Los Angeles Clippers No Longer Interested in Ray Allen?
By Marcus Bass
It’s not Groundhog Day in Los Angeles. While the untrained eye might believe the Los Angeles Clippers’ recent acquisitions of Chris Douglas-Roberts and Epke Udoh make Ray Allen a less interesting candidate, clean those lenses and look again.
Just two years prior, former Clippers coach Vinny Del Negro wasted Allen’s time and a lot of jet fuel after informing Allen they were not interested in his services after signing guard Jamal Crawford. Allen asked the pilot to bust a donut and head to south beach. The faces are not the same in Clipperland, and certainly the same mistakes won’t be made either.
When the Clippers traded Jared Dudley away for Carlos Delfino and Miroslav Raduljica, they were making moves to fill out their roster as per NBA rules every team must carry a minimum of 13 players heading into training camp. Using the stretch provision and waiving Raduljica weren’t moves meant to create cap space. Although the Clippers created close to $4 million in the process, it couldn’t be used to sign a free agent. The Clippers used that breathing room to get under the apron and fill out their roster.
In no way does the Clippers filling up their roster to 13 mean they’ve extinguished their interest in Allen, who is currently an unrestricted free agent. It just means there’s other business at hand, and the regular season is coming fast. There’s been no word of Allen’s preference of team, if he’s actually interested in playing, and at what date he will join a team. The Clippers have chosen to keep their movement pushing while Allen makes up his mind, period.
Although most are not sure of what Allen will do, there are plenty of teams looking to retain his services. The San Antonio Spurs, Cleveland Cavaliers and Washington Wizards have been rumored to have interest, in addition to the Clippers. His recent statistics may not suggest it, but he’s still a pretty good overall player. In his last two seasons with the Heat, Allen dropped 1,564 buckets, while shooting his lowest percentage (39.8). Fact is, Jesus Shuttlesworth is still a very deadly shooter from anywhere on the floor and would be a welcomed addition anywhere in the league.
It’s likely that Allen will wait to see who’s in the best position to win in January or early February, weeks from the final cut off where teams are prohibited from adding free agents. If anything, the waiting game plays in the Clippers favor. Allen is a notorious gym rat who’s well known for taking care of his body and staying in shape. He’s one of the few player at his age with an ability to give valuable minutes at the drop of a hat.
Unlike players before him that’ve taken time off at the start of the year only to join a contender midseason, Allen will be ready to go — however with a smaller price tag. Allen was originally interested in a deal close to $3 million for one season, and while there may have been potential suitors offering that amount, for some reason Allen is still unsigned. Midseason he can’t expect a $3 million deal. It’s more likely he’d cash in on a veteran’s minimum in exchange for a shot at more jewelry.
The best thing the Clippers can do to secure Ray Allen is to steady the course. They’ve built a strong team, and in the last few days pulled a few tricks out of their sleeves. It won’t take any form of magic or voodoo to secure the player formerly named “Jesus Shuttlesworth”. It’s going to take the best season the Clippers have ever had and a phone call from Rivers around February.