Ray Allen held a media conference call today from Waltham. His thoughts on the Decision (courtesy Scott Souza):
As for returning to Boston:Allen said the LeBron James saga, which ultimately saw him announce he was “bringing his talents to South Beach” during an hour-long ESPN spectacle last Thursday was the “biggest pain in the butt” of the free-agent process because teams were in a holding pattern until the fates of James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh settled.
“Put me on the phone and give me 15 seconds to say where I’m going,” he said of how he chose to handle his free agency.
Allen said he expects a “circus atmosphere” in Miami next year and that the Heat will be just one contender for Boston’s thrown in an Eastern Conference that was already better than most credited.
Family considerations weighed heavily on his choice to return. He said he “wanted to make sure this was right for my family.” He and his wife, Shannon, are very involved with the Joslin Diabetes Center – Ray is on the hospital’s board of directors – he brings his son, Walker, there for appointments every three months.
“We wanted to make sure he got the treatment that he needs,” Allen said. “I am sure if we had gone someplace else they would have had great hospitals and great doctors there too. But we didn’t want to uproot him with a new home, new nurses.”
Glad to have you back Ray.
