love TA but I think it speaks more to how desperate that franchise is to have someone/something recognized there than just about anywhere else. what other franchise would retire his jersey for what he's accomplished? if he's a huge contributor in the area that's great but not what I would think a jersey should be retired for.
At first in my brain I disagreed and thought "A franchise can definitely retire a beloved player's # who didn't achieve tons" and then I tried to think of examples and it was almost impossible to come up with players that didn't win a lot AND/OR didn't get lots of major awards.
Perk?
Dave Roberts?
Bill Buckner as an apology
Long snapper?
6x's All Defense doesn't count as a ton of awards?
If he averaged 20+ppg but was a sieve on D for 7 seasons nobody would bat an eye.
fair enough - using that standard you could make the argument that Bruce Bowen's jersey should be retired in SAS. I don't think you'd find many people saying Bowen's should be retired.
as for scoring 20+ for 7 seasons - it'd still be a debate that depended on the player, what else they accomplished, what franchise and what the team accomplished with that player.
Bruce Bowen's number
is retired. (Or was?
He has since let LaMarcus Aldridge wear it), right next to the even less accomplished Avery Johnson's (but granted the argument changes a little when you actually win a ring).
Excluding all guys who won a ring or passed on while playing, I think you'll find a decent list of players who accomplished about as much as Tony Allen did (and this is focusing on just guys who played in the 90's and beyond):
Tony Allen, 6x All Defense, 56 playoff games
Zydrunas Ilgauskas, Cavs, 2x All Star, 71 playoff games
Larry Nance, Cavs, 3x All Star, 3x All D, 41 playoff games
Tim Hardaway, Heat, 2x All Star, 3x All NBA, 39 playoff games
Dan Majerle, Suns, 3x All Star, 2x All D, 83 playoff games
Terry Porter, Blazers, 2x All Star, 84 playoff games
Vlade Divac, Kings, 1x All Star, 58 playoff games
Nate McMillian, Sonics, 2x All D, 98 playoff games
Jeff Hornacek, Jazz, 100 playoff games