Back in March, Celtics team president Rich Gotham spoke about the possibility of the franchise formally celebrating the 10th anniversary of its last championship sometime during the 2017-2018 season. He disclosed that no actual planning to see it through had been made, but, “presumably, we’ll invite the guys back.” Needless to say, one of those “guys” happens to be Ray Allen, who remained on shaky footing with the other members of the Big Four and, by extension, the rest of the squad.
To recall, the title run was precipitated by the offseason acquisition of Allen and recent National Basketball Association Most Valuable Player Kevin Garnett, who wouldn’t have agreed to the trade netting him had the former not already made the jump. Together with resident stars Paul Pierce and Ramon Rondo, they went on to forge the biggest single turnaround in league history. As things turned out, it would be their lone turn at the top. Even as they made it to the Finals anew in 2009 and stayed relevant thereafter, injuries hampered their competitiveness and ultimately had them surrendering the throne.
By 2012, the advancing ages of the Celtics’ marquee names’ had head coach Doc Rivers contemplating changes in his rotation, including relegating Allen to a sixth-man role. The impending move didn’t sit well with the 10-time All-Star, who instead opted to sign with the rival Heat, thus incurring the ire of former teammates. Such was the ill will that it permeated the mini-reunion of the championship figures during an “Area 21” segment of Inside the NBA in May. If nothing else, the sentiments aired during the episode underscored the extent of the hard feelings.
Apparently, however, there’s hope. Over the weekend, Pierce Instagrammed a picture showing him and Allen side by side during a lull in an event they both attended in Shanghai. He captioned his post with “Time to get the band back together” and tagged Garnett and Rondo. For good measure, he added the hashtag “burythehatchet.” To be sure, he always seemed the most reconciliatory of the bunch; in a June interview, he expressed the belief that, “eventually, it’s going to smooth over. We’ll all sit down one day, probably have a cigar, glass of wine, and talk about it.” Parenthetically, there can be no discounting his capacity to influence Garnett and Rondo.
Given the turn of events, the informal picnic and the formal celebration of the 2008 champions may yet be complete. Either will be dull without Allen. As Pierce argued, “#onceacelticalwaysaceltic.” He should know. He became trade bait in 2013 and played for three teams in the ensuing four seasons, only to ink a one-day contract with the Celtics in order to retire in green and white. Clearly, they all owe each other for the rings. And they all owe each other respect.
Anthony L. Cuaycong has been writing Courtside since BusinessWorld introduced a Sports section in 1994. He is the Senior Vice-President and General Manager of Basic Energy Corp.
