LeBron James rips ex-Celtics over Ray Allen

The Heat are favorites to bring home a third consecutive NBA championship. (Issac Baldizon/NBAE via Getty Images)

When Ray Allen left the Boston Celtics in 2012 to take his three-point shooting talent to South Beach to join the Miami Heat, some Celtics, namely Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce, weren't too pleased.

Garnett and Pierce are no longer in Boston, having been traded to the Brooklyn Nets in a blockbuster deal in the offseason.

Some in the Heat organization wonder why Allen got so much criticism for leaving Boston in search of another championship and perceived Garnett and Pierce's actions to be hypocritical.

"I think the first thing I thought was, 'Wow, Ray got killed for leaving Boston and now these guys are leaving Boston,'" Heat forward LeBron James said to ESPN.com.

"I think it's OK, I didn't mind it. But there were a couple guys who basically (expletive) on Ray for leaving and now they're leaving. That's the nature of our business, man. I don't know what Boston was going through at the end of the day. I know Ray had to make the best decision for him and his family and his career. Doc, KG and Paul did that as well. You can't criticize someone who does something that's best for their family."

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