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Ex-Celtic Allen Signs Deal With The Miami Heat

From left: Miami Heat president Pat Riley, Ray Allen and head coach Erik Spoelstra hold up Allen's jersey after the former Celtic signed a contract with the Heat Wednesday. (AP)
From left: Miami Heat president Pat Riley, Ray Allen and head coach Erik Spoelstra hold up Allen's jersey after the former Celtic signed a contract with the Heat Wednesday. (AP)

No longer one of the Celtics' "Big Three," guard Ray Allen officially signed a free-agent deal with the Miami Heat on Wednesday.

The 36-year-old turned down a two-year, $12 million offer from the Celtics and instead on Friday agreed to a three-year deal with the Heat, worth a little more than $3 million per year.

Allen, the NBA's all-time leader in 3-point field goals, spent the last five seasons in Boston. In 2008, the sharpshooter helped the team to its 17th championship in franchise history.

As ESPN reports:

But Allen chose to walk away from the Celtics after a turbulent last season, during which he was privately frustrated with trade rumors in February, issues with teammate Rajon Rondo and an ankle injury that ultimately required surgery last month to remove bone spurs.

During his introductory news conference in Miami Wednesday, Allen "answered questions about moving forward in his life and career away from Boston, and how difficult it was to leave the Celtics," according to the Boston Herald.

"I look back at all our time spent in Boston ... we had a lot of disappointments, but we shared a lot of thrills," Allen said, according to ESPN. "It is sad to me that I'm not going to be with those guys anymore. But I look forward to being here."

He added, according to the Herald: "Forever, I’ll always be a Celtic."

Both ESPN and the Herald have additional excerpts of Allen's answers in Miami.

This program aired on July 11, 2012. The audio for this program is not available.

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