If you take the eventual NBA champion to 7 games in the Eastern Conference Finals (Did Miami just spot BOS a 3-2 series lead for the heck of it?) which included both a series lead, a chance to close out the series at home, and a 2nd half lead in the decisive game 7, I'd say you were a contender.
In this case, you'd be wrong though... because Boston wasn't a contender that year. They were the 10th best team in a lockout shortened season, got a lucky path to the ECF, got beat down when it mattered.
And regardless of whether or not you think they were a contender that year (they weren't), the fact is that Boston had tried trading Ray in 2009, had tried trading Ray in 2010, had tried trading Ray in 2011... literally traded him in 2012...
“I was actually traded to Memphis,” Allen tells Datwon Thomas. “I got the phone call and [was] told that I was traded for O.J. Mayo. I was in San Francisco to play the Warriors. Danny Ainge and I talked, and he asked me how I felt about it. I told him I was upset, that I couldn’t believe it. “I said, ‘I can’t knock you. You have to do what you do for your team. I understand it’s a business [and] there’s nothing I can do about it.'”
Read more at: http://nesn.com/2013/12/ray-allen-opens-up-about-near-trade-to-grizzlies-for-o-j-mayo-in-final-year-with-celtics/
Not only was Ray in thousands of trade ideas created by Celtic fans, but the team itself was trying to get rid of him.
Then, he lost his starting role to then unproven Avery Bradley.
It was already public the team was going to get Courtney Lee.
On July 10th, they signed Jason Terry
A day later, Ray bailed.
Ray likely looked at the team, saw there was zero loyalty from them, saw that he was now going to share minutes on a bench with Courtney Lee and Jason Terry, saw that the team was aging badly and had barely scraped together 39 wins the year prior, saw that the team was likely a .500 also-ran at this point, saw that the team was about a year away from blowing it up entirely and going full blown tank mode... and decided he'd take his talents to South Beach where a real contender needed his services off the bench.
Side note: It was also well-known that Ray and Rondo hated each other. Rondo was eventually exposed. Ray was vindicated on that as well.
He was right in every possible way. The team barely won 41 games and got beat down by the Knicks in round 1. Ray was right to have bailed on them. Soon after, KG and Pierce decided they wanted to be traded to the Nets. Doc Rivers decided he wanted to coach the Clippers... and Boston went full-on tankjob.
There should be no ill will towards Ray Allen. Ya'll should be ashamed of yourselves for disrespecting one of the hired guns who gifted this sad sack franchise a title in 2008.
