Rajon Rondo Says Beef With Ray Allen Was ‘No Big Deal’

The acrimony between Ray Allen and Rajon Rondo has been well-publicized, and may have been one of the reasons Allen left Boston for Miami. According to Rondo, however, just because the two former teammates didn’t always get along doesn’t mean the relationship was completely toxic. Rajon also lets it be known that he believes the Celtics are title contenders this season. Per Yahoo! Sports: “After five seasons in Boston, Allen signed with the Miami Heat in July, and his strained relationship with Rondo was dissected. Rondo admitted the two didn’t always get along, but he also said he respected Allen as a player. ‘People act like because me and Ray didn’t get along or they think me and Ray didn’t get along that I’m a bad person or he’s a bad person,’ Rondo said. ‘No. It’s just life. If you look at your job, everyone doesn’t always get along with every co-worker they work with. It’s just part of life. People are blowing the Ray thing out of proportion. We had some words, but other than that it was no big deal. There were so many rumors like I was looking Ray off. Why would I look Ray off? That doesn’t make sense. He’s the best shooter, so why would I look him off? People can see it how they want to. They can talk to Ray. But from my standpoint, he made his decision. I don’t know why he made the decision, but he made the decision. I don’t think it had anything to do with me.’ […] Rondo has developed into one of the NBA’s top point guards and helped the Celtics win the 2008 championship. His only goal now is to deliver another title. While he calls the defending champion Heat ‘the team to beat,’ he thinks the remodeled Celtics have enough talent to dethrone them. ‘We won a championship and that’s great, but I don’t want to settle,’ Rondo said. ‘I have a lot of NBA time left on my clock and I got the talent around me. Everyone can’t say they can compete for a championship each year. With the talent around me now with the Celtics, it’s time to obtain that goal. There are only five teams right now that can say they can compete for a title realistically. And we’re one of them.'”