NBA
NBA Rumors: Allen Waiting Until Midseason to Sign?
Jeff Hawkins is an award-winning sportswriter with more than four decades in the industry (print and digital media). A freelance writer/stay-at-home dad since 2008, Hawkins started his career with newspaper stints in Michigan, North Carolina, Florida, Upstate New York and Illinois, where he earned the 2004 APSE first-place award for column writing (under 40,000 circulation). As a beat writer, he covered NASCAR Winston Cup events at NHIS (1999-2003), the NHL's Chicago Blackhawks (2003-06) and the NFL's Carolina Panthers (2011-12). Hawkins penned four youth sports books, including a Michael Jordan biography. Hawkins' main hobbies include mountain bike riding, 5k trail runs at the Whitewater Center in Charlotte, N.C., and live music.
All posts by Jeff HawkinsUpdated16 Oct 2023
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“Ray can really help [Cleveland], but I anticipate that Ray will wait and see the landscape of the NBA,” Ainge, the Boston Celtics’ president of basketball operations, said during his weekly call-in to 98.5 the Sports Hub. “I just think he might wait and see how everybody’s clicking. There’s a handful of teams that would love to have Ray on their team right now that are trying to win a championship.”
“He may wait until All-Star break or January,” Ainge said. “And just see what teams are playing well, which teams are the healthiest and which team that he thinks that he might fit in, just in the style of play. With new coaches at some different places, he may just want to see how it unfolds before he makes a decision.”
“The rules sort of indicate that’s what you can do,” Ainge said. “Ray’s probably, if he goes to one of the contending teams he’ll be making minimum salary. He’s been a max player a couple times in his career. That’s his right, to try and win a championship. It’s just the way the collective bargaining agreement is structured. It’s different than how it was structured back in the ’80s and ’90s. I don’t blame a player like Ray, right now, for wanting to find a perfect fit for him as he finishes his career.”
There have been plenty of Ray Allen rumors throughout this offseason, but his camp has been quick to shoot down just about every report. In fact, they have said that Allen hasn’t even decided if he’s going to play during the 2014-15 season.
While many fans feel that Allen signing with the Cavaliers is inevitable, Danny Ainge brought up an excellent point here. Rather than signing now or in a few weeks, the 35-year-old might wait several months to see which teams are atop the standings and playing well to ensure that he’s joining a contender in what will likely be his final NBA season.
Winning a ring is clearly what is most important to Allen at this point, so this would be a smart strategy. It would also preserve his body for the second half of the season and the playoffs, rather than running himself into the ground during training camp and early-season games.
It’s possible that Allen could still end up joining the Cavaliers because they are one of several teams showing interest in him, along with the San Antonio Spurs, Oklahoma City Thunder and Chicago Bulls among others. However, rather than joining one of these teams now and hoping they can stay healthy and live up to their championship expectations, it makes more sense for the future Hall of Famer to watch from home and then join a top-tier team several months from now when he can better predict which team is poised for a title run.
Teams can add free agents until the final day of the regular season, so Allen has plenty of time to sign. If Allen does suit up this year, it would be his 19th season in the NBA.
Wizards guard Bradley Beal underwent an MRI exam today that revealed a non-displaced fracture of the scaphoid bone in his left (non-shooting) wrist that will require surgery.
The injury occurred during the first quarter of Washington’s preseason game against Charlotte in Greenville, SC, on October 10.
A timeline for Beal’s recovery will be announced following his surgery.
via Washington Wizards press release
Before the Wizards officially announced that Bradley Beal would be undergoing surgery, David Aldridge of NBA.com reported the severity of the injury and said that Beal was expected to miss six-to-eight weeks as he recovers.
This is obviously a huge blow to the Wizards, who were expected to be one of the better teams in the Eastern Conference this season, mainly due to the strong play of their backcourt.
It remains to be seen how Washington will replace Beal while he’s sidelined. Martell Webster is also injured, so it’s possible that camp invite Xavier Silas makes the teams and joins the team’s rotation. He played very well in the Wizards’ last preseason game against the Charlotte Hornets, contributing 16 points and four rebounds, while hitting 4-of-7 three-pointers, in just 16 minutes.
The Wizards liked Silas a lot last year when he attended camp with them, but they didn’t have an open roster spot at the time. The team’s coaches kept in contact with Silas throughout the season and now he’s back in camp with them and seems to have a great shot at making the team. He spoke to Basketball Insiders recently and talked about making the most of this opportunity from the Wizards.
It’s also possible that Washington signs a free agent to replace some of Beal’s production.
This is an unfortunate setback for Beal, who played very well last season, particularly in the playoffs when he averaged 19.2 points, five rebounds, 4.5 assists and 1.6 steals. Now, he won’t be able to pick up where he left off until about two months into the season.
Warriors general manager Bob Myers still won’t comment on the negotiations, but said Thompson’s hot start was expected.
“He’s been a rock in three years,” Myers said Friday after practice. “We’re not surprised by his continued development. It’s nice to see.
“We love him. We think he’ll be with us a long time.”
Bob Myers is currently in negotiations with Klay Thompson’s representatives about a contract extension, but he’s not hiding his excitement and praise for his star shooting guard.
The two sides have until Oct. 31 to reach an extension, otherwise Thompson will become a restricted free agent next summer.
Either way, it sounds like Thompson is going to be with the Warriors long-term. It seems that the team will either extend him or match any offer sheet that he receives next summer. Remember, the Warriors reportedly held Thompson out of the Kevin Love trade talks with the Minnesota Timberwolves, which shows just how much they value their two-guard.
With Stephen Curry and Thompson, the Warriors have arguably the best backcourt in the NBA and one of the top shooting one-two punches of all-time. Curry is locked up through the 2016-17 season and it seems like they’ll do anything they can to make sure Thompson remains with the team for the long run as well.
