The Bulls "Still Discussing" The Idea Of Officially Retiring Derrick Rose's Number Is Pretty Insane
David Dow. Getty Images.The topic of a jersey/number retirement is always a tricky subject. It's one of those situations where I don't think there's a blanket standard requirement for a guy to see his number up in the rafters. Not all franchises are created equal, and not all franchises have the same standards, which is fine. For example, the Celtics have around 25 numbers retired, but to get up there you not only need to be a franchise legend, you only go up if you win a championship (with Reggie Lewis being the only exception for obvious reasons). If you don't win at least one ring, it doesn't matter what you do as a Celtic. You're not going up.
At the same time, for some franchises out there it's possible to be worthy of your number being retired despite a lack of a title. As we are now finally seeing with the Raptors, Vince Carter who is undoubtedly a franchise legend is finally getting his nod despite never winning a Larry. There's really no "one size fits all" criteria with this kind of thing, each case is unique.
Which brings us to newly retired Bulls Legend Derrick Rose. I have to admit, I thought it was pretty odd that this is something the Bulls "are still discussing" and something that wasn't an immediate no-brainer. As of now, the Bulls have 5 numbers retired
1. Jerry Sloan's #4
2. Bill Russell's #6 (league-wide)
3. Bob Love's #10
4. Michael Jordan's #23
5. Scottie Pippen's #33
Removing Russell, the Bulls have only had 4 players to ever get this nod, and of those 4, only 2 won titles.
So when we look at Rose's case, I personally do not believe a lack of title should get in the way here. Given his injuries, the tough part when comparing him to the other non-title-winning Bulls up in the rafters is the difference in games played. Jerry Sloan (a HOFer) played 696 games as a Bull and Bob Love played 592. Both totals are much more than Rose's 405, but that's not exactly his fault. Injuries are a motherfucker and they robbed us of hundreds of more Rose games as a Bull.
To me, given that Rose was from Chicago and became the youngest MVP in the history of the NBA as a Bull, I think that trumps the games played issue. You could argue Rose was their most important and influential player in a post-MJ world, and I think that should matter. When you think of Derrick Rose, you think of the Bulls. Nobody really associates him with the Knicks, Pistons, Wolves, Grizzlies or Cavs. Derrick Rose (at least to my idiot brain) is a Bull. If he were to ever make the HOF (I don't think he does), he would go in as a Bull.
Chicago stoolies, am I delusional about this? Is Derrick Rose not the most obvious jersey retirement in the history of jersey retirements? Nobody has worn #1 since Rose last did back in 2016, so it's basically already retired! It's all signs of a very unserious organization if you ask me. You want to be stingy when it comes to numbers going up in the rafters? Fine. But you do not do that with Derrick Rose. That makes zero sense.
