When talking to the media on Saturday, Boston Celtics general manager Danny Ainge was asked about why he didn't retain shooting guard Ray Allen, who left to join the Miami Heat. Ainge spoke with a direct and clear answer according to ESPN.com.
"I don't feel like we lost Ray; I feel like Ray left us to go to Miami," said Ainge.
However, it's not as though Ainge was taking a parting shot at Allen, but rather explaining the situation. He went on to express his gratitude of the future hall-of-famer.
"We appreciate all that Ray's done, and all that him and (Allen's wife) Shannon have done in our community. We tried to get Ray back; he chose to go to Miami."
Allen, 37, was replaced as a starter by Avery Bradley down the stretch while he was suffering with an ankle injury. The Celtics ended up nabbing Jason Terry off the free agent list to replace Allen, lessening the blow to the team.
While Ainge seems at peace with Allen's decision to play for the defending world champs, he couldn't hide a little bit of hurt.
"You'd have to ask Ray the decisions why (he signed with Miami)," Ainge said. "I talked with Ray a lot over the last five years, I'm a fan of Ray and, like I said, I'm grateful for what he's done. He'll always be part of that 2008 championship and the success we've had since then as well. But, I have a feeling that it wasn't one thing. I think it was an accumulation of lots of things, including the lure of Miami. I'll just leave it at that."
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