Free agent Ray Allen signing with the Cleveland Cavaliers might not be such a sure thing after all, according to the latest report. First-year Cavaliers coach David Blatt, meanwhile, reportedly is losing his ability to reach the LeBron James-led team.
There was always competition expected to sign Allen, with Cleveland the longtime-purported frontrunners to land him. A report from ESPN's Brian Windhorst last week, though, indicated there might not be any winner in the Ray Allen sweepstakes.
"I have now heard that Ray Allen is leaning towards retiring," ESPN Cleveland quoted Windhorst as saying in a tweet.
Although Allen has never committed to returning for his 19th season, most have always believed he would eventually pick a team. Another ESPN report from earlier in the month indicated Allen would begin taking calls in January and return to the court sometime in February, with his potential landing spots including: Cleveland, the San Antonio Spurs and the Los Angeles Clippers.
Windhorst, along with ESPN's Marc Stein, also reported there is "concern" in Cleveland about Blatt.
Per ESPN:
"There is a growing level of worry within the Cleveland Cavaliers' organization about first-year coach David Blatt and his ability to reach this team, according to league sources. Sources told ESPN.com that there is rising concern in team circles about the level of response Blatt is getting on the floor, with Blatt himself acknowledging that the Cavaliers 'lost our energy and we lost our competitiveness' in Sunday night's embarrassing loss to Detroit.
"The Cavs would naturally prefer not to be forced into making an evaluation of their coach ... But the Cavs' effort level, especially defensively, is eroding noticeably, raising the volume on questions about just how much the locker room is listening to the 55-year-old Boston native, who has enjoyed tremendous success internationally but still began this season as a relative unknown to NBA players."
Windhorst and Stein added that when the Cavaliers hired Blatt, it was a completely different team - there was no LeBron James at the time. James has already admitted he didn't ask permission to take over the playmaking duties on the court, and there've been reported "whispers" players aren't listening to Blatt during some of the timeout huddles.
It's uncertain if one can say Blatt is on the hot seat, but team owner Dan Gilbert has never been hesitant to fire coaches.
