Grizzlies eventually will retire number of former player Tony Allen http://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/...s-plan-retire-number-former-player-tony-allen The Memphis Grizzlies announced plans to eventually retire the number ofTony Allen, who departed this summer as a free agent and signed with the New Orleans Pelicans. The franchise announced similar plans this summer for fellow Grit 'n' Grind mainstay Zach Randolph, who signed with the Sacramento Kings in free agency. "Tony was a driving force behind the Grizzlies' seven straight playoff appearances and he remains a beloved member of the Memphis community," Grizzlies owner Robert Pera said in a statement. "Tony played with a level of passion that is unrivaled. He helped establish a Grizzlies culture focused on toughness and effort, and he challenged every player that put on Beale Street Blue to match his fiery intensity. "On behalf of the entire organization, I would like to thank him for his incredible contributions to the Grizzlies and the unique way that he inspired the city of Memphis. We are proud that the Grindfather's #9 jersey will hang in the rafters of FedExForum alongside Zach's one day." Randolph and Allen, who made up Memphis' "Core Four" along with Marc Gasol and Mike Conley, both had expressed a strong desire to stay in Memphis. However, sources said the Grizzlies never made an offer to either player in free agency this summer. Allen signed a one-year deal with the Pelicans for the veteran's minimum of $2.3 million. Allen, known as "The Grindfather" in Memphis, will return to the FedEx Forum on Friday for the preseason finale and Wednesday for the regular-season opener. Allen, who birthed the Grit 'n' Grind motto with his comments in an emotional postgame TV interview, averaged 8.9 points and 4.3 rebounds per game during his seven seasons with the Grizzlies. He also established himself as one of the NBA's most tenacious defenders, earning first- or second-team All-Defensive honors in six of those seasons. He might be best remembered in Memphis for his tough style and raw, engaging personality. "Tony will forever be one of the Core Four responsible for the turnaround in the Memphis Grizzlies' fortunes and our surge in popularity," Grizzlies general manager Chris Wallace said in the statement. "There would never have been seven straight years of playoff appearances, the incredible electricity in FedExForum for home games, 'Grit and Grind' and 'Believe Memphis' without Tony Allen's contributions to the team. In the process Tony became more than just one of the toughest defenders in the league -- he became a true cult hero who was intertwined with the soul of Memphis like few athletes ever have in any city. Tony and his family will be missed but his impact on the Grizzlies and Memphis will never be forgotten."
The standards for retiring a number are on par with desperation. Why on Earth would you retire a guy's number that played 7 years for you, won zero rings for you, won zero All NBA Teams, no MVPs, and left your city in free agency. He's a good player, but seriously the dude scored 8.9 points per game for you. You don't retire that number. He shot 47% for you. Never got you to the finals. Jeebus... they should have just retired TMac's number because no one else will.
Lame franchise -> low standards -> how you end up retiring the numbers of Tony Allen & Zach Randolph. So Conley & M.Gasol will inevitably have their numbers retired. Pau? Shane? Mike Miller? Rudy Gay? Stromile? I mean, you did set the bar pretty low.
If they retire his, along with Randolph's, I assume they also have to retire both Gasol's, Conley, and maybe even Battier. Thats a lot of jerseys being retired for accomplishing very little.
I get the distinct opinion that the Grizzlies believe they accomplished a whole lot more than they actually did over the last decade.
LOL. So true. Talk about low standards. This would be like Rockets retiring Larry Mr Mean Smith or Cuttino Mobley. That is just sad. What are they going to do next? Retire Shareef Adul Raheem, Mike Bibby, Big Country Reeves, Steve Francis, Roy Rogers????????????
Even more shocking to me is that they said they were planning on retiring Zach Randolph's as well. Are you kidding me? These guys played for you, but that's it. They did nothing to earn a retired number. Personally I wouldn't even retire Gasol's and he's easily the best and most loyal guy they've got. Hell, retire Pau's number... at least he won rookie of the year.
Yup. So insane. Paul is the only Grizzlies that will ever have a chance at the Hall of Fame and they retire FREAKING TONY ALLEN and he's still playing?? And they didn't even bother to sign him to a league minimum contract?? WTF!! He means so much to your franchise that you let him walk to sign with the Pelican at near minimum wage???
Zydrunas Ilgauskas - at least he got to the NBA Finals but 13 ppg.... um Larry Nance - quality player, a few All-Star years, Slam Dunk champ Mark Price - Not sure on this one Austin Carr - Come on now Nate Thurmond - Hall of Famer played there for two years, but those were his weakest years- 5.0 ppg Brad Daugherty - I get this one. Solid NBA talent and their announcer. Edit: I forgot about the great Bingo Smith... no one should ever forget his 12/4/2 type performances.
Orlando and Sacramento both have 6 retired for the sixth man. Kind of cool. Maybe we should retire LB for all the great fans in the Lower Bowl. Also, the Jucking Fazz retired 1,223 retired for Jerry Sloan. Represents his total wins. Whatever though... dude coached two hall of famers for 19 years of his 23 in Salt Lake.
I'll give you that, he has defended James well over the years. Only the Nets, Clippers, Celtics and Rockets have guarded him better over his career. But his true shooting percentage against the Griz is quite high comparatively. I don't know if that's a sign of anything.
The core four also accomplished more than Tmac, Yao and Shane, but I bet some of those guys will have jersey retires in Houston. The facts are that the core four and gng will be remembered. You could make the equivalent that Tony Allen is Memphis's Jose Cruz.
