So far in Miami, Ray Allen has played the role many expected he would. Averaging just 25.5 minutes per game, a career-low by a wide margin, the veteran sharpshooter has remained efficient, shooting 43.2% from three-point range and posting a 16.1 PER to go along with his 11.2 PPG. Despite his early success with the Heat, Allen tells Gery Woelfel of the Racine Journal Times that there's no guarantee this season won't be his last.
"It’s possible, yeah," Allen said of retiring after this season. "Who knows what’s going to happen over the course of the summer? I have two years left on my contract. We’ll see how it goes."
Allen's deal includes a 2013/14 player option worth about $3.23MM in what will be his age-38 season. If he continues to be healthy and productive for the rest of '12/13, I'd be pretty surprised if Allen called it a career. However, it sounds like the 10-time All-Star doesn't necessarily want to stick around long enough to see his skills significantly deteriorate.
"I don’t know when I’ll retire," Allen said. "I’d like to get through the year first. I feel great; my body feels good. I just got to get through…. I’m at a point where I’ve been pretty successful and I’ve gotten to the point where I really understand the game and how to play it. But I’m not going to be that guy who just hangs on. At some point, I can let it go."