The NBA’s all time leading 3 point shooter has decided to take a significant paycut to join the defending champion Miami Heat. With LeBron James leading the charge, Miami made Allen their number 1 offseason priority. The deal will be worth 3 years at the mini-mid level exception ($3.1 million a year). The Celtics’ offer was last reported to be around 2 years, $12 million. That represents almost a 50% paycut annually, and $3 million less over the course of the deal.
Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports tweeted that Allen’s deteriorating relationship with the Celtics (and most notably with point guard Rajon Rondo) played a part in his decision. He was upset with the near-trade to the Memphis Grizzlies at last year’s trade deadline, and how they handled his starting role being given to Avery Bradley. Celtics coach Doc Rivers attempted to mend these issues, but the combination of his issues with Boston and the appeal of Miami (“rings, sun and golf”) were enough to convince him to head to South Beach.
For the Heat, they add the NBA’s most effective 3 point marksman of all time, which should only help free up more space inside for LeBron and Wade. For Boston, while this is a big loss, the Jason Terry signing from a few days ago should help lessen the impact.
