Ray Allen is staying in shape should NBA teams come calling.
The 39-year-old former Miami Heat star reportedly has been leaning toward retirement in recent months, but on Monday night signaled interest in returning to the NBA.
“At my age I need to stay in shape,” he said, if teams need his services as they move toward the second half of the season.
Allen and another former Heat player, Penny Hardaway, attended the Martin Luther King Basketball Classic at Ransom Everglades High in Miami on Monday night to take in a game between Miami Beach and Miami Norland.
Because of his ties to LeBron James, Cleveland initially was a front-runner to sign Allen, a 10-time All-Star and the NBA’s all-time 3-point scorer. But a number of other teams have shown interest as well, including the Warriors, Clippers, Spurs and Grizzlies. The Wizards, reportedly waiting to land Allen, recently declined to pursue another free-agent guard, Nate Robinson.
Allen played three seasons for the Heat, from 2012-14, before leaving in free agency, while Hardaway retired from the NBA in 2007 after one season with Miami.
The pair went to the game Monday to check out two local high school players — Miami Beach’s 7-foot-1 sophomore center Zachariah Brown and Norland’s 6-foot-10 junior Dewan Huell.
“I heard about the two big kids and wanted to see them play,” Allen said. “I heard they were pretty good.”
