Author Topic: Ray Allen - Book excerpts - merged thread  (Read 13685 times)

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Re: Ray Allen - Book excerpts - merged thread
« Reply #75 on: March 19, 2018, 01:39:35 AM »

Offline GreenEnvy

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I just wished they'd ALL just take a step back, let whatever bitterness (if any) go and just reflect on what WAS (07-08) and what COULD HAVE BEEN (08-09).

Too many great memories.

I could FINALLY (after 20 years) go to work (on a NAVY ship full of basketball fans, no less) and TALK SMACK....

Stop being petty and have a true reunion. Grab Posey, Big Baby, Perk and the crew and reminisce about something that was NEVER done before and what will probably NOT ever happen again....
Never done before and never will happen again is such Green goggles revisionist history.

Feel free to bump this thread when a team who finished last in their conference one season improves by over 42 wins to win the championship the very next season.

Sorry. Brooklyn and Phoenix have already squashed the chances of it happening this season, but better luck next year.
CELTICS 2024

Re: Ray Allen - Book excerpts - merged thread
« Reply #76 on: April 26, 2018, 06:09:11 PM »

Offline Drucci

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I just finished reading Ray's book, although I'll admit I was less eager to read it once I knew how he badmouthed his former teammates.

Overall, it's an interesting book about the NBA and the process of going to the NCAA, working on your game, some locker room dynamics, his experience of racism, etc. We learn a lot about Ray's personality too and he definitely seems to be a "chip on his shoulder" guy : basically, from his childhood to his Boston days, he always felt disrespected by someone and that fueled him. He sounds borderline paranoid at some times and definitely holds grudges against a lot of people. And he talks very quickly, unfortunately, about his Boston days, spending way more time on his childhood and high school + college days.

He often sounds as whiny as he does in the excerpts shared on this thread, although he always tries to end up looking good after complaining (like "yeah this guy was rude to me but it didn't get to me [although it clearly did since he is mentioning it]" or "yeah I missed many shots but that's OK because I had prepared well that day so no regrets I just missed them"). He also makes Anthony Mason the scapegoat of Milwaukee's demise along with George Karl while saying "rest in peace" regarding Anthony, how ironic!), basically because the first one wanted all the shots and the second spent his time (according to Ray) trashing him to the press and his teammates.

The book includes interesting tidbits about his Boston days that weren't among the excerpts. In no particular order :

- Hours before draft night in 1996, Ray got a call from Red Auerbach who told him the Celtics would take him if he was still on the board with the #6 pick. He obviously wasn't.
 
- After being traded to the Celtics, and before KG was too, Danny Ainge asked Ray about his income on potential trades or players he would like to get.

- Ray thinks KG tried to play the veteran card with him : "I got the feeling that because he came in a year before I did it was important for him to make it clear to me that he was the veteran and I was the newcomer."

- He reveals KG expressed some doubts when the talks between Minnesota and Boston were heating up : "Man, I don't know how this is going to work [KG] said. I got to really step up my game." to which Ray replied : "You just do what you do and everything will be fine"

- He tells a funny anecdote between KG and Joakim Noah when Noah was still a rookie. After KG hit his typical fadeaway jumper on him, Noah said : "Hey, big fella, that was a nice move, you've got to teach me that". To which KG replied : "Get off my d***" (which made Ray laugh).

- Ray admits he played better against Western conference teams for some reason

- He also talks about, on the early days of the '08 team, about Doc getting on him to give the ball to KG on the block when he had an open three. But during the course of the season Doc finally told him to shoot it.

- He admits being frustrated even at that time of "not getting enough touches" especially when he was going through a tough stretch and wanted his rythm back. And Doc "calling plays constantly for Paul". "I wish, every once in a while, he would have said : 'We got to get Ray going'.

- Ray makes several mentions in which he criticizes Paul, which seems to be his most disliked Celtic teammate after Rondo (although not on the same level). For example, talking about the '08 Finals in LA, he says : "Going into game 3 at the Staples center, we were concerned. About the Lakers naturally but also about Paul. Being from Los Angeles, he would stay at his home instead of the hotel and might drift away from the team. This was no time for that. We had to make sacrifices, Doc said. We had to be one. Now more than ever."

- Later, he admits he felt disrespected in game 6 of the Chicago series in '09, the one where he went off for 51 points (and Boston hoping to end the series 4-2) with 29 seconds to go and the game tied at 101. "Doc drew up a play for Paul. In other circumstances, I would've had no problem with the call since Paul was a sensational one-on-one player. I had a problem this time. As hot as I was I was the most logical choice to take the shot. Paul, conversely, was struggling ; he would end up 5 of 13. [...] Whatever I was thinking I kept my mouth shut. [...] Paul missed and we lost in triple overtime. I'm not saying I would have made the shot. You can never say that. Only that I liked my chances."

- Ray also says he should have been wary of Rondo from the get-go : "In doing some research on [Rondo] I came upon an interview where he was asked if he was excited to be on the same team with Paul, KG and myself. Rondo's response was something to the effect of : 'they are going to have to get used to playing with me. Wow. In hindsight, it was probably something I should've paid more attention to, given how our relationship would fall apart, but at the time I thought it showed the kind of moxie you want to see in a young player, especially the point guard, who sets the tone."

- He admits he could have been better on defense and blames his former coaches "For many years I was so good offensively that none of my coaches took me to the task on the other side of the ball. I wish they had." and then promptly raves about himself : "Don't get me wrong, I wasn't a liability on defense. Far from it" (quoting his D on Iverson in the 2001 ECF as an exemple).

- He also raves about Doc's management of the team and the freedom he gave the vets, the fact that he didn't put too much practices and shootarounds between games.

- Great anecdote about James Posey, who played with the subs against the starters in practice, trolled the team with his ring (won with the '06 Heat), saying : "That's OK, y'all got no rings".

- Talking about the Celtics/Cavs series of '08, Ray criticizes Doc for responding to a question by reporters about his shooting slump ("What will you do to get Ray out of a slump?") with an answer he deemed hurtful ("Ray will figure it out, we're not worried about Ray"). Quote : "What got me angry was what Doc said. He was in effect agreeing with them. What he should've said was : 'Cleveland is taking Ray out of the offense, and we're doing everything we can to keep him involved. He doesn't need to score in this series'." Ray then says that Doc didn't appreciate Ray's answer about the lack of shots : 'That didn't please Doc, who had spoken to a former NBA coach he highly respected [Avery Johnson? Just speculating]. 'The coach read your comments' Doc told me 'and said I needed to tell you to stop talking to the newspapers, to keep the narrative on the team going forward.'

Ray definitely sounds petty about it (just like he does with George Karl's battle of words with
him in the press).

- He considers game 4 of the '08 NBA Finals as the most meaningful in his career and mentions how he defied expectations by taking Vujacic for a closing layup instead of a 3 (and how he kept telling him to "stop crying" during the series). 

- He admits holding out his threes when he was about to break the NBA record because he wanted to break it in Boston rather than on the road (in Charlotte). "I'm not proud to admit this but that night I made sure not to break the record. On several possessions, when I was open for a three, I took my sweet time, came in a couple of steps, and opted for a two instead. I attempted only two 3 pointers the entire game, nailing both, leaving me one back of Reggie."

- During his last season with Boston, Ray says he went to Doc to complain about his lack of shots and the fact Rondo (supposedly) snubbed him. Doc promised him more shots and told him to come off the bench so that he could play with Avery and replace Rondo (I think it ought to be checked because I remember Ray being benched and replaced in the starting lineup by Avery...).

- He mentions the Danny Ainge call about being traded to Memphis and then the deal being off. Says it's the first time he learned of his trade directly and not in the media and he appreciated that.

- Another Rondo anecdote : after Rajon bumped referee Marc Davis on game 1 against Atlanta, Ray argued with KG and Paul who told Rondo to get straight to the bus and not mention the incident to reporters  ; Ray told him to go out there and apologize, because his suspension for one game was warranted but he didn't want to get one more. Rondo finally caved to Ray and Doc's point of views.

- Ray criticizes his teammates for not saluting the Heat after their game 7 victory. "In the final seconds, I reminded the guys to congratulate Miami and wish them well in the Finals against OKC. [...] "Screw these motherf****' one guy said and he was not the only player who felt that way. 'I'm not shaking anybody's hand'." He thinks they thus weren't different from the Pistons team of the '91 playoffs.

- Regarding his contract negotiation with Danny, he says Danny told him he couldn't offer any more than 12 millions for 2 years. Ray asked for assurance that he would get a bigger role in the offense, mentioning the end of possession shots by Rondo, and Danny promised to ask Doc about it. Danny came back saying : "Doc said nothing is going to change. The offense is going to go through Rondo and you need to be on board dwith it and win on this team's terms. If you're not, then you need to choose elsewhere."

- Ray then texted KG about the tough negotiations and saying he thought he wouldn't be back. KG said he was going to be all right ("they're going to take care of you") and Ray said it wasn't.

- He says his only regret is not calling Paul before the news became official but excuses himself by saying "things happen so fast when you're a free agent".

- Ray called a Boston "cable TV station in town" (during earlier years it seems) who had done a poll asking fans which player on the team should be traded (he was voted). "I called the head of the station to complain. 'Why are you doing this? My family is watching, they're very hurt by this".

- Ray apparently sometimes felt out of the gang in Boston because he refused some late night card cames or activities because of his family life with many children at home. He raves about his Miami colleagues for not taking offense about it while "it wasn't like that in Boston. If I chos to stay home and not go out to a club with everyone else, I wasn't one of them."

- Considers the Miami locker room "by far the best one" among all the ones he was in during his career.

- He thought of following LeBron to Cleveland but felt not wanted enough (see a pattern here?) by the Cavs management : "LeBron did his best to convince me and I think he probably got tired of trying. If only management valued me as much as he did ; the Cavs offered me next to nothing".

- The Rockets expressed interest for him that summer.

- Although he destroys Rondo in the well-known excerpts, he still mentions him in his long list of "some incredible teammates" at the end of the book.

Sorry for the looong post but I thought all these anecdotes were interesting and hopefully they will be to you!

Re: Ray Allen - Book excerpts - merged thread
« Reply #77 on: April 26, 2018, 06:25:58 PM »

Offline celticsclay

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I just finished reading Ray's book, although I'll admit I was less eager to read it once I knew how he badmouthed his former teammates.

Overall, it's an interesting book about the NBA and the process of going to the NCAA, working on your game, some locker room dynamics, his experience of racism, etc. We learn a lot about Ray's personality too and he definitely seems to be a "chip on his shoulder" guy : basically, from his childhood to his Boston days, he always felt disrespected by someone and that fueled him. He sounds borderline paranoid at some times and definitely holds grudges against a lot of people. And he talks very quickly, unfortunately, about his Boston days, spending way more time on his childhood and high school + college days.

He often sounds as whiny as he does in the excerpts shared on this thread, although he always tries to end up looking good after complaining (like "yeah this guy was rude to me but it didn't get to me [although it clearly did since he is mentioning it]" or "yeah I missed many shots but that's OK because I had prepared well that day so no regrets I just missed them"). He also makes Anthony Mason the scapegoat of Milwaukee's demise along with George Karl while saying "rest in peace" regarding Anthony, how ironic!), basically because the first one wanted all the shots and the second spent his time (according to Ray) trashing him to the press and his teammates.

The book includes interesting tidbits about his Boston days that weren't among the excerpts. In no particular order :

- Hours before draft night in 1996, Ray got a call from Red Auerbach who told him the Celtics would take him if he was still on the board with the #6 pick. He obviously wasn't.
 
- After being traded to the Celtics, and before KG was too, Danny Ainge asked Ray about his income on potential trades or players he would like to get.

- Ray thinks KG tried to play the veteran card with him : "I got the feeling that because he came in a year before I did it was important for him to make it clear to me that he was the veteran and I was the newcomer."

- He reveals KG expressed some doubts when the talks between Minnesota and Boston were heating up : "Man, I don't know how this is going to work [KG] said. I got to really step up my game." to which Ray replied : "You just do what you do and everything will be fine"

- He tells a funny anecdote between KG and Joakim Noah when Noah was still a rookie. After KG hit his typical fadeaway jumper on him, Noah said : "Hey, big fella, that was a nice move, you've got to teach me that". To which KG replied : "Get off my d***" (which made Ray laugh).

- Ray admits he played better against Western conference teams for some reason

- He also talks about, on the early days of the '08 team, about Doc getting on him to give the ball to KG on the block when he had an open three. But during the course of the season Doc finally told him to shoot it.

- He admits being frustrated even at that time of "not getting enough touches" especially when he was going through a tough stretch and wanted his rythm back. And Doc "calling plays constantly for Paul". "I wish, every once in a while, he would have said : 'We got to get Ray going'.

- Ray makes several mentions in which he criticizes Paul, which seems to be his most disliked Celtic teammate after Rondo (although not on the same level). For example, talking about the '08 Finals in LA, he says : "Going into game 3 at the Staples center, we were concerned. About the Lakers naturally but also about Paul. Being from Los Angeles, he would stay at his home instead of the hotel and might drift away from the team. This was no time for that. We had to make sacrifices, Doc said. We had to be one. Now more than ever."

- Later, he admits he felt disrespected in game 6 of the Chicago series in '09, the one where he went off for 51 points (and Boston hoping to end the series 4-2) with 29 seconds to go and the game tied at 101. "Doc drew up a play for Paul. In other circumstances, I would've had no problem with the call since Paul was a sensational one-on-one player. I had a problem this time. As hot as I was I was the most logical choice to take the shot. Paul, conversely, was struggling ; he would end up 5 of 13. [...] Whatever I was thinking I kept my mouth shut. [...] Paul missed and we lost in triple overtime. I'm not saying I would have made the shot. You can never say that. Only that I liked my chances."

- Ray also says he should have been wary of Rondo from the get-go : "In doing some research on [Rondo] I came upon an interview where he was asked if he was excited to be on the same team with Paul, KG and myself. Rondo's response was something to the effect of : 'they are going to have to get used to playing with me. Wow. In hindsight, it was probably something I should've paid more attention to, given how our relationship would fall apart, but at the time I thought it showed the kind of moxie you want to see in a young player, especially the point guard, who sets the tone."

- He admits he could have been better on defense and blames his former coaches "For many years I was so good offensively that none of my coaches took me to the task on the other side of the ball. I wish they had." and then promptly raves about himself : "Don't get me wrong, I wasn't a liability on defense. Far from it" (quoting his D on Iverson in the 2001 ECF as an exemple).

- He also raves about Doc's management of the team and the freedom he gave the vets, the fact that he didn't put too much practices and shootarounds between games.

- Great anecdote about James Posey, who played with the subs against the starters in practice, trolled the team with his ring (won with the '06 Heat), saying : "That's OK, y'all got no rings".

- Talking about the Celtics/Cavs series of '08, Ray criticizes Doc for responding to a question by reporters about his shooting slump ("What will you do to get Ray out of a slump?") with an answer he deemed hurtful ("Ray will figure it out, we're not worried about Ray"). Quote : "What got me angry was what Doc said. He was in effect agreeing with them. What he should've said was : 'Cleveland is taking Ray out of the offense, and we're doing everything we can to keep him involved. He doesn't need to score in this series'." Ray then says that Doc didn't appreciate Ray's answer about the lack of shots : 'That didn't please Doc, who had spoken to a former NBA coach he highly respected [Avery Johnson? Just speculating]. 'The coach read your comments' Doc told me 'and said I needed to tell you to stop talking to the newspapers, to keep the narrative on the team going forward.'

Ray definitely sounds petty about it (just like he does with George Karl's battle of words with
him in the press).

- He considers game 4 of the '08 NBA Finals as the most meaningful in his career and mentions how he defied expectations by taking Vujacic for a closing layup instead of a 3 (and how he kept telling him to "stop crying" during the series). 

- He admits holding out his threes when he was about to break the NBA record because he wanted to break it in Boston rather than on the road (in Charlotte). "I'm not proud to admit this but that night I made sure not to break the record. On several possessions, when I was open for a three, I took my sweet time, came in a couple of steps, and opted for a two instead. I attempted only two 3 pointers the entire game, nailing both, leaving me one back of Reggie."

- During his last season with Boston, Ray says he went to Doc to complain about his lack of shots and the fact Rondo (supposedly) snubbed him. Doc promised him more shots and told him to come off the bench so that he could play with Avery and replace Rondo (I think it ought to be checked because I remember Ray being benched and replaced in the starting lineup by Avery...).

- He mentions the Danny Ainge call about being traded to Memphis and then the deal being off. Says it's the first time he learned of his trade directly and not in the media and he appreciated that.

- Another Rondo anecdote : after Rajon bumped referee Marc Davis on game 1 against Atlanta, Ray argued with KG and Paul who told Rondo to get straight to the bus and not mention the incident to reporters  ; Ray told him to go out there and apologize, because his suspension for one game was warranted but he didn't want to get one more. Rondo finally caved to Ray and Doc's point of views.

- Ray criticizes his teammates for not saluting the Heat after their game 7 victory. "In the final seconds, I reminded the guys to congratulate Miami and wish them well in the Finals against OKC. [...] "Screw these motherf****' one guy said and he was not the only player who felt that way. 'I'm not shaking anybody's hand'." He thinks they thus weren't different from the Pistons team of the '91 playoffs.

- Regarding his contract negotiation with Danny, he says Danny told him he couldn't offer any more than 12 millions for 2 years. Ray asked for assurance that he would get a bigger role in the offense, mentioning the end of possession shots by Rondo, and Danny promised to ask Doc about it. Danny came back saying : "Doc said nothing is going to change. The offense is going to go through Rondo and you need to be on board dwith it and win on this team's terms. If you're not, then you need to choose elsewhere."

- Ray then texted KG about the tough negotiations and saying he thought he wouldn't be back. KG said he was going to be all right ("they're going to take care of you") and Ray said it wasn't.

- He says his only regret is not calling Paul before the news became official but excuses himself by saying "things happen so fast when you're a free agent".

- Ray called a Boston "cable TV station in town" (during earlier years it seems) who had done a poll asking fans which player on the team should be traded (he was voted). "I called the head of the station to complain. 'Why are you doing this? My family is watching, they're very hurt by this".

- Ray apparently sometimes felt out of the gang in Boston because he refused some late night card cames or activities because of his family life with many children at home. He raves about his Miami colleagues for not taking offense about it while "it wasn't like that in Boston. If I chos to stay home and not go out to a club with everyone else, I wasn't one of them."

- Considers the Miami locker room "by far the best one" among all the ones he was in during his career.

- He thought of following LeBron to Cleveland but felt not wanted enough (see a pattern here?) by the Cavs management : "LeBron did his best to convince me and I think he probably got tired of trying. If only management valued me as much as he did ; the Cavs offered me next to nothing".

- The Rockets expressed interest for him that summer.

- Although he destroys Rondo in the well-known excerpts, he still mentions him in his long list of "some incredible teammates" at the end of the book.

Sorry for the looong post but I thought all these anecdotes were interesting and hopefully they will be to you!

Man I am only a few years younger than Ray and I couldn't possibly think of/remember 1/10th the grievances Ray lists out here from every aspect of my life combined. What a sensitive small man.

Re: Ray Allen - Book excerpts - merged thread
« Reply #78 on: April 26, 2018, 06:26:23 PM »

Offline footey

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I just finished reading Ray's book, although I'll admit I was less eager to read it once I knew how he badmouthed his former teammates.

Overall, it's an interesting book about the NBA and the process of going to the NCAA, working on your game, some locker room dynamics, his experience of racism, etc. We learn a lot about Ray's personality too and he definitely seems to be a "chip on his shoulder" guy : basically, from his childhood to his Boston days, he always felt disrespected by someone and that fueled him. He sounds borderline paranoid at some times and definitely holds grudges against a lot of people. And he talks very quickly, unfortunately, about his Boston days, spending way more time on his childhood and high school + college days.

He often sounds as whiny as he does in the excerpts shared on this thread, although he always tries to end up looking good after complaining (like "yeah this guy was rude to me but it didn't get to me [although it clearly did since he is mentioning it]" or "yeah I missed many shots but that's OK because I had prepared well that day so no regrets I just missed them"). He also makes Anthony Mason the scapegoat of Milwaukee's demise along with George Karl while saying "rest in peace" regarding Anthony, how ironic!), basically because the first one wanted all the shots and the second spent his time (according to Ray) trashing him to the press and his teammates.

The book includes interesting tidbits about his Boston days that weren't among the excerpts. In no particular order :

- Hours before draft night in 1996, Ray got a call from Red Auerbach who told him the Celtics would take him if he was still on the board with the #6 pick. He obviously wasn't.
 
- After being traded to the Celtics, and before KG was too, Danny Ainge asked Ray about his income on potential trades or players he would like to get.

- Ray thinks KG tried to play the veteran card with him : "I got the feeling that because he came in a year before I did it was important for him to make it clear to me that he was the veteran and I was the newcomer."

- He reveals KG expressed some doubts when the talks between Minnesota and Boston were heating up : "Man, I don't know how this is going to work [KG] said. I got to really step up my game." to which Ray replied : "You just do what you do and everything will be fine"

- He tells a funny anecdote between KG and Joakim Noah when Noah was still a rookie. After KG hit his typical fadeaway jumper on him, Noah said : "Hey, big fella, that was a nice move, you've got to teach me that". To which KG replied : "Get off my d***" (which made Ray laugh).

- Ray admits he played better against Western conference teams for some reason

- He also talks about, on the early days of the '08 team, about Doc getting on him to give the ball to KG on the block when he had an open three. But during the course of the season Doc finally told him to shoot it.

- He admits being frustrated even at that time of "not getting enough touches" especially when he was going through a tough stretch and wanted his rythm back. And Doc "calling plays constantly for Paul". "I wish, every once in a while, he would have said : 'We got to get Ray going'.

- Ray makes several mentions in which he criticizes Paul, which seems to be his most disliked Celtic teammate after Rondo (although not on the same level). For example, talking about the '08 Finals in LA, he says : "Going into game 3 at the Staples center, we were concerned. About the Lakers naturally but also about Paul. Being from Los Angeles, he would stay at his home instead of the hotel and might drift away from the team. This was no time for that. We had to make sacrifices, Doc said. We had to be one. Now more than ever."

- Later, he admits he felt disrespected in game 6 of the Chicago series in '09, the one where he went off for 51 points (and Boston hoping to end the series 4-2) with 29 seconds to go and the game tied at 101. "Doc drew up a play for Paul. In other circumstances, I would've had no problem with the call since Paul was a sensational one-on-one player. I had a problem this time. As hot as I was I was the most logical choice to take the shot. Paul, conversely, was struggling ; he would end up 5 of 13. [...] Whatever I was thinking I kept my mouth shut. [...] Paul missed and we lost in triple overtime. I'm not saying I would have made the shot. You can never say that. Only that I liked my chances."

- Ray also says he should have been wary of Rondo from the get-go : "In doing some research on [Rondo] I came upon an interview where he was asked if he was excited to be on the same team with Paul, KG and myself. Rondo's response was something to the effect of : 'they are going to have to get used to playing with me. Wow. In hindsight, it was probably something I should've paid more attention to, given how our relationship would fall apart, but at the time I thought it showed the kind of moxie you want to see in a young player, especially the point guard, who sets the tone."

- He admits he could have been better on defense and blames his former coaches "For many years I was so good offensively that none of my coaches took me to the task on the other side of the ball. I wish they had." and then promptly raves about himself : "Don't get me wrong, I wasn't a liability on defense. Far from it" (quoting his D on Iverson in the 2001 ECF as an exemple).

- He also raves about Doc's management of the team and the freedom he gave the vets, the fact that he didn't put too much practices and shootarounds between games.

- Great anecdote about James Posey, who played with the subs against the starters in practice, trolled the team with his ring (won with the '06 Heat), saying : "That's OK, y'all got no rings".

- Talking about the Celtics/Cavs series of '08, Ray criticizes Doc for responding to a question by reporters about his shooting slump ("What will you do to get Ray out of a slump?") with an answer he deemed hurtful ("Ray will figure it out, we're not worried about Ray"). Quote : "What got me angry was what Doc said. He was in effect agreeing with them. What he should've said was : 'Cleveland is taking Ray out of the offense, and we're doing everything we can to keep him involved. He doesn't need to score in this series'." Ray then says that Doc didn't appreciate Ray's answer about the lack of shots : 'That didn't please Doc, who had spoken to a former NBA coach he highly respected [Avery Johnson? Just speculating]. 'The coach read your comments' Doc told me 'and said I needed to tell you to stop talking to the newspapers, to keep the narrative on the team going forward.'

Ray definitely sounds petty about it (just like he does with George Karl's battle of words with
him in the press).

- He considers game 4 of the '08 NBA Finals as the most meaningful in his career and mentions how he defied expectations by taking Vujacic for a closing layup instead of a 3 (and how he kept telling him to "stop crying" during the series). 

- He admits holding out his threes when he was about to break the NBA record because he wanted to break it in Boston rather than on the road (in Charlotte). "I'm not proud to admit this but that night I made sure not to break the record. On several possessions, when I was open for a three, I took my sweet time, came in a couple of steps, and opted for a two instead. I attempted only two 3 pointers the entire game, nailing both, leaving me one back of Reggie."

- During his last season with Boston, Ray says he went to Doc to complain about his lack of shots and the fact Rondo (supposedly) snubbed him. Doc promised him more shots and told him to come off the bench so that he could play with Avery and replace Rondo (I think it ought to be checked because I remember Ray being benched and replaced in the starting lineup by Avery...).

- He mentions the Danny Ainge call about being traded to Memphis and then the deal being off. Says it's the first time he learned of his trade directly and not in the media and he appreciated that.

- Another Rondo anecdote : after Rajon bumped referee Marc Davis on game 1 against Atlanta, Ray argued with KG and Paul who told Rondo to get straight to the bus and not mention the incident to reporters  ; Ray told him to go out there and apologize, because his suspension for one game was warranted but he didn't want to get one more. Rondo finally caved to Ray and Doc's point of views.

- Ray criticizes his teammates for not saluting the Heat after their game 7 victory. "In the final seconds, I reminded the guys to congratulate Miami and wish them well in the Finals against OKC. [...] "Screw these motherf****' one guy said and he was not the only player who felt that way. 'I'm not shaking anybody's hand'." He thinks they thus weren't different from the Pistons team of the '91 playoffs.

- Regarding his contract negotiation with Danny, he says Danny told him he couldn't offer any more than 12 millions for 2 years. Ray asked for assurance that he would get a bigger role in the offense, mentioning the end of possession shots by Rondo, and Danny promised to ask Doc about it. Danny came back saying : "Doc said nothing is going to change. The offense is going to go through Rondo and you need to be on board dwith it and win on this team's terms. If you're not, then you need to choose elsewhere."

- Ray then texted KG about the tough negotiations and saying he thought he wouldn't be back. KG said he was going to be all right ("they're going to take care of you") and Ray said it wasn't.

- He says his only regret is not calling Paul before the news became official but excuses himself by saying "things happen so fast when you're a free agent".

- Ray called a Boston "cable TV station in town" (during earlier years it seems) who had done a poll asking fans which player on the team should be traded (he was voted). "I called the head of the station to complain. 'Why are you doing this? My family is watching, they're very hurt by this".

- Ray apparently sometimes felt out of the gang in Boston because he refused some late night card cames or activities because of his family life with many children at home. He raves about his Miami colleagues for not taking offense about it while "it wasn't like that in Boston. If I chos to stay home and not go out to a club with everyone else, I wasn't one of them."

- Considers the Miami locker room "by far the best one" among all the ones he was in during his career.

- He thought of following LeBron to Cleveland but felt not wanted enough (see a pattern here?) by the Cavs management : "LeBron did his best to convince me and I think he probably got tired of trying. If only management valued me as much as he did ; the Cavs offered me next to nothing".

- The Rockets expressed interest for him that summer.

- Although he destroys Rondo in the well-known excerpts, he still mentions him in his long list of "some incredible teammates" at the end of the book.

Sorry for the looong post but I thought all these anecdotes were interesting and hopefully they will be to you!

TP! Now I don't have to buy the book, you just summarized it!!

Re: Ray Allen - Book excerpts - merged thread
« Reply #79 on: April 26, 2018, 06:40:29 PM »

Offline apc

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Looks like he was keeping a diary his whole career.

Re: Ray Allen - Book excerpts - merged thread
« Reply #80 on: April 26, 2018, 07:00:59 PM »

Offline SHAQATTACK

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Diary of a mad man

Re: Ray Allen - Book excerpts - merged thread
« Reply #81 on: April 26, 2018, 07:10:46 PM »

Offline celticsclay

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Re: Ray Allen - Book excerpts - merged thread
« Reply #82 on: April 26, 2018, 07:11:17 PM »

Offline 2short

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Isn't ray obsessive compulsive by definition?  Workouts etc
If so he needs things his way and will have opinions that are really for his benefit no one else's

So long, farewell.  He should try to keep quiet.  I'd hate to put him on a certain level of C's former players

Re: Ray Allen - Book excerpts - merged thread
« Reply #83 on: April 27, 2018, 04:21:24 AM »

Offline Drucci

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Looks like he was keeping a diary his whole career.

I read in an interview that he actually got a first draft of his biography after his Milwaukee days but didn't publish it at the time (which is not surprising, considering he didn't have much to talk about at that time).

Re: Ray Allen - Book excerpts - merged thread
« Reply #84 on: April 27, 2018, 05:38:57 AM »

Offline Ogaju

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No fact check necessary on the Avery substitution Ray's account is consistent with Avery replacing him in the starting lineup and Ray coming off the bench for Rondo so He (Ray) would be paired with Avery and avoid playing with Rondo.

Re: Ray Allen - Book excerpts - merged thread
« Reply #85 on: April 27, 2018, 06:19:02 AM »

Offline TA9

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Thanks for the tidbits Drucci! TP!
Jack of all trades, master of none.

Re: Ray Allen - Book excerpts - merged thread
« Reply #86 on: April 27, 2018, 07:14:43 AM »

Offline Androslav

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Thanks for the tidbits Drucci! TP!
Good effort Drucci! TP!
"The joy of the balling under the rims."

Re: Ray Allen - Book excerpts - merged thread
« Reply #87 on: April 27, 2018, 07:22:39 AM »

Offline Who

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Thanks for the tidbits Drucci! TP!
Same here. Thanks very much. Much enjoyed. TP.

Re: Ray Allen - Book excerpts - merged thread
« Reply #88 on: April 27, 2018, 01:31:38 PM »

Offline Drucci

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No fact check necessary on the Avery substitution Ray's account is consistent with Avery replacing him in the starting lineup and Ray coming off the bench for Rondo so He (Ray) would be paired with Avery and avoid playing with Rondo.

You're right, I forgot about that !

Thanks for the tidbits Drucci! TP!
Same here. Thanks very much. Much enjoyed. TP.

Thanks guys, glad you liked it !

Re: Ray Allen - Book excerpts - merged thread
« Reply #89 on: April 27, 2018, 03:02:47 PM »

Offline Big333223

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- He tells a funny anecdote between KG and Joakim Noah when Noah was still a rookie. After KG hit his typical fadeaway jumper on him, Noah said : "Hey, big fella, that was a nice move, you've got to teach me that". To which KG replied : "Get off my d***" (which made Ray laugh).

TP for the whole thing but lol at this. Great.

Quote
- He admits being frustrated even at that time of "not getting enough touches" especially when he was going through a tough stretch and wanted his rythm back. And Doc "calling plays constantly for Paul". "I wish, every once in a while, he would have said : 'We got to get Ray going'.

This doesn't surprise me. I know its popular to hate Ray but the truth is that of the 3 stars that won together in '08 he sacrificed the most. A lot of fan don't remember or just don't know how complete of an offensive player he was in Milwaukee and Seattle. He wasn't just the spot up shooter he became in Boston (and then moreso Miami) but he took his limited role and helped the C's win a championship and did his best in losing efforts for a few more.

The book sounds whiny but I've got nothing but respect for him and how he carried himself as a ball player.
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