Sorry, contenders, the retired Ray Allen is not playing this season

The NBA's contenders will have to look for shooters elsewhere. Future Hall of Famer Ray Allen, the league's all-time leader in made three-pointers, will not play this season. The 39-year-old Allen announced his decision through his agent, Jim Tanner of Tandem Media and Entertainment.

Here are the relevant quotes from the press release:

“Over the past several months, I have taken a lot of time to deliberate what is best for me,” Allen said. “I’ve ultimately decided that I will not play this NBA season. I’m going to take the remainder of this season, as well as the upcoming off-season, to reassess my situation, spend time with my family and determine if I will play in the 2015-16 season.” [...]

“Ray has received enormous interest from a number of NBA teams throughout this season,” Tanner said. “We will communicate with interested teams as Ray makes a decision for the 2015-16 season.”

Allen had been mentioned as a potential late addition to contending teams since the regular season began this fall. At various points, that group of potential suitors has included the Cleveland Cavaliers, Golden State Warriors, San Antonio Spurs, and Los Angeles Clippers. These teams generally appeared to have given up on bringing Allen back to the league by February's trade deadline, but the official news will end speculation for now.

Those last two words are meaningful, because Allen did not take this time to announce that he was tired. While Yahoo's own Marc Spears reported last July that Allen was leaning towards retirement following his 18th professional season, he has never officially stated that his career is over. As the press release states, Allen will simply take more time to decide if he's ready to sign with a team for 2015-16. Unless Allen signs with a team this summer (unlikely, given his age) or announces his retirement, we're probably headed for a similar scenario next season.

This interest may seem excessive for many veterans, but Allen has the potential to turn a playoff series or two with his shooting. He made the overtime-forcing basket that allowed the Miami Heat to stay alive in Game 6 of the 2013 NBA Finals, averaged 26.5 minutes over 73 games for the Heat in 2013-14, and boasts a skill that becomes more important with every passing season. There's a good reason that everyone will be watching his decision for another year.

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Eric Freeman is a writer for Ball Don't Lie on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at efreeman_ysports@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!

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