In a guest appearance on ‘The Draymond Green Show,’ Celtics legend Paul Pierce broke down what really went wrong between him and his former championship teammate, Ray Allen. According to Pierce, it wasn’t just that Ray left that caused problems, it was the manner in which he made his move in the summer of 2012.

“It hurt,” Pierce remarked. “By the way, I believe we lost to [the Heat] when it happened. I had no idea he was having problems with the contract or getting started, but the problem is, if you’re going to leave, you should call me and tell me, “Look, P, things aren’t working out, they’re not going to give me the contract I want.” I’m going to take this path because they’re not offering me the role I want. Alright, I understand that you’re making a business decision that will benefit your family. But I didn’t think there was much respect there when you never got the call and you moved on to our competitor.”

When Ray Allen and Paul Pierce were teammates on the Celtics, they shared a championship. Many at the time thought Boston was ready for even more titles, but age, injuries, and the development of the Miami Heat would ultimately cause them to fall.

The Heat, led by LeBron James, defeated the Celtics in the Eastern Conference Finals during their final season together. Ray Allen would eventually sign with the same team. The thing that hurt Pierce the most about it wasn’t even that he joined the heat; rather, it was that he did so without warning or prior notice.

Fortunately, Pierce and Allen have since buried the hatched and their “beef” is now ancient history. Even so, it doesn’t mean that Ray Allen’s actions have been forgotten and it’s clearly something that sticks with Paul to this day.

What Caused the 2012 Breakup of the Celtics?

With Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett, Ray Allen, and Rajon Rondo, the Celtics from 2008 to 2012 might be regarded as one of the NBA’s first modern superteams. Four stars or potential stars made up the rotation, which was overseen by the reputable Doc Rivers.

The Celtics’ core squad that won it all that season only lasted a few years before disbanding, and their last Larry O’Brien trophy victory came in 2008.

In the summer of 2012, Ray Allen became the first player to leave, and his exit marked the end of the Pierce and Garnett era at TD Garden. In the end, only Danny Ainge knows why he made the move at that particular time, but perhaps, similar to Ray Allen, he was the one writing on the wall.

Pierce was thirty-five years old at the start of the 2012–13 season. With the Celtics winning just 41 games to finish sixth in the East, it was possibly the worst season of his career.

You can’t criticise Ray Allen for taking the chance to play with LeBron James that summer—whether you love him or despise him—because it paid off in the form of a championship ring. Ray, by all accounts, made the correct decision in 2012, but maybe he should have given his old colleagues a heads-up.