NBA Rumors: Ray Allen’s Reps Have Contacted Multiple Teams About Potential NBA Return

The all-time leader in three-point field goals made, and one of the greatest shooters in NBA history, is considering a return to the league, as ESPN‘s Chris Broussard is reporting that Ray Allen’s reps have contacted the Golden State Warriors, Cleveland Cavaliers, San Antonio Spurs, and Los Angeles Clippers about a potential comeback for the 40-year-old Allen.

Ray Allen is reportedly interested in making a comeback… perhaps with the #Warriors. #NBA https://t.co/trVVaGmBQ9

— FOX Sports (@FOXSports) July 6, 2016

Ray last played during the 2013-14 season with the Miami Heat and LeBron James, who is coincidentally now a member of the Cavaliers. Allen averaged a career-low 9.6 points during that season and decided to hang it up following the Heat’s loss to the San Antonio Spurs in the NBA Finals.

It makes perfect sense that Ray would only be interested in joining teams that have a shot to win an NBA title in 2016-17. At this point in his career, going through the grind of an 82-game season plus another potential 20 games in the playoffs wouldn’t be worth it without the possibility of Allen hoisting a trophy at the end of it.

Let’s take a look at Ray’s potential fit with every one of the team’s mentioned above.

The Los Angeles Clippers are coming off of a season in which the team went 53-29 despite battling multiple injuries all season long. Chris Paul, Blake Griffin, and DeAndre Jordan are a solid core, but the Clippers have been sorely missing help from the rest of the roster not named Jamal Crawford over recent years. Adding Ray Allen would give the team a big threat off the bench on the perimeter.

The San Antonio Spurs are in the midst of a changing of the guard, as Tim Duncan is expected to retire this offseason and Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili don’t have many years left in them. With the window closing quickly on this team, adding a player like Allen would allow the Spurs to make one more run at a championship with Parker and Ginobili still on the roster.

The Cleveland Cavaliers are coming off of the organization’s first-ever NBA title, and Ray would have the opportunity to join forces with LeBron once again. Joining the Cavaliers would also give Allen a near guarantee of at least reaching the NBA Finals as the Eastern Conference doesn’t possess any one team that is capable of upending the Cavaliers short of an injury to James.

Allen would provide the Cavaliers with some much-needed bench scoring, but it’s also entirely possible that Ray could end up being the starter at shooting guard after J.R. Smith made the decision to opt-out and become a free agent following the season. The Cavaliers are way over the salary cap and already have a hefty luxury tax to pay which would make signing Allen on the cheap a wise move for general manager David Griffin.

Ray Allen reportedly mulling return; His representatives reached out to Cavs and Warriors https://t.co/k034yoHdYl pic.twitter.com/KPLujxRwSL

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) July 6, 2016

Finally, the Golden State Warriors who nearly won their second straight NBA title this past season before letting a 3-1 series lead against the Cavaliers slip through their grasp. The Warriors went out and won the Kevin Durant sweepstakes which makes money a little tight and forces general manager Bob Myers to look for cheap solutions, like Ray Allen, to fill out the rest of the roster.

Myers has already done a masterful job of adding Zaza Pachulia to start at center and grabbed David West who’s desperate for a ring. Adding Allen would give the best shooting team in the NBA another knock-down shooter off the bench while also providing Ray with probably his best chance of winning one more ring before riding off in the sunset for good.

Based on the landscape of the NBA, Allen’s safest choice to reach the NBA Finals would be to go with the Cleveland Cavaliers, but Ray’s best chance to win a championship would be to join the Golden State Warriors. It’ll be interesting to see if Ray Allen ultimately decides to make a comeback, and which team Allen would choose if he does.

[Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images]