The Cleveland Cavaliers and all other NBA teams will have to wait until next season if they wish to acquire shooter Ray Allen.
ESPN reported that Allen had made the announcement on Wednesday, March 4, 2015, that he will be skipping the rest of the present season but did not state that he is retiring.
Allen said in the same ESPN report, "Over the past several months, I have taken a lot of time to deliberate what is best for me. I've ultimately decided that I will not play this NBA season. I'm going to take the remainder of this season, as well as the upcoming off-season, to reassess my situation, spend time with my family and determine if I will play in the 2015-2016 season."
Yahoo! Sports reported that the 39-year-old future Hall of Famer has been constantly wooed by NBA teams throughout the 2014-2015 NBA season. His agent, Jim Tanner, reportedly said that they will communicate with interested teams as soon as Allen makes a decision for the following season.
Allen last played with the Miami Heat and stayed away from the NBA after they lost in the 2014 NBA Finals against the San Antonio Spurs. He continued training at his home in Miami. A lot of teams were interested in acquiring the shooting guard and even left roster spots available just in case Allen decides to return and play for them. LeBron James, in particular, wanted Allen to join him in Cleveland but the Cavs moved on after it seemed that Allen was not going to return after the All-Star Weekend in February.
Cavs coach David Blatt said about Allen's announcement in the same ESPN report, "We were concerned with the task at hand and Ray was going through his own process of deciding what he wanted to do and I sort of never really tried to look at it at something that was a definitive option. Because it really wasn't ever clear if he was going to play at all. So no (it's not disappointing), but I certainly respect the man's right to make the kind of decision that's best for him and his family when and if he makes it."
NBA.com reported that Allen will turn 40 in July. Three NBA seasons ago, he was fourth in three-point shooting and eighth in true shooting. The last time he played for Miami, he averaged 9.6 points in 26.5 minutes of game time.