After securing the returns of both Paul Pierce and Doc Rivers, the Celtics are making re-signing Ray Allen their next focus. Ray Allen, meanwhile, is perfectly fine just sitting around and waiting to see where the big-name free agents end-up -- LeBron James, Dywane Wade and Chris Bosh.
If James does stay in Cleveland, the Cavs would only have the mid-level exception to offer Allen and they also need help in the center department. If James goes elsewhere, those teams would have cap money to spend on supporting players, but they are all basically building teams from scratch and it's unclear how much of that precious cap room they would be willing to use on Allen.
Both the Knicks and Heat are in desperate need of point guards, while the Nets would have to bring along an expensive power forwards to entice James. The Bulls may be the wild card in this scenario since they have a ready-made team in place for either James or Dwyane Wade, and Allen already has an existing relationship with new coach Tom Thibodeau.
While Ray Allen has said he will give the Celtics "every chance of re-signing him," it's no secret that LeBron is actively recruiting him to become a teammate.
Like most of the free agents this summer, it seems like we won't have an answer for Ray Allen until LeBron makes up his mind. And so we wait.