The NBA free agent market is dry apart from Ray Allen and he is getting chased as a target by the Cleveland Cavaliers, Chicago Bulls, LA Clippers, San Antonio Spurs and Washington Wizards and this comes as LeBron James has tried to recruit the veteran shooter to come to the Cavs to try and win a championship with him again.
Allen has made it clear now that he is not retiring and while he has not picked a team yet, he has plenty of options. According to ESPN.com, Allen has said that he wants to play for a contender to try and win a title and that narrows things a little bit. The Wizards are an interesting team in the east, but they are not championship caliber and likely will not get Allen, especially with Paul Pierce there. The Bulls threw their hat in the ring after the Cavaliers started things off and the Cavs are still considered to be the favorites to sign him.
Allen comes off of another solid season with Miami and he still has one of the best long range shots in the NBA. Allen played for multiple years with James and has a good rapport with him and Mike Miller, which is one reason why many think the Cavs are the favorites to get him. Allen wants to win and while he can do that with the Spurs and Clippers, the Cavs appear to be the best chance to add another title. The team has already signed a number of free agent vets, including Miller, James Jones and Shawn Marion, meaning Allen would fit right in.
The Bulls are a true option for Allen as well, as they have not been a great three point shooting team over the past couple seasons. The team has Doug McDermott now, but adding a player like Allen could be huge for the team and that would come after they signed Pau Gasol this offseason. The Bulls have high expectations for this season and much of that rests with Derrick Rose and whether or not he will be healthy. The team should be in the mix with the Cavs in the division and could be the team at the end in the east finals.
The Cavaliers have the best chance to go far, as they now have Kevin Love to join LeBron and Kyrie Irving. Allen could be a perfect addition to the team as a bench option for late in games and while the team already has a sharpshooter like Mike Miller, Allen has shown that no own hits the three better than him. James is recruiting him hard to come to Cleveland and that will be very tough for him to turn down once that gets going. Training camps have started up and Ray Allen should be making a decision soon.
The east is going to be tough this season and the Bulls and Cavaliers are the teams to watch. The teams battled for Kevin Love and the Cavs won and now both are looking into Ray Allen and it will be interesting to see if he picks one of these teams to sign with.
