Ray Allen to sit this season out
Ray Allen announced Wednesday that he will not play this season but stopped short of declaring himself retired, saying he will reassess his options next season.
"Over the past several months, I have taken a lot of time to deliberate what is best for me," Allen said in a statement released by his agent. "I've ultimately decided that I will not play this NBA season. I'm going to take the remainder of this season, as well as the upcoming off-season, to reassess my situation, spend time with my family and determine if I will play in the 2015-16 season."
At the conclusion of the 2014 NBA Finals, Allen made it clear he felt content and was unsure he would play again. However, numerous teams made contract offers and tracked him for months, in some cases leaving roster spots open for when he indicated he was ready to play again.
Allen continued to work out at his home in Miami, and at certain points in the season, teams courting him felt confident he would rejoin the league for a 19th season. The Cleveland Cavaliers, who have three of Allen's former Miami Heat teammates including LeBron James, were especially hopeful they could get Allen to sign. James met with Allen in January as he was rehabbing injuries in South Florida.
But while Allen kept the door open, teams started moving on around the trade deadline as it started to appear that Allen was going to sit the season out after he didn't make a commitment following the All-Star break. He made it official in a release from his agency, Tandem.
"Ray has received enormous interest from a number of NBA teams throughout this season," his agent Jim Tanner said in the statement. "We will communicate with interested teams as Ray makes a decision for the 2015-16 season."
Allen, who will turn 40 in July, is the NBA's all-time leader in 3-pointers made in both the regular and postseasons. He finished last season strongly for the Heat, averaging 9.3 points and shooting 39 percent from 3-point range during 20 playoff games. In his career, he averaged 18.9 points and made 2,973 3-pointers while winning two championships.
On Tuesday, James passed Allen for No. 21 on the NBA's all-time scoring list, a feat that James described as "humbling" because of the pair's close relationship.
Cavs coach David Blatt addressed Allen's decision to sit out the season prior to Cleveland's game in Toronto on Wednesday.
"We were concerned with the task at hand and Ray was going through his own process of deciding what he wanted to do and I sort of never really tried to look at it at something that was a definitive option," Blatt said. "Because it really wasn't ever clear if he was going to play at all. So no (it's not disappointing), but I certainly respect the man's right to make the kind of decision that's best for him and his family when and if he makes it."
ESPN's Dave McMenamin contributed to this report.
