With preseason games just around the corner, and the start of the regular season a month away, Boston Celtics guard Ray Allen has been getting himself in shape for another run at the NBA Championship — when not leaving shoes throughout the Commonwealth, of course.
Allen, playing in the final year of a contract that will pay him $19.7 million this season, said that he has not entered negotiations with the Celtics on a potential extension.
“We haven’t talked about an extension,” Allen said. “Now we’re in a time where we can’t do that, but right now the focus is to win a championship this year. I want people to know that’s what my focus is.”
Allen has made good money during his 14-year NBA career, but won his first championship with the Celtics in 2007-2008. For Allen, the fact that he is in a contract year does not make him any different than his teammates who are working toward the goal of winning a second NBA Title in three years.
“Whether it gets done throughout the year or going into the summer next year, (winning a championship) is the focus,” Allen said. “I don’t want to cheat myself of having that opportunity — I don’t want to cheat anybody on this team or any of the fans in Boston — because that’s what everybody’s focus on our team needs to be is to win the championship.”
Allen averaged 18.2 points-per-game during the 2008-2009 season. The team’s championship hopes were derailed by a season-ending knee injury to Kevin Garnett. And though the new “Big Three” is a year older, the addition of Rasheed Wallace should help bolster a Celtics team that is a favorite in 2009-2010.
“I think we are the team to beat, but we have to prove it,” Allen said, noting that the Celtics look good on paper. “We have to go out there and put that down on the floor.”
And the nine-time NBA All-Star realizes that part of translating a good lineup into a winning season is focus — even in a contract year.
“I’ve been in contract years before and I feel blessed to be able to play the game, I feel blessed to be able to compete at this level and even blessed to be here in Boston,” Allen said. “This has been the best sports town that I’ve ever played in.”
