Cavs, Wizards, Bulls, Spurs Still Eyeing Ray Allen

4:00pm: The Cavs remain the “undisputed favorites” to sign Allen, providing he decides to play again, writes Ken Berger of CBSSports.com.

3:35pm: The Wizards haven’t checked in on Allen recently, but that doesn’t mean the team isn’t still interested in him, reports Jorge Castillo of The Washington Post (Twitter link).

12:59pm: The Cavs, Wizards, Bulls and Spurs are among a group of seven teams that maintain interest in signing free agent Ray Allen, tweets Chris Broussard of ESPN.com. Allen has been spending time in Miami and continuing to stay in shape, Broussard adds, but while it’s not entirely clear whether the Heat are one of those seven, the 39-year-old sharpshooter has reportedly ruled out a return to the franchise with which he’s spent the past two seasons.

The four teams Broussard identifies in his latest dispatch have all been linked to Allen over the past several months, with Cleveland most frequently mentioned in connection with the Jim Tanner client. A report earlier this month indicated that the Bulls remained in contact with Allen’s representatives, and Cavs GM David Griffin was reportedly speaking with Allen’s camp in early October, with the Cavs still seemingly the front-runners at that point. The Cavs maintained belief as late as mid-September that Allen would eventually sign with them, but Tanner denied a couple of weeks later that a deal between Cleveland and his client was imminent. That was one of several occasions since the start of free agency that Allen’s camp has shushed rumors, and whether Allen even wants to continue playing at all is still unknown.

The Spurs have the most flexibility to pay Allen among the teams Broussard lists, since San Antonio still has a $3.228MM slice of its mid-level exception left after using part of it to re-sign Aron Baynes. The Spurs would nonetheless need to unload a player on a fully guaranteed contract to sign Allen. The Wizards, Bulls and Cavs are limited to the minimum salary, but they all possess players on non-guaranteed contracts, and Chicago has an open roster spot, as our roster counts show.