Speaking to reporters at the Dubai Creek Golf and Yacht Club on Wednesday, Ray Allen said he “definitely” still had the passion and ability to resume his basketball career, but added the caveat that family considerations would play heavily into whether he does so or not.
Allen is one of the part-time golf aficionados in Dubai this weekend for the Icons Cup tournament – a Ryder Cup style Americans v Rest of the World competition featuring teams of former athletes who counted among the best in their sports.
The 39-year-old sharp-shooter did not play in the NBA this year, sitting out the season following his Miami Heat's defeat in the 2014 NBA Finals and LeBron James's subsequent departure to the Cleveland Cavaliers.
He left open the possibility of returning to the game next season, but said that he would be reluctant to upend his family’s current living situation in Miami and, ultimately, that he would not arrive at any definitive choice untli the summer.
“The passion, the ability, all those things are still intact,” said the two-time NBA champion and all-time leading three-point shooter. “But unfortunately – I think those things are great – but I’ve played for 18 years and I’ve had pretty good success, so I do think about other things.
“I have five children so sometimes as I’ve gotten older it’s harder to leave home. Even coming here my kids are like ‘how long are you going, when are you coming back?’ So all those things I take into account because if I do decide to play again, we live in Miami currently, that could require me to move again and move my children again. I do have to think about other things other than what I want for myself. I think about my family’s perspective as well.”
Allen indicated that, at the very least, the season away had given his body the chance to get back to where he felt comfortable playing basketball at an elite level.
“The beautiful thing is my body is able to get back to a place where I remember it, because for the last three or four years it’s just so hampered. You end up getting hopped up on anti-inflammatory, just to get the swelling down.
“So it’s starting to get back to normal and so we’ll see how I feel in a couple months.”
He said he was relaxed about the possible decision, as well.
“When you’re a free agent you’re under some type of time crunch. In this situation for me, I’m not worried about any timeline that may be imposed by a team.
“If they want to sign me or another player – like this year I told them, ‘If you want to sign somebody else you need to do that, because I’m not gauranteed to decide to be with you if that’s the case’.”
Asked about this year’s play-offs, which started last weekend, Allen declined to call the Golden State Warriors the odds-on favourites, but said they were among his group of teams with a title shot.
“Right now it’s interesting because the parity out West, you know San Antonio had the two seed the last day of the season and went all the way down to the sixth seed. So at the two seed you say they look strong, and then they lose their first game to the Clippers. Anything can happen.
“I think Golden State is definitely in the top five, San Antonio definitely is in the top five because they’re proven and they know how to win when it’s time to win. And then you have to throw Cleveland and Atlanta in there as well.”
With the Icons Cup tournament starting on Thursday, Allen – who will feature on a team with the ex-baseball stars Ken Griffey Jr and Greg Maddux, the ex-American football running backs Eric Dickerson and Marcus Allen, the boxer Oscar De La Hoya and the surfer Kelly Slater, among others – said his handicap was around 1 and that he admired and tried to borrow elements from the games of golfers like Tiger Woods and Rickie Fowler.
Of Dubai, he said:
“It’s hard not to appreciate where you are. You have to take measures, look around and say, ‘Wow, I’m in Dubai right now playing golf.’
“To anybody I know, anybody that is a friend of mine, that is something I couldn’t have fathomed growing up, or even a year ago. So I’m ecstatic to be here.”
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