yeah, i actually believed bowen had another year in him, too. Irrc, at that time, bruce was about as productive as any other swingman the spurs had - not named ginobili. Finley was clearly done and he should've been the one to have been jettisoned from the team.
For all of rj's suckiness, i really wished the spurs could've traded for jack, back then, instead of him. However, i admit that i do not remember the cir stances with jack's status.
It's too bad bruce wasn't able to finish his career on his own terms, but the jersey retirement ceremony was certainly a fitting tribute to a guy that contributed so much to this organization and to the community.