Jun 5, 2014; San Antonio, TX, USA; Miami Heat guard Ray Allen (34) shoots the ball against San Antonio Spurs forward Tim Duncan (21) and guard Danny Green (4) during the fourth quarter in game one of the 2014 NBA Finals at AT&T Center. Mandatory Credit: Soobum Im-USA TODAY Sports
Welcome back Pippen Peoples to another episode of Chicago Bulls Rumors! Chicago Bulls rumors is the fastest growing franchise on Pippen Ain’t Easy, your best choice for Chicago Bulls news, previews and reviews. If you are new to Pippen Ain’t Easy, I will let you in on a secret. Chicago Bulls rumors are a dime a dozen. There are probably 56,365 Chicago Bulls rumors in a month. We here at Pippen Ain’t Easy try to figure out two things. One, is the rumor worth even listening to. Two, will the player be a good fit for the Chicago Bulls.
The star of this episode of Chicago Bulls Rumors is…
Ray Allen.
Boy! It has been a long time since that draft night trade between the Milwaukee Bucks and the Minnesota Timberwolves that sent Stephon Marbury to Minnesota and Ray Allen to Milwaukee. That was nearly 20 years ago. Now Marbury is overseas in China and Ray Allen is fielding offers from numerous NBA teams for his epic 19th NBA season.
The two-time NBA champion has fielded offers from the Cleveland Cavaliers, Los Angeles Clippers and the San Antonio Spurs. It baffles me that so many teams legitimately are looking for this 39-year-old to do what he does best, knock down shots.
Well guess who joined the race to acquire Ray Allen and get their name in the paper.
The Chicago Bulls have reportedly have bought a ticket for the Ray Allen sweepstakes looking to fill a glaring need for a wing shooter that can consistently knock down shots in pressure situations.
According to Sam Smith of Bulls.com as well as a lot of other writers, Ray Allen would make a lot of sense on the Bulls roster. Listen any team that can get a guy like Ray Allen who I would pay to watch run shooting drills for two hours makes sense. But there’s a problem here.
1) The man ain’t coming.
2) He’s not going to fit.
3) Ray Allen may still retire. Remember the man might not want to go through another training camp. Ray-Ray is almost 40 years old you know. Does anyone think that Tom Thibodeau is going to give Ray Allen an extra five minutes at the water cooler?
Before everyone goes into a hissy fit over my opinion, stop and think for a minute of the teams that I have mentioned previously.
Jun 5, 2014; San Antonio, TX, USA; Miami Heat forward LeBron James (6) enters the stadium before game one of the 2014 NBA Finals against the San Antonio Spurs at AT&T Center. Mandatory Credit: Soobum Im-USA TODAY Sports
Cleveland Cavaliers
The Cleveland Cavaliers already have the backing of Las Vegas and lot of fans being crowned the 2014-15 NBA Finals champs. If a player was going into their last season of their career, it’s a safe bet that they would prefer going out on top holding the Larry O’Brien trophy. Cleveland does offer Allen the best chance of doing so coming out of the Eastern Conference. Plus when the “Fresh Prince of Cleveland” LeBron James actually want you to come and play with him, it does wonders for the ego.
Jun 18, 2014; San Antonio, TX, USA; San Antonio Spurs guard Manu Ginobili (right) speaks as teammates Tony Parker (left) and Tim Duncan (center) listen during NBA championship celebrations at Alamodome. Mandatory Credit: Soobum Im-USA TODAY Sports
San Antonio Spurs
Let’s get some things out-of-the-way real quick. First and foremost, the Spurs are the reigning World Champions. Ray Allen would know that considering he watched the dismantling first hand on the Miami Heat bench. Second, the Spurs can offer more money than the other teams. Third, San Antonio is a veteran player’s dream. Gregg Popovich is not going to overwork his players. Ask Tony Parker, Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobli. I mentioned this scenario with Cleveland and I’m going to say it again. If a player was going into their last season of their career, it’s a safe bet that they want to go out on top holding the Larry O’Brien trophy. San Antonio offers Allen the best chance of doing so coming out of the Western Conference…with a few more million dollars.
Los Angeles Clippers
Long shot here. Sure Ray Allen will be connected to the Clippers as long as Doc Rivers is coaching. They did win a title in Boston. But did Paul Pierce sign there? No? I don’t think Ray Allen will either. The depth at guard in L.A. is real deep. I’m going out on a limb saying that Allen will want to play a couple of games a week. He won’t in “Lob City”.
Which leaves Chicago.
Can the Chicago Bulls use Ray Allen? Of course! The Bulls need depth at the off guard position and someone who can spell “jump shot”. Ray Allen can do both. He can be very effective as an outlet when Derrick Rose drives the lane into the teeth of the defense providing spacing for the offense.
If the Bulls are looking for championship pedigree, this is the guy for you. LeBron James is still thanking Allen for bailing him out a couple of years back when he knocked down that epic three-point shot in Game six of the NBA Finals to send it to overtime snatching the title from the San Antonio Spurs. Ray Allen is a professional shooter that the Chicago Bulls can use.
However…
The Bulls at this point do not need Ray Allen on the roster. Where are you going to put him? At this point of his career, he doesn’t play enough defense to keep Tom Thibodeau satisfied. With that in mind he is not going to get Jimmy Butler’s minutes. I think all of the Pippen Peoples family knows that Thibodeau’s first, second and third priority is defense and Ray Allen can’t provide that this late in his career.
Another issue with bringing Ray Allen in to the fold is the stunting of the growth of Tony Snell and Doug McDermott. Both of these guys had very good summer leagues. They need time to develop. The Chicago Bulls need to continue to build on the momentum of these two young players for the future instead of trying to fit in a player that will be around for only one year. Ray Allen is not a guy that is going to come in and mentor young players while sitting on the bench collecting DNP-CDs on a weekly basis.
Remember what happened in Boston when Danny Ainge wanted to go with the youth movement starting Avery Bradley? Allen left for Miami for LESS money because he felt disrespected. Do you really want to take that chance messing up chemistry that has to be built quickly for a title run? Umm, no. Ray Allen is a guy that wants to know that he is wanted and needed, Cleveland right now is doing that better than any other team at this point.
Finally, think about it Pippen Peoples. How many players have used the Chicago Bulls to parlay themselves into a sweeter deal elsewhere. Pippen Ain’t Easy has gone into detail on the players that have done this. This along with all of the other Chicago Bulls rumors might not turn out to be any different.
Well Pippen Peoples, that concludes another episode of Chicago Bulls rumors. I am your host Pippen Ain’t Easy Editor, Ronald Agers. For more information and analysis on all things Chicago Bulls leading to the NBA season, keep it locked to Pippen Ain’t Easy, your best choice for Chicago Bulls news, previews and reviews. Leave your comments and let your voices be heard.
Like us on Facebook: Pippen Ain’t Easy and follow us on Twitter: @BullsBeatBlog.