AKRON, Ohio – For the Cavaliers and the NBA, the Ray Allen Watch continues.
Keep in mind Allen is 39-years old.
Keep in mind Allen has yet to decide whether he’ll continue to play — or just retire.
And keep in mind training camp begins Saturday for the Cavs (and several others).
So, urgency on the part of Allen? Well, when you’re 39 and have trudged through something like 18 training camps, it probably doesn’t hurt to hold off.
All we know about Allen is the Cavs would love to have him join their outfit. He’s not the Ray Allen of old, but despite his age, no one in Cleveland considers him just an old Ray Allen, either.
He has won championships, both in Boston and with LeBron James in Miami. He can hit big shots and still has great range on his jumper. He’s a veteran, a big name, a future Hall of Famer.
Those reasons and more are why the Cavs (and reportedly Chicago and Washington) are making a play for the 6-foot-5 shooting guard.
“Until he signs, that’s going to be a target for everybody,” general manager David Griffin said Monday from the Cavs’ annual golf outing at Firestone Country Club.
Griffin then went into greater detail about why Allen remains on the Cavs’ radar.
“Ray is someone who fits us as a shooter,” he said. “His championship pedigree fits us at a really high level. With James (Jones), Mike (Miller) and LeBron here, I think he’d feel comfortable with our group. At the same time, it’s possible he’s not sure he wants to keep playing. He’s in no hurry to make a decision. We’ll play that out as far as we can.”
Allen’s scoring has decreased in each of the past four seasons, as he averaged a career-low 9.6 points per game last season with the Heat. But he still managed 26.5 minutes in 73 games, and remained a major perimeter threat in every last one of them.
As Griffin noted, that type of marksmanship and winning edge are why contenders want Allen in their locker room and coming off their bench.
Allen has said he’d determine his future and make it known in September. With the end of the month nearing, he may have miscalculated.
“I wouldn’t assume anything,” said Jones, who is close with Allen from their Heat days and admittedly speaks to Allen regularly.
Either way, the Cavs are clearly willing to just keep waiting and watching.
Camp roster set
Griffin said with 20 players on the roster, the Cavs are likely full for training camp.
Along with those under contract, or at least something resembling a real contract, the Cavs have extended invitations to center/forward Lou Amundson and guards Chris Crawford and A.J. Price.
All appear to be long shots to make the team — although Amundson could stick as an end-of-the-bench guy, given his size (6-9) and reputation for working hard in practice.
As it stands, the Cavs’ camp roster (unofficially) looks like this:
Centers – Anderson Varejao, Brendan Haywood, Dwight Powell, Alex Kirk;
Forwards — LeBron James, Kevin Love, Tristan Thompson, Shawn Marion, Erik Murphy, Malcolm Thomas, Lou Amundson;
Guards – Kyrie Irving, Dion Waiters, Matthew Dellavedova, Mike Miller, James Jones, Joe Harris, John Lucas III, Chris Crawford, A.J. Price.
“I think the group we have for camp is what we are going to have,” Griffin said. “We are really excited about where we sit in terms of the roster and think we have some really good complementary pieces to the bigger stars as well.”