When Ray Allen decided that he wanted to leave the Celtics for the Heat last month—despite the fact that the Celtics offered him more money—a lot of people said it was because Allen didn't get along with Rajon Rondo. And, according to Celtics coach Doc Rivers, that's correct—to a degree. But, while Allen and Rondo weren't best buddies, he says that he is the one who deserves the blame for driving Allen out of Boston, not Rondo.
"People can use all the Rondo stuff," he said recently, "and it was there, no doubt about that. But, it was me more than Rondo. I'm the guy who gave Rondo the ball. I'm the guy who decided that Rondo needed to be more of the leader of the team. That doesn't mean guys liked that—and Ray did not love that—because Rondo now had the ball all the time…That's what I wanted Rondo to do, and that's what Rondo should've done. Because that's Rondo's ability. He's the best passer in the league. He has the best feel in the league. He's not a great shooter, so he needs the ball in his hands to be effective. And that bothered Ray."
It bothered him so much that he left the team for one of the Celtics' current rivals. And now, we know exactly why.
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[via Eye On Basketball]
