Former Miami Heat shooting guard Ray Allen. (Photo : Getty Images)
Sharp-shooting free agent star Ray Allen is reportedly on the verge of joining the Golden State Warriors this summer as the Western Conference champs are trying to get him back in the NBA next season.
Fansided reported that Golden State is waiting to sign the 40-year-old Allen if ever if he "decides to make a comeback", citing Basketball Insider's Alex Kennedy as saying that "the Warriors have pushed for a Ray Allen comeback since 2014".
The report also said that he has "stayed in shape" and would more likely receive a veteran annual minimum salary of $1.5 million playing in "very limited" minutes for head coach Steve Kerr.
After catching this summer's biggest fish in Kevin Durant to a two-year, $54.3 million deal, the Warriors have lost Harrison Barnes and Andrew Bogut to the Dallas Mavericks and also renounced their rights on restricted free agent Festus Ezeli to clear up salary cap space for the 2014 NBA MVP.
With all these exits, Golden State is left with a shallow bench to support its now optimum starting five and so the team is said to be looking to veterans who are willing to play for the minimum to join them next season.
Big men Zaza Pachulia and David West are coming in, although the former is set to receive a slightly higher salary of $2.9 million per year from the Warriors.
The 10-time NBA All-Star is said to be the ideal off the bench scorer for Kerr as aside from giving the Warriors more options offensively, he can also be "effective no matter how much playing time he gets" and will provide the Splash Brothers of Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson the rest they needed to stay fresher as they go deeper into the postseason.
Bleacher Report indicated that Allen is still "not officially retired" although it is not apparent whether the former Connecticut standout would still want to play in the NBA or not.
"I haven't said anything about that, and I won't officially retire," he said in August of last year. "Because if something came to the table, contractually and situationally, I want to be able to take a strong look at it. I don't want to be that guy that says he's retiring and then is coming back."
