The Miami Heat introduced Ray Allen and Rashard Lewis as the newest members of the team at separate news conferences Wednesday.
Both players appeared with team president Pat Riley and head coach Erik Spoelstra, who heaped praise on their newest acquisitions.
"He can play multiple positions, but his skill set, his professionalism as a champion, he fits very well with who we already have here and he's a great compliment to the champions we have here," Spoelstra said while talking about Allen. "There are only a handful of players really in this league who absolutely strike fear into their opponent and Ray is one of those players."
"I think it's important year in and year out that you continue to try to add quality talent, experience, players who want to make a commitment to winning," Riley said while discussing Lewis. "I think we found out over the last couple of days how hungry Rashard is when it comes to this."
Allen and Lewis were Seattle teammates for five seasons, from 2003 through 2007 — and both figure to fit perfectly into Miami's plan to surround LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh and the rest of the 2012 NBA champs with even more shooters who can stretch defenses.
Allen talked about missing his teammates in Boston but said sitting down and talking with Riley and Spoelstra helped sway him towards Miami.
"I'm looking forward to what we can do here in this organization, being a teammate of LeBron, being a teammate of Dwyane, Chris Bosh, I just met Joel Anthony those guys are all excited to have me here," Allen said. "I looked at the situation and I thought about what would be best for my kids, my wife, me personally, being able to go out there and help this team win with the talent that I know that I have."
Local
"I'm at a point in my career to where I've been on the all star team, played for 13, 14 years and you know I've made a pretty good amount of money over my career," Lewis said. "So I feel like everybody sets goals over their career and my next goal is obviously to try to win a championship, the ball can't bounce forever, I'm sure you all see the grey hair on my head, I'm getting older, I'm ready to win."
Lewis, who has spent his career with Seattle, Orlando and Washington, talked about battling recent injuries and coming to Miami with a hunger to win.
Spoelstra said Lewis was the right fit for the team.
"Not everybody's a good fit here and when we target at the beginning of who we'd like to go after in free agency, it has to be the right fit, not only with the style of play but the kind of guy that we think is professional, that would respect our culture, that would fit in with the culture and just as importantly get along with the group," Spoelstra said.
Lewis will earn about $1.35 million from the Heat, plus another $13.7 million after getting a buyout from the New Orleans Hornets earlier this offseason. Allen will make just over $3 million this season. He comes to Miami after five seasons with the Celtics, who offered the NBA's all-time 3-point leader nearly twice as much money as the Heat were permitted to spend.
Riley said though Lewis might have made more money elsewhere, he wanted to come to Miami to be a part of another championship run.
"If we could, and had the ability to pay all the players really what maybe they could get on the open market, we would. We don't have that capability so Rashard, Ray, people who are interested in coming here, they know coming in what the situation is," Riley said. "They want to be here because of the organization as much and anything and the Arisons and how they've set this whole thing up and they see a team that has an opportunity to be a winner and at this stage of their career this is what it's about."
