Ray Allen is being a soccer dad. He’s golfing with the president. He’s relaxing a little.
He has a job waiting if he wants it. Allen has plenty of suitors but is in no rush to return to the NBA.
The general vibe around the league is that sometime between Christmas and Valentine’s Day Allen will decide whether he thinks his presence can help one contender over the top — we’re almost certainly talking Cavaliers here — and if he wants to put his body through that.
Right now he’s just staying in shape and staying out of the limelight, he told Dom Amore of the Hartford Courant up in Connecticut.
“I’ve just been home, taking my kids to school,” said Allen, who has been contemplating whether to retire after 18 seasons in the NBA. “I’m working out, taking care of my body. I’m in great shape. I’ll just watch how the season progresses, and if I do feel the desire to continue to play, then I’ll decide what situation is viable for me….
“I still feel certain aches and pains; that’s definitely old age,” he said. “To be able to run, and back off a little bit, lift, and back off a little bit instead of going at it 100 percent all the time like I’ve been doing has helped.”
No doubt Allen is staying in shape, he was always one of the best conditioned athletes in the league.
Rumors were out there this summer that Allen was hesitant to leave his family and the lifestyle in Miami to chase another ring for a year in the cold of Cleveland. No matter who went home and changed that team. But doing that for only half a season…
We’ll see. Eventually. Whenever Allen is ready to decide on his own terms.