Unquestionably, Allen is glad to be back

NEWPORT, R.I. - While most Celtics immediately began enjoying the championship glow that surrounded them in Boston, a stressed Tony Allen stayed behind closed doors for about a month after the team won the NBA title in June.

It wasn't that the four-year Celtic wasn't proud of the accomplishment. But he shied away from being asked over and over again: Will you be back with the Celtics? The question was especially hard, seeing as how he didn't know the answer himself.

"It was so stressful at the time," Allen said. "I just stayed in my shell. I didn't want to go out. I didn't go to restaurants. I barely even wanted to go in the grocery shore. [Fans would say], 'Are you coming back? Are you leaving?' I just stayed in my shell."

The lengthy free agency situation with now ex-Celtic James Posey was another reason Allen stayed secluded.

The Celtics had hopes of re-signing either Posey or Allen. With Posey's instrumental play and leadership in the postseason, it was no surprise that he was the team's first choice. While Allen is more athletic and younger than Posey, he is still not 100 percent recovered from the left knee surgery that sidelined him for the final 48 games of the 2006-07 season and stymied him last season.

While it was tough, Celtics general manager Danny Ainge was honest with Allen about the situation.

"I look at him like he's my buddy rather than looking at it like a business-type proposition," Allen said about Ainge. "He was the first person that drafted me and he's been in my ear the whole four years I've been here. He told me what the deal was."

Ainge told a similar story.

"I was just very up front and explained the situation from the beginning," he said. "It wasn't easy for him or easy for us."

Allen received interest from several teams, most notably the Oklahoma City Thunder (formerly the Seattle SuperSonics). Allen visited Thunder officials in Seattle and Oklahoma City. The Thunder, however, opted to sign Jazz restricted free agent guard C.J. Miles to a four-year, $25 million offer sheet. Miles averaged 5 points per game last season while Allen averaged 6.6.

Meanwhile, Posey left Boston, signing a four-year, $25 million offer with the Hornets July 18. On July 21, the Celtics signed Allen to a two-year, $5 million deal. On July 25, the Jazz matched Miles's Thunder offer, leaving that franchise without Allen or Miles.

"At the end, [Oklahoma City] offered [a contract] to somebody else," said Allen. "It got matched. But I didn't wait. I looked at it like a smack in the face.

"I was ready [to sign]. I guess everything happens for a reason. But right now, I'm not thinking about none of that. It's a new year. I'm looking forward to being a piece to this puzzle."

Allen said he always preferred to stay in Boston.

"When Posey didn't sign, I still had my application out looking for where my next job was going to be," said Allen. "Fortunately, Danny Ainge reached out to me."

The big question is whether Allen will be more like the hot-scoring, athletic player he was prior to knee surgery or the up-and-down player he was last season.

Allen averaged 11.5 points per game on 51.4 percent shooting in 2006-07, including a career-high 30-point performance against Denver. But the 6-foot-4-inch, 213-pounder shot a career-low 43.6 percent last season. The Chicago native has been going hard to the basket in scrimmages, appears more confident and more disciplined on offense, and has impressed Ainge and coach Doc Rivers in training camp. While the left knee brace is now gone, he is still having good and bad days with the knee.

"I'm kind of hard on myself," Allen said. "But then again, I've got to look at it like it was an injury, it was a tough injury. I'm not back to where I was when I was bouncing it off the ground, windmill [dunking] and all that. But I am making it to the [rim], I am making the cut and I am making the jump [stop]. I want to be more explosive. That's what I'm working on.

"I'm ready to go, man. If I can stay healthy all year long and keep working with the strength and conditioning guys, I'm going to get my explosiveness back during the course of the [season]."

The Celtics hope to replace Posey's production by committee with Allen, Gabe Pruitt (who has been playing some shooting guard in practice), rookies J.R. Giddens and Bill Walker, and newcomer Darius Miles. Look for the veteran Allen to be the main guy over the youngsters and Miles.

It won't be hard for Allen to surpass Posey's 7.4-point average. But Allen isn't the 3-point threat Posey is and he also knows Posey brought a lot of elements not seen in a box score.

"It's not really the points," Allen said. "It's the role more than the points. The role is going to get generated through the Big Three. But it's the intangibles, the loose balls, the charges, the key stops, the key steals, the key finishes. That's what I'm looking toward trying to do.

"I'm not trying to be Pose. I'm trying to be me, but help at the same time."

While the questions of whether Allen would be back in green are long gone, the question of whether he can be that presurgery Allen or even better still remain. But if Allen can get back to form, the pain from losing Posey will subside quickly.

Marc J. Spears can be reached at mspears@globe.com.