Ray Allen has signed with the Cleveland Cavaliers after being the top NBA free agent player left on the market it comes after teams like the Chicago Bulls, Clippers, Miami Heat and San Antonio Spurs were all in the running to sign him and after LeBron James had been trying to recruit the veteran to the Cavs this offseason as he tries to win another championship.
According to ESPN.com, the Cavaliers and Ray Allen have mayyybe agreed on a contract. (UPDATE again: reports are conflicting, he may or may not sign with Cavs) The Cavaliers and the Bulls have been the frontrunners for Allen and now as the preseason picks up, he could choose a team soon. The Cavs appeared to be the top team in the race for a while, but then the Bulls started going after Allen and while the Clips and Spurs have fallen off for now, there is a chance he could go there as well. James has been trying his best to recruit Allen and what he has going for him and the Cavs is that they are currently the favorites in the east to win a championship, which is what Allen is looking to do.
The Cavaliers have signed a number of veterans already with Mike Miller and James Jones coming in and that would make Allen an easy fit. The team also added Shawn Marion and they have a talented roster of young players like Dion Waiters and Tristan Thompson that would benefit from his experience. The Cavs have Kyrie Irving, Kevin Love and LeBron leading the way and while they still will be favorites with or without Allen in the mix, adding him would be a smart move for the team.
Allen is obviously not the player he once was, but he averaged nearly 10 points last season with Miami and while he would have less of a role with Cleveland, he still could be very important. Late game shooting is a skill that never will go out of demand and with the way Allen can still hit long range shots, he has a job if he wants one. There were rumors this summer that Allen would be retiring, but he came out to refute that. Allen confirmed that he would be playing this season, but so far he has not signed.
The Bulls were one of the worst three point shooting teams in the league over the past couple years and adding Doug McDermott helps and bringing in Allen would help even more. The Bulls and Cavaliers appear to be the favorites right now in the east and they are battling for that, they battled for Kevin Love and now they may have a battle to get Ray Allen. A betting man likely would pick the Cavs because of the LeBron connection, but Allen could surprise and pick the Bulls over Cleveland.
Last season Allen played in 73 games in the regular season and averaged 9.6 points and shot over 37 percent from three point range. In the playoffs he played in 20 games and averaged about the same amount of points and was up at 38 percent from three. Allen played in 26 minutes per game last season and while he likely would play less now if he signs in Cleveland, he could be a key cog in a championship machine. LeBron is thinking about a championship and if Allen signs he would be in position to play for another one in Cleveland with James.