NBA Rumors: Predicting Ray Allen's Statistical Output on Miami Heat

According to ESPN's Brian Windhorst, the Miami Heat are the front-runners to sign unrestricted free agent and future Hall of Famer Ray Allen.

Allen visited Miami on Thursday and has been actively recruited by the likes of LeBron James and Dwyane Wade. 

But if their efforts work, and Allen is in a Heat uniform on opening night, what type of production can we expect from the NBA's all-time leader in three-point shooting?

For one, the numbers won't be great.

Allen will be coming off the bench and backing up Wade at the 2-guard. Considering both of their bodies broke down last year, I would expect to see Erik Spoelstra cut Wade's minutes a little and give a few to Allen.

I can see Allen playing 20-23 minutes per game, a little more than the 19.3 minutes per game that Mike Miller played last season.

It's not a given that Allen will be healthy or that he will produce well. He struggled big time to close the season out, shooting only 39.5 percent from the floor and 30.4 percent from behind the arc during Boston's postseason run.

But with LeBron and Wade's ability to penetrate, I would expect a lot of open looks for Allen.

With the lack of regular minutes and adjusting to a role coming off the bench, I wouldn't expect huge numbers for Allen. Plus there's the fact that he's going to be 37 years old in a couple of weeks.

Allen's numbers could look a little something like this if he chooses to sign with Miami: 11.5 PPG, 2.5 RPG, 2.0 APG, .425 field-goal percentage, .405 three-point percentage.

Allen has averaged only 15.7 points during the past three seasons, while playing an average of 34.1 minutes per game.

He's only getting older and the minutes are going to go down, so to expect something big out of Allen in Miami is probably just wishful thinking.

He's an upgrade and makes the Heat a better team, but it's hard to think that Allen comes in and becomes anything more than an average bench player who can knock down a few open shots.