Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, Ray Allen and Rajon Rondo will be forever bonded by the Celtics’ 2008 championship.
They’re also separated by Allen leaving Boston for the Heat in 2012.
Marc J. Spears of The Undefeated:Just like Rajon Rondo used to set up the fast break for the Boston Celtics, he is setting up a vacation with his former Celtics teammates from the 2008 NBA championship team to celebrate the nearing of the 10-year anniversary of their title. This party, however, doesn’t include an invite to ex-Celtics star guard Ray Allen.
“I asked a couple of the guys. I got a no, a no head shake,” said Rondo to The Undefeated when asked why Allen wasn’t invited.
“It will be a long story about that, but it is what it is,” Rondo, who plays for the Chicago Bulls, told The Undefeated. “I don’t know a good analogy to put this in. It just wasn’t the greatest separation. It wasn’t the greatest thing that could’ve happened to us as a team, a bond. We were at war with those guys [Miami]. To go with the enemy, that’s unheard-of in sports. Well, it’s not so unheard of. It’s damn near common now.
“The mindset we had. The guys on our team. You wouldn’t do anything like that. It makes you question that series in the Finals … Who were you for? You didn’t bleed green. People think we had a messed-up relationship. It’s not the greatest. But it’s not just me. I called and reached out to a couple of other vets and asked them what they wanted to do with the situation. They told me to stick with what we got [without Allen].”
Time heals all wounds, and eventually the other former Celtics will get over Allen’ departure.
Really, it should have happened already – especially considering how Pierce and Garnett left Boston. Though they were traded to the Nets, Pierce talked Garnett into waiving his no-trade clause and emphasized going to Brooklyn was about joining the team that offered the best chance to win a championship. Even if Allen did it more directly, Pierce and Garnett also steered their way off the Celtics.
Allen didn’t always get along with Rondo, lost his starting job and had an offer from the NBA’s best team. Why shouldn’t he have taken it? Perhaps Allen didn’t communicate well with his former Boston teammates on his way out the door, but that shouldn’t erase what they accomplished together.
To not invite Allen to this party is peak petty.