Rajon Rondo and the 2008 Boston Celtics team's decision not to invite Ray Allen to the 10th anniversary of their championship has drawn a lot of reactions from current and former members of their franchise. They have not been shy to let their thoughts be known publicly even if they have different takes on it.
The latest one to speak about it is Glen Davis, who was their rookie nine years ago, and said he believes Allen deserves an invite. He cited what the all-time leader in three-point field goals made brought to the team, including bailing them out in numerous late-game situations. He also described how they were as a team before and why Rondo should not be solely blamed for the situation.
“Yes, Ray should be invited to the reunion. He was a big part of that team. … Ray got us out of a lot of situations. Yeah, you should invite the man. I would love to see Ray, I haven't seen him in a long time.”
“We were an extremely close-knit basketball team. I just think when Rondo started to appear, and started to (say) ‘hey, here I am.' It wasn't a mutual, ‘hey, this is our new shining star with Ray.' It was more of a ‘hey, this is KG [Kevin Garnett], Paul, Ray Allen's team.' And I just feel like it could've been stopped.”
“But, Ray Allen's not no easy person to get along with. Don't think Jesus Shuttlesworth can walk on water now. Let me stop that right now, because Rondo has his points, because Ray Allen does have his times when he's Ray Allen and he needs to get the ball, and Doc (Rivers) doesn't give him the ball because he gives it to Paul Pierce.”
Some of his former teammates took offense when Allen joined their Eastern Conference rivals that time; the Miami Heat. It also did not help that they were just eliminated from the playoffs the previous season by the South Beach team, adding more vitriol to their feeling of being betrayed.
It still remains to be seen what the former Celtics players' final decision will be, but with the kind of impact Jesus Shuttlesworth had on the team, his absence from the festivities won't be difficult to notice should he indeed not be invited.
Follow Us
Subscribe