Tony Allen Joining the Memphis Grizzlies

In a surprise move Tony Allen will be moving on to join the Memphis Grizzlies becoming the first Celtics regular from last season to leave the team definitely, besides Rasheed assuming he officially retires. ESPNBoston.com reported that the deal will be worth $10 million over 3 years. While most people assumed Allen would be rejoining the Celtics apparently they decided he wasn’t worth the money or the years.

Personally I am not all that sorry to see the Celtics let him go. While Allen proved himself to be a capable wing defender at times, his offensive game was always severely lacking. Playing Allen and Rondo at the same time would provide an athletic and at times exciting lineup it also allowed the opposition to sag off the two and really make life miserable for Pierce or Allen whoever was the primary scorer on the floor.  Allen never developed a jump shot from anywhere on the perimeter let alone from the three point line. While he was clearly a hard worker during his time here I think that it was the right move by the Celtics to let Allen go. On this older version of the Celtics Pierce, Allen, and Garnett clearly need more help carrying the offensive load.

No longer can the three of them be counted on to dominate games like they did in the 07-08 season. The Celtics would be better served using the money they would have spent on Allen on a perimeter player who can be an asset on both sides of the floor, not just one. A player like Matt Barnes, who is a capable three point shooter as well as defender, could fill Allen’s role well and for similar money. Ronnie Brewer, a player recently let go by the Grizzlies for reasons only an idiot like Chris Wallace could rationalize, could be another possibility here. Specific players aside; if last season’s difficult end showed us anything as Celtics fans it is that as Allen, Pierce, and Garnett get older they need more help on the offensive end. Rondo is one of the best young players in the NBA but his jump shot and offensive game are still developing.

Rondo is a distributor first and a scorer a far second. To allow Rondo, Pierce, Allen, and Garnett to play at their best they need to have other capable scorers with them; like James Posey, Eddie House, and PJ Brown in the championship season of 2007-2008. While Tony Allen was a likeable player while here I think the Celtics made a smart decision to let him go and try to find a player who better fits that championship mold.