Former All-Defensive guard gets good legal defense

Allen was one of 18 NBA players charged in a $5 million medical fraud case, where the players used fake invoices to defraud the NBA's Health and Welfare Benefit Plan. Ringleader Terrence Williams, who was the No. 11 pick in the 2009 draft, received a ten-year sentence and was forced to return $2.5 million after he pled guilty to the charges. Williams also allegedly threatened witnesses.

As a player, Allen was known for takeaways—he's ninth all-time in steal percentage. But in this case, he didn't get any prison time because of giving money away. Allen paid back most of his ill-gotten gains before his arrest, so he got supervised probation.

While this case contains serious misdeeds and fraud, it's another example of athletes suffering financial troubles after retirement. Not that it excuses participation in a massive, multi-state medical fraud operation, but the reason Williams was able to recruit so many former players is because they needed money—even after, like Allen, they made tens of millions in their careers.

Resolving the case also means that the Memphis Grizzlies can go through with their planned retirement of Allen's No. 9 jersey. Originally planned for January 2022, Allen asked the team to delay after his arrest.

Now that Allen is avoiding incarceration, we should see his jersey in the rafters at the FedEx Forum soon.