Published 21:43, July the 21st, 2008
House and Allen re-sign with Celtics
A fairly ho-hum offseason took a surprising twist yesterday when the Celtics re-signed Tony Allen and Eddie House.
According to multiple reports, Allen and House each signed two-year contracts worth more than $2 million.
The Celtics’ prospects to re-sign House appeared on the surface to be bleak, especially after they lost a bidding war for James Posey with the Hornets. Like Posey, House was coveted by numerous teams, according to agent Mark Bartelstein, who also represents Posey. And once House’s minutes dwindled during the Celtics’ playoff run, it seemed unclear how much they were willing to spend to re-sign the sharp-shooting guard.
With the way the roster is currently comprised, House figures to share reserve ball-handling duties with Gabe Pruitt, who the Celtics hope to shape into Rajon Rondo’s clear-cut backup next season.
Allen’s future with the Celtics looked murky for different reasons, most notably because he didn’t figure to be even close to general manager Danny Ainge’s short list of summer priorities. Allen entered the offseason as a restricted free agent, but the Celtics didn’t extend their qualifying offer of $2.7 million, meaning he was free to sign elsewhere.
“If things might not work out with [Posey] or other free agents for that matter,” Ainge said earlier this month, “then Tony would be a guy we would be interested in returning to the Celtics.
“Tony may get something that entices him to change scenery, but he knows that he would be welcomed here in the right circumstance depending on what happens in free agency.”
In other words, once Posey, Corey Maggette and Tyronn Lue all chose to sign with other teams, Allen became a viable option.
Coming off a devastating knee injury, Allen had a tumultuous year for the champion Celtics. His 0.8 steals per game and 43.6 field goal percentage were the worst marks of his career, and his 2.2 rebounds per contest matched a career low. Allen scored 6.6 points per game, his lowest total since scoring 6.4 in his rookie campaign.
If he can bounce back and play with the confidence he showed in 2006-07, however, the Celtics will have gotten away with highway robbery with the low-level contract.
