Apparently the decision David West made to choose the Pacers over the Celtics really rubbed Ray Allen the wrong way. For a while, it appeared that Danny Ainge had a deal in place that would send Jermaine O’Neal back to the Pacers for David West by way of a sign-and-trade. The deal fell apart and West chose to sign with Indiana for two years, $20 million rather than the Celtics for three years, $29 million. The normally soft-spoken Allen thinks West made a big mistake.
“I’m shocked,” Allen said according to ESPNBoston.com when asked about West signing with Indy.. “I don’t understand it. Once it got down to the end, I think his ego kicked back in. He wanted the dollars. I guess it comes down to ‘What is a championship worth to you?’ Think of all the guys who have made $20 million and could be considered one of the best ever, but they get chided because they never won. We [the Big Three] all had to do less when we won. We’re still taking less to make it work. But it’s worth it. No one can ever say to KG, Paul or me, ‘You guys never got your ring.'”
Allen said he was originally told that West was going to come to the Celtics for less money and that he and Allen would get along well, because they are both “cognitive” type players. Now, he is almost certainly left frustrated by Boston’s lack of depth.
Obviously West’s decision really irritated Allen, because the comments he made were completely out of character. Everyone has their own person reasons for choosing a new team, and it’s possible Allen is bitter since he knows time is running out for the Celtics. Perhaps West knew that as well and had no interest in becoming part of a rebuilding project.
