Allen, who spent the last five seasons with the Boston Celtics, met with Heat officials Thursday and made his final decision Friday afternoon.
"Its 2:30am in London and I was just woken up with great news. Welcome to the family #20!!" Arison wrote on Twitter.
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Allen's agent, James Tanner, confirmed the decision in an email to USA TODAY Sports shortly after Arison's tweet.
Allen considered a return to the Celtics but ultimately decided to join the Heat because he felt it gave him the best chance to compete for another championship. Boston was offering significantly more money than Miami ? $6 million a season vs. $3.09 million ? as well as a no-trade clause, but that didn't stop the likely future Hall of Famer from taking his talents to South Beach.
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LeBron James and Dwyane Wade had been aggressively recruiting Allen in recent days.
James wasn't subtle in his recruitment, tweeting a picture of Allen in a Heat jersey alongside the caption, "This looks damn good to me."
Wade also offered support over social media, tweeting that Thursday was a big day for the Heat since team officials would be meeting with Allen.
Late Friday night, Wade took to Twitter again to celebrate Allen's signing. "WELCOME!!! #HeatNation continues to grow," he wrote.
Shortly after, James wrote, "#HeatNation please welcome our newest teammate Ray Allen."
The 36-year-old is a 10-time All-Star who won a championship with the Celtics in 2008. Allen, who averaged 14.2 points and 3.1 rebounds last season with the Celtics, can officially sign with Miami on July 11, when the league's free-agent moratorium period ends.
As much as the move helps Miami, it hurts Boston even more. Not only do the Celtics lose one of the NBA's best all-time three-point shooters, they lose him to a rival, the team which beat the Celtics in the Eastern Conference finals in seven games.
And not only did Allen spurn the Celtics, he did so for less money. The Celtics were offering a two-year deal worth about $12 million. The best the Heat could offer under the new collective bargaining agreement was a three-year, $9 million deal.
Allen lost his starting job to second-year guard Avery Bradley this season and only got it back when Bradley had to undergo season-ending surgery.
While Boston point guard Rajon Rondo was always the name talked about most in Celtics trade discussions, it was Allen who was on the trade block last season.
The Celtics have reached agreement with veteran shooting guard Jason Terry on a three-year free-agent deal. It may be the right time for Allen to leave Boston.
After losing Game 7 of the Eastern Conference finals in Miami, Allen make it clear he wanted to continue playing. "There's still a lot of basketball left in my legs. I know that for sure," he said.
Pat Riley, who went to dinner with Allen and other Heat staffers, including coach Erik Spoelstra and former Heat center and team executive Alonzo Mourning, Thursday in Miami, has done a masterful job convincing players to play for less money the past two seasons.
Wade, James and Bosh each took less money in 2010, as did forward Udonis Haslem, and forward Shane Battier took less money than he could have received from other teams to play for the Heat last season.
Now, the Heat have another three-point weapon. In the 2012 NBA playoffs, the Heat shot 34.7% on three-pointers but against the Oklahoma City Thunder in the NBA Finals, Miami shot an outstanding 42.9% on threes.
With James and Wade driving to the basket, Allen and Miami's other three-point shooters should have plenty of opportunities and even more open looks. Allen is the NBA's all-time leader in three-pointers made (2,718) and 34th in career three-point percentage (40%). He shot a career-best 45.3% on three-pointers last season.
The deal comes with minimal risk for Miami. Allen, who turns 37 on July 20, dealt with painful bone spurs in his right ankle during the playoffs and had surgery right after the season ended. However, Allen takes exceptional care of his body and even in his late 30s is one of the best-conditioned players in the league.
Kennedy also writes for Hoopsworld.com, a part of the USA TODAY Sports Media Group
Source: http://rssfeeds.usatoday.com/~r/UsatodaycomSports-TopStories/~3/mif1-ZN0mrE/1
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