In the Spike Lee joint He Got Game, the fictional character Jesus Shuttlesworth, played by Ray Allen, suits up for the famed Lincoln High School in Brooklyn, New York. Now, Lee hopes that life will imitate art and Allen will suit up for the Knicks in 2016-17.
Allen has reportedly been serious a about an NBA comeback and Spike, who has been a courtside fixture at Madison Square Garden for decades, has been in touch with Allen about joining his beloved Knicks.
“Spike Lee has been trying to recruit me,” Allen told the Hartford Courant. “We’ve been texting.”
The sharpshooter last played in the NBA in 2014 and never officially retired. In July, reports surfaced that Allen was contemplating a comeback and interested in joining the Cavs, Spurs, Clippers or Warriors.
Over the last week, the 41-year-old has been vocal about his comeback and has also expressed interest in joining the Bucks, the team who drafted him, and the Celtics, who he won a championship with in 2008.
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“My decision is predicated on what is available,” he said. “I said that I was interested because I never retired for a reason. I’ve been watching, seeing what teams have been doing and I’ve been waiting to see if the opportunity presented itself where I think I could fit.”
It has been assumed that Allen, who last played for the Heat in 2014, would be most likely to join the champion Cavaliers, reuniting in Cleveland with LeBron James, or the runner-up Warriors, who have added Kevin Durant to the team that went 73-9 in the regular season.
The Spurs and Clippers have been mentioned, also, but Allen said he has spoken with the Celtics, with whom he won a championship in 2008, and the Bucks, his first NBA stop.
“I would love going back to those places if it worked out,” Allen said, “because both teams are good, too. It doesn’t necessarily have to be championship-or-bust for me to go back to the NBA.
“I want to be in a situation where I thought I could help, play a little bit and help where they have good young talent.”
Allen is expected to make his decision by the start of training camp, and if he is not signed he will hang up his Jordans for good. “”At the start of the year, if nothing pans out, then basically I’ll retire,” he said.
