Geoff Calkins

The Commercial Appeal

Tony Allen, Boston Celtic.

It now makes perfect sense, doesn’t it?

Not as much sense as Tony Allen, Memphis Grizzly. That one still makes more sense to me.

More:Tony Allen removes Grizzlies mention from Twitter bio

The Grizzlies already lost a big part of their identity when Zach Randolph signed with the Sacramento Kings. The player they signed to start at two guard — Ben McLemore — already suffered a foot injury and may not be ready to really contribute until December, if then.

So I would figure out a way to bring back Allen. I would make him a forever Griz. The team is both better and more entertaining when he is on the floor. The man who invented grit & grind should retire with the franchise.

But the moment coach David Fizdale benched Allen for Andrew Harrison — Andrew Harrison! — during last season’s stretch run, you knew the Grizzlies weren’t planning to bring Allen back. And sure enough, when the offseason unfolded, the Grizzlies showed they weren’t interested in rewarding Allen’s play, ferocity or way with words when they kept offering contracts to shooting guards who had not actually invented a growl towel.

They signed Wayne Selden to a new contract. They went out and got McLemore. They signed old friend Tyreke Evans.

Meanwhile, Allen kept waiting, and waiting, and waiting some more.

There was some thought the Los Angeles Clippers might sign him. That turned the stomachs of Memphis fans everywhere.

There was some thought Allen might end up with the Minnesota Timberwolves. He could teach those young kids how to defend.

But then Boston make the big trade with Cleveland, acquiring Kyrie Irving in exchange for Isaiah Thomas, Jae Crowder, Ante Zizic and the Nets' unprotected first-round draft pick.

That freed up a roster spot in Boston. That gave Danny Ainge the chance to make up for letting Allen leave as a free agent in 2010. And that also leads to a small story, which I do not believe has been told until now.

The Grizzlies thought they had reached an agreement to sign Allen to a three-year, $10 million deal back in 2010. But Allen was in Chicago at the time, and leaving for an island vacation the next day.

The Grizzlies were desperate to get Allen’s actual signature on the contract. They heard the Celtics were going to make another pitch.

Who could bring a contract to Allen in Chicago before he left in the morning?

A union pipe fitter named Mike Carroll, as it turned out.

“Tony Barone (Jr.) is my cousin,” Carroll said. “I happened to be eating dinner when he called me. He said that were worried that Boston was still after Tony and they looking for someone they could trust. They told me they were going to send three copies of the contract to my phone and I needed to bring them to Tony Allen’s building.

“Now, I don’t know how to download anything. I had to go back to the apartment, where I got the 16-year-old kid from upstairs to show me how. He was reading it, going, `Wow, that’s a lot of money, who is this!?’

“We drove down to Tony’s apartment. I was a little nervous at first. We waited in his lobby, man, we must have waited about two hours. He showed up around midnight. We went up to his place where he signed everything and faxed it back to Memphis.

“He was jacked up when he signed them. He jumped up and said, `I’m a Griz!’ I guess it worked out pretty good for the franchise.”

I guess it sure did. Allen went on to transform the Grizzlies. Ainge went on to get ripped for letting Allen escape. Google “Tony Allen” and “Celtics” and you’ll see a whole bunch of stories about the one that got away.

Now Ainge has a chance to undo his blunder. Allen is exactly what his young, talented team needs. Irving, Gordon Hayward and rest will score a lot of points. But they can’t defend worth a lick. The Celtics traded away their two best wing defenders this offseason, Crowder and Avery Bradley. An injection of #FirstTeamDefense would certainly help.

And, yes, it will be painful for Memphis fans when Allen signs with some team other than the Grizzlies. But since that decision has already been made by the franchise, why not let him go back to the city where his NBA career began?

The man deserve a happy ending. He deserves a chance to be back on the big stage. He deserves a chance to retire a Grizzly, but, failing that, aren’t the Celtics the next best thing?