Ray Allen's departure from the Boston Celtics is still to this day a sore subject for fans of the green-and-white, even six years after his exit from Bean Town.
Allen's new book: From the Outside: My Journey through Life and the Game I Love reveals Allen's most intimate anecdotes, including his strained rupture with the Big Three and his falling out with Rajon Rondo, who ultimately played a huge role in his decision to bolt for the Miami Heat.
The 6-foot-5 sharpshooter admitted that his relationship with Rondo was one best-described as one between a mentor and a student; one that ultimately transformed into two guys that couldn't stand each other.
via Sean Deveney of The Sporting News:
“I couldn’t have gotten along with him any better,” Allen wrote. “He was like a little brother to me.”
That relationship slowly turned sour after Rondo taking credit for leading the team to a 2008 championship and later breaking a TV in the film room by hurling a water bottle at it, expressing his frustration.
Their friendship had gone from fruitful, to amicable, to flat out toxic over the years, with Rondo's ego now through the roof, determined to get Allen out of Boston after the marksman had warned him to “stop bulls***ting everyone on the team” following Rondo's claims that Allen was jealous of him.
“I’m going to get your ass out of here this summer,” said Rondo, per Allen's recollection.
Later that day, Allen approached Rondo in hopes to bury the hatchet, getting a cold shoulder instead.
“I got 11 games to play with you, and that’s it,” said Rondo.
Allen would leave that summer, but rather from decisions made by the front office, rather than Rondo's words after the Celtics signed Jason Terry to a two-year, $12 million contract after Allen had requested a three-year, $36 million deal to remain with the team.
“So let me see if I got this straight,” Allen wrote in his new book, which is due in stands in two weeks. “You want to pay me less money. You want to bring me off the bench. You want to continue to run the offense around Rondo. Now tell me again exactly why I would want to sign this contract?”
The 3-point king would sign for even less with the Heat, a two-year, $6 million deal — one which would give him the best chance to have an imprint on the most likely championship team on the market.
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