Former Boston Celtic Ray Allen knows what it’s like to sacrifice to win it all after a career doing things his way, and while Celtics fans may not want to hear what he has to say after his infamous exit from the franchise in the summer of 2012, frequent Boston trade suggestion James Harden might want to heed his words.
Speaking in a recent interview with Sports Illustrated’s Howard Beck, the UConn legend was candid about how he had to adapt his game to ascend to the level of an NBA champion after being traded to the Celtics in 2007.
James Harden adds Celtics to preferred teams, but do they want him back? https://t.co/j4YXJrIR5k
— The Celtics Wire (@TheCelticsWire) December 24, 2020
“It was extremely frustrating,” shared Allen, “because I had to readjust to how I thought about offense, and how much about my offense, to play the game.”
Long the big dog on whatever team he’d played on in the past since joining the Huskies in his NCAA days, he now had to learn how to mesh with Paul Pierce and especially Kevin Garnett.
Contrast this to the situation of the disaffected Rocket superstar, who has had everything built around him since outgrowing the Oklahoma City Thunder’s misguided budget — yet to make his way even to the NBA Finals, never mind hanging a banner.
Celtics announce Jack’s Abby to carry ‘Pride and Parquet’ beer year-round https://t.co/24kouDawOM
— The Celtics Wire (@TheCelticsWire) January 5, 2021
Regardless of whether you’d want to see the foul-drawing savant in green in white, Allen may have a thing or to tell Harden about maximizing the time he has left as a high-level player.
“There’s a point where you have to be real with yourself and ask yourself, ‘What do I need to do to move to the next level?’ A lot of guys say they will make those changes and adjustments. But it’s a difficult, difficult process, and you have to make a huge sacrifice.”
“I believe he’s capable of doing it,” Allen said. “You got to ask yourself: What do you truly want?”
