December 27, 2018: Retired

While we’re on the subject of D Rose, let’s talk about retired numbers.  I see this topic brought up from time to time, regarding the question of whether or not Rose should have his number 1 retired with the Bulls.  My first instinct, was get the hell out of here.  I figured I’d take a peek at the numbers to check my hunch.

My first thought was that he didn’t play enough games with the Bulls.  After further review, there are 21 players that have wore the Bulls uniform in more games than Derrick.  Rose has played 406 games in a Bulls uniform.  Out of the 4 Bulls players who have their numbers retired, the games played goes like this:  930, 856, 696, & 592.  But it’s about quality of those games, not quantity right?  OK, so Rose has the 8th most FGs made in Bulls history; that’s definitely better.  That’s exactly where he sits in total PPG in a Bulls uni too.  Then you throw in the MVP award; the only person outside of Jordan who has won one as a Bull.  And then the ROY award; the only others were Jordan and Brand.  The quality of his work definitely outweighs the quantity.  But don’t you need both to get your number retired?

And then there’s the team accomplishments; that should matter in this discussion or no?  Maybe not, but there was only 1 Conference Finals appearance with Derrick Rose.  That obviously pales in comparison to MJ and Pip, but what about Love and Sloan?  They actually made it to 2 Conference Finals appearances.  Still, no NBA Finals appearances for Love, Sloan, or Rose.  If you’re trying to tell me Rose should have his number retired, I guess we need to look closer at Sloan and Love; there is no comparison to MJ or Pip.  Back to that whole longevity thing; Sloan played almost 300 games more and Love played almost 200 games more than Rose.  That’s no small chunk.  Love is 3rd in PPG while Sloan is 30th; they’re 3 and 4 respectively on the FG made.  What other individual stats would be critical?  Maybe Win Shares?  Sloan and Love are both top 10.  Maybe playoff stats should count more?  Rose did raise his game in the postseason, averaging 3 more PPG than in the regular season.  Love averaged almost 2 more PPG in the playoffs, while Sloan was about the same.  But does comparing Rose to other Bulls players the fair thing to do?  There probably are other players whose numbers deserve to be retired then as well, right?

It should be looked at case by case.  Injuries shouldn’t factor in, but we all know that’s a big part of the Rose story with the Bulls.  Unfortunately, it was those injuries that left him stuck with his current individual accomplishments, and limited our team ones.  If you take away the injuries, we’re having a different conversation.  Rose is loved by many fans still, and that should count for something, right?  Yet a lot of those folks probably don’t even know what numbers Sloan and Love wore… 4 and 10 respectively by the way.  Who makes this final decision anyways?  Maybe I need to research that too.

I loved Rose, but I’m still holding firm that he should NOT get his number retired… although since nobody wants to wear it anyways…  I feel like this all gets watered down over time… retired numbers, HOF, statues, legendary status…  Only the best of the best deserve this stuff; the best of the best over the history of the franchise and the history of the game.  Sure, prime, healthy Rose would be in that top group in Bulls all-time history; maybe that’s enough?  I still think his time was too short.  Great individual accomplishments in that time no doubt; great enough to retire his number?  My vote remains no.  Let’s get back to the Bears…