Tony Allen gained interest from the Memphis Grizzlies in the summer of 2010 after proving to be a valuable contributor for the Boston Celtics. While he was itching to sign the three-year, $9.7 million contract before the money dries up, the “Grindfather” was taken aback by a question from general manager Chris Wallace.
“Before I came, there was a little discrepancy with the general manager. Shoutout, Chris Wallace,” Allen said on the Out the Mud podcast. “He come to me, he said, ‘Hey TA, I love to have you, man. I love everything you did out here in the Finals, man. But I have my research team on you, and is it gonna be a problem playing with Zach Randolph since you guys are two different disciples? I said, ‘What?!’ Bro, it blew me!”
Gang affiliations
The “disciples” Wallace meant were Allen’s and Randolph’s gang affiliations. Z-Bo is a member of the Gangster Disciples, a street gang founded by Larry Hoover and David Barksdale in 1968. The gang was founded in Chicago, TA’s hometown, but the gang had members in most key United States cities, such as Los Angeles, New York, and Memphis.