don't pick up the phone to give him a heads up? And you think HE'S the baby for talking honestly about being disappointed??? Right.

Stop fronting.

Paul Pierce's name got offered up in 10x more trades than Ray's ever did. (Wow, for two whole years Ray's name got held out as trade bait!!!!! OMG!!!!!) I get why Ray may have been ticked off by Ainge, Doc and Rondo. But all those other dudes in the video were nothing but friends to him. What he did is hardly a war crime. But let's be real: he illed these guys. Is that what you'd have done?

I've said this 50 times and I'll say it again: UConn fans who don't like the Celtics are always going to back Ray, and Celtics fans who don't like UConn are always going to hold a grudge against Ray. Those of us who are fans of both UConn and the Celtics are the only ones looking at this through neither green nor blue eyes. I've defended Ray to Celtics fans and I have to defend Pierce et al now. These guys did and are doing nothing wrong. I love Ray, but he mishandled this. I don't know if it's because he was embarrassed or just wanted to avoid awkward conversations, but he chose not to give them the courtesy of a phone call, which was poor form. Period.

I like UConn and the Celtics and think these guys look like a bunch of babies. Ray Allen left because he wanted the best chance to win a championship, something these other players did as well. All these players chased championships and none of them finished their careers as Celtics. Going on national TV five years later saying another grown man owes you an apology is soft as hell, move on.

 

[Mr. Hand]

Nice internet tough guy routine.

This is a perfect example of someone (a) having bias dictating their position and (b) lacking the ability to put himself in someone else's shoes.

You work with someone for 3 years. You're friends outside of the work place; your wives are friends. But you feel like management at your company is mistreating you. You know that your friend also feels like he's been mistreated by management, but he feels more loyalty to the organization. Then you decide to leave (for a direct competitor) and you don't pick up the phone to give him a heads up? And you think HE'S the baby for talking honestly about being disappointed??? Right.

Stop fronting.

Paul Pierce's name got offered up in 10x more trades than Ray's ever did. (Wow, for two whole years Ray's name got held out as trade bait!!!!! OMG!!!!!) I get why Ray may have been ticked off by Ainge, Doc and Rondo. But all those other dudes in the video were nothing but friends to him. What he did is hardly a war crime. But let's be real: he illed these guys. Is that what you'd have done?

I've said this 50 times and I'll say it again: UConn fans who don't like the Celtics are always going to back Ray, and Celtics fans who don't like UConn are always going to hold a grudge against Ray. Those of us who are fans of both UConn and the Celtics are the only ones looking at this through neither green nor blue eyes. I've defended Ray to Celtics fans and I have to defend Pierce et al now. These guys did and are doing nothing wrong. I love Ray, but he mishandled this. I don't know if it's because he was embarrassed or just wanted to avoid awkward conversations, but he chose not to give them the courtesy of a phone call, which was poor form. Period.

I'm a fan of both Ray Allen and the Celts. I couldn't disagree with you more on this.

This is a big KG self pity party, and the fact that he keeps bringing it up is sad, and very...small...of him.

 

[Robertelamin]

Yeah when someone leaves my company for another job we don't hold press conferences 5 years later bashing that person. It's pretty unprofessional.

 

[UCDaveD]

Let's not forget that without Ray, Baby would never even have been a Celtic. Maybe Baby should be a little more appreciative that he was a throw-in in the trade with Seattle.

 

[JSM1970]

Did you see what happened? Kenny Smith brought it up and forced those guys to discuss it.

They didn't bash him. They basically said they thought they had a strong relationship and it hurt that Ray didn't mention he was thinking of leaving.

Ray then posted a whiny photo on IG.

Yeah when someone leaves my company for another job we don't hold press conferences 5 years later bashing that person. It's pretty unprofessional.

 

[Hi-Low]

Did you see what happened? Kenny Smith brought it up and forced those guys to discuss it.

They didn't bash him. They basically said they thought they had a strong relationship and it hurt that Ray didn't mention he was thinking of leaving.

Ray then posted a whiny photo on IG.

Ray posted a whiny photo.....get outta here.

 

[Excalibur]

But I would bet that every single person criticizing them just happens to hate Boston teams. A big coincidence, I'm sure.

Not here, though I can admit that Ray mishandled the situation. The response has been so disproportionate that I'm much more sympathetic to him than to KG, PP etc . . ., and we know Rondo is an @H0le

 

[Robertelamin]

Did you see what happened? Kenny Smith brought it up and forced those guys to discuss it.

They didn't bash him. They basically said they thought they had a strong relationship and it hurt that Ray didn't mention he was thinking of leaving.

Ray then posted a whiny photo on IG.

They didn't even invite Ray. Obviously that topic was going to be discussed. Don't be dumb.

 

[UConnfan8]

Nice internet tough guy routine.

This is a perfect example of someone (a) having bias dictating their position and (b) lacking the ability to put himself in someone else's shoes.

You work with someone for 3 years. You're friends outside of the work place; your wives are friends. But you feel like management at your company is mistreating you. You know that your friend also feels like he's been mistreated by management, but he feels more loyalty to the organization. Then you decide to leave (for a direct competitor) and you don't pick up the phone to give him a heads up? And you think HE'S the baby for talking honestly about being disappointed??? Right.

Stop fronting.

Paul Pierce's name got offered up in 10x more trades than Ray's ever did. (Wow, for two whole years Ray's name got held out as trade bait!!!!! OMG!!!!!) I get why Ray may have been ticked off by Ainge, Doc and Rondo. But all those other dudes in the video were nothing but friends to him. What he did is hardly a war crime. But let's be real: he illed these guys. Is that what you'd have done?

I've said this 50 times and I'll say it again: UConn fans who don't like the Celtics are always going to back Ray, and Celtics fans who don't like UConn are always going to hold a grudge against Ray. Those of us who are fans of both UConn and the Celtics are the only ones looking at this through neither green nor blue eyes. I've defended Ray to Celtics fans and I have to defend Pierce et al now. These guys did and are doing nothing wrong. I love Ray, but he mishandled this. I don't know if it's because he was embarrassed or just wanted to avoid awkward conversations, but he chose not to give them the courtesy of a phone call, which was poor form. Period.

Lol. Do you work (in the 21st century?) Also, you must be a Celtics fan.


Thanks for your input.

 

[Scoe]

Big baby ate himself out of the league.

 

[Com'rGordon]

Another thing that can factor into how you feel about this whole thing with Ray, is your feelings towards Lebron... I'm a tears of joy or tears of frustration Celtics fan and can not stand Lebron. So after BEING UP 3-2 IN THE EASTERN CONFERENCE FINALS and then blowing the next two games against Lebron, and then Ray leaving to join him afterwards... I went from Ray Allen favorite player ever, to Ray Allen public enemy #1 real quick. i absolutely could not believe he left like that and was truly devastated.

 

[Mr. French]

Whenever I'm in the middle of a discussion where both sides are being debated, I hit the "see ignored content," read whatever JSM said, then my opinion is in concrete.

 

[nomar]

I like UConn and the Celtics and think these guys look like a bunch of babies. Ray Allen left because he wanted the best chance to win a championship, something these other players did as well. All these players chased championships and none of them finished their careers as Celtics. Going on national TV five years later saying another grown man owes you an apology is soft as hell, move on.

As to your ultimate opinion, fair enough. But you have the facts wrong. Pierce and KG did not want out. That's just not correct.

 

[Com'rGordon]

Whenever I'm in the middle of a discussion where both sides are being debated, I hit the "see ignored content," read whatever JSM said, then my opinion is in concrete.

Where do you see ignored content???