Ray Allen Thoughts

The Boston media has weighed in on the Ray Allen trade and there are no ringing endorsements. Dan "Shank" Shaughnessy went as far as calling the move a cave in to Paul Pierce. Shira Springer, Shank's Globe colleague, calls the move a "slight improvement" over last year. Tim Wesiberg, of the New Bedford Standard-Times, is one who likes the move. Out in Seattle, the move is not as popular. Jerry Brewer of the Seattle Times doesn't know what direction the Sonics are going now that they have drafted one scorer (Kevin Durant) but have traded another (Allen) and will probably lose another to free agency (Rashard Lewis). Brewer's fellow Times columnist, Steve Kelley, likes the move because it allows the Sonics to get value for Allen before he gets too old. Over at the Seattle Post-Intelligence, columnist Art Thiel calls the move dumb and calls out the team for not getting back Theo Ratliff's expiring contract, instead taking on Wally Szczerbiak. I'm still undecided. I do like the move -- in the Eastern Conference a trio of Pierce, Allen and Al Jefferson could make some actual noise -- but there are still some questions to be answered. For one, is Allen -- who turns 32 in less than a month and is coming off of surgery in April on both ankles -- healthy? We don't need him to be Jesus Shuttlesworth (or do we?) but the C's will be counting on him to score (he averaged a career best 26.4 ppg last year). Another dilemma is who is going to run this team. I am a big supporter of Rajon Rondo but with Delonte West now responsible for feeding Durant, who plays behind Rondo? Not Sebastian Telfair. Not Gabe Pruitt. Celtics ownership better be willing to let Danny Ainge go above budget if he must to find another point guard. Interior defense is another big question mark for the Green. Big Al is a rebounding machine and Kendrick Perkins is a hard working banger but that's all we have. Second round pick, Glen "Big Baby" Davis is a load and has potential but a team that just traded for Ray Allen can't wait on potential. They need some experience on the front line. The good thing is these questions can be answered. From what Ian Thomsen told me, Allen only had bone spurs -- no structural damage -- and should be just fine. And the search for the point guard and big man can be solved by ownership giving Ainge the green light to use the mid-level exception and by dangling Ratliff's contract on the trade market. I am supporting Ainge. He has made a move that isn't about making the C's relevant, it is about giving them a legitimate chance to win. (I apologize for not having links to the stories mentioned above. Hopefully the problem with be solved later. Bruce Allen's site, Boston Sports Media Watch (http://www.bostonsportsmedia.com), can link you to the Boston stories and checking in at SportsPages.com (http://www.sportspages.com) will allow you to read the Seattle stories.)