I wouldn't call this desperate at all. It's just relative. The criteria for the Bulls to retire a jersery are different then the Grizzlies.
Also, the grizzlies have been around 23 seasons. The first 8 seasons they were the worst team in the league followed by 3 winning seasons with Pau Gasol followed by 4 more losing seasons after they traded him. The first 15 seasons of this franchise's existence was downright terrible.
Then they signed Tony Allen. Everything changed for the Grizz when Tony Allen, The Grindfather, stepped on the court wearing Memphis blue, and when he came up with his famous tag line "grit and grind" in a post game interview. He did for them what KG did for us, (except the obvious ring). They Grizz went on to have 7 good to very good consecutive seasons with multiple 50+ win seasons.
I applaud them for honoring defense, intangibles, leadership and hustle and this could open the doors a bit for Marcus to get his number retired here
Every franchise needs a foundation to build off of.... a culture to follow. The Celtics has their, toughness and grit since the Bill Russell days. Lakers have theirs, showtime, and that continues to today.