Doc Rivers on Whether C’s Will Be Able to Re-Sign Ray Allen: “I Don’t Know”

Posted by Brian Robb on Jul 3, 2012 3106011 commentshttp%3A%2F%2Fcelticshub.com%2F2012%2F07%2F03%2Fdoc-rivers-on-whether-cs-will-be-able-to-re-sign-ray-allen-i-dont-know%2FDoc+Rivers+on+Whether+C%27s+Will+Be+Able+to+Re-Sign+Ray+Allen%3A+%22I+Don%27t+Know%22+2012-07-03+16%3A05%3A22Brian+Robbhttp%3A%2F%2Fcelticshub.com%2F%3Fp%3D31060

In what comes as a bit of a shift from Doc Rivers’ last public remarks on the matter Sunday, Boston’s head coach took a little less of an optimistic outlook about the C’s chances of re-signing their 37-year-old shooting guard while appearing on The Dan Patrick radio show today.

When asked about whether Ray Allen will be back in Boston, Doc responded, “I don’t know. We’re working hard. He has a lot of options and that’s the bad news for us. It’ll be interesting. I wish I had a feel on it. I have to say usually I do. But I can tell you in this one I don’t.”

Patrick then asked when the last time Doc spoke to him: “”Yesterday,” Rivers said. “I’m going to talk to him today, I’m going to talk to him tomorrow, I’m going to talk to him the next day.”

Doc later joked when asked about what it would take to close the deal with Allen, “I need to call Calipari and need to see how he does it.”

While the tenor of the interview was light, (Rivers was on his way golfing) you could tell by the tone in Doc’s voice (as well as by his responses) Ray’s return could be more uncertain than ever. Doc’s comments are also a pretty dramatic shift from his remarks to ESPNBoston.com on Sunday.

“We really want him back and I really think at the end of the day that he will be back because this is such a good fit for him. We need him back and we’re trying to get him back. We can offer him more money. Yes, there are a couple of teams way under the cap who might be able to offer more money. But other than that, we can offer him more (than Miami or Memphis). He already lives here. He knows his role and everything else. It’s a stretch for me to see him go somewhere else.”

It’s clear from the shift here that Doc may have been caught a bit off-guard about Ray considering going elsewhere. Did conversations with Allen over the last couple days change his tone? You have to wonder how this might all shake out. Maybe Doc is playing his cards closer to the vest now and is refusing to sound as matter-of-fact about Ray’s potential return to Boston as Allen pursues his other options.

Whatever it may be, keep a close eye now on what Doc says in the days ahead (if anything at all). He was very optimistic about KG in the days before he signed and his general tenor is a good indicator on where the C’s stand with a player. For now, these comments are not a great sign for people who want to see Allen back in Beantown next season.