Ray Allen re-signs with the Sonics

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http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=2100705

 

Deal is for five years, agent says

By Chad Ford

 

Ray Allen was wooed by LeBron James, Mike Dunleavy and that Atlanta Hawks for the last five days. In the end, he decided that there was no place like home.

 

Allen's agent, Lon Babby, said Tuesday morning that Allen has agreed to terms with the Sonics on a five-year deal.

 

Babby refused to divulge the contract amount. The Sonics' last known offer was for 5 years, $75 million, and their latest offer is expected to exceed that.

 

Allen can't sign a contract until the league lifts its player movement moratorium. That ban is expected to be lifted on July 22, though there's been talk around the league that it could be pushed back as much as week.

 

The move should have major ramifications for both the Sonics and the rest of the free agent market.

 

Now that the Sonics have re-signed Allen, look for them to get aggressive in bringing back the rest of the pieces, including head coach Nate McMillan, that helped the Sonics secure a third seed in the West.

 

The Sonics are also trying to re-sign free agents Vladimir Radmanovic, Antonio Daniels, Reggie Evans, Jerome James and Ronald Murray.

 

Allen's agreement with the Sonics will also have affect on a number of other free agent two guards looking for new deals. The Clippers and Hawks had made Allen a top priority, and the Cavs had Allen as their back-up plan should Michael Redd decide to return to Milwaukee.

 

With Allen now out of the picture, expect both Los Angeles and the Atlanta to turn to the next top available free agent guards -- Joe Johnson and Larry Hughes. Johnson is a restricted free agent who has garnered a large amount of interest around the league. However, teams have been slow to offer him a contract because of the Suns ability (and stated intention) to match any deal.

 

Hughes is an unrestricted free agent who, statistically, was at the top of his class. However, it's been widely assumed that he'll re-sign with the Wizards. The Wizards can offer Hughes an extra year and more money than either the Hawks or Clippers.

 

After those two, the market drops off pretty dramatically. Bobby Simmons, Marko Jaric, Cuttino Mobley, Latrell Sprewell and Gerald Wallace are the next best guards on the board.