The Miami Heat honored Dwyane Wade with a statue earlier this week, and Kevin Garnett believes the Chicago Bulls should do the same for Derrick Rose. On the latest episode of the Ticket & The Truth podcast, Garnett explained why Rose deserves a statue in Chicago.
“What I’m about to say is probably one of the rarest situations we’ve ever had in NBA history, so just hear me out,” Garnett said. “Now usually, someone who gets a stature has won championships… But if he didn’t, he was also like that dude (meant) so much to the city and you put him up.”
“Let’s just say this kid grows up in a city that an NBA city is in,” Garnett continued. “He grows up in the NBA city. So he grows up, that’s his team… He goes to high school, he becomes that dude in high school. Goes off to college, guess where he goes to? The city he grew up in. He gets drafted by them. That’s a dream, right? Then he becomes MVP of the league while he with that team.”
“I hope everybody understands what I’m trying to say,” Garnett added. “A D-Rose statue in Chicago and it don’t have to be on Mike’s (Michael Jordan) side, Mike needs to have his own s*** like D-Rose needs. Bro, to grow up in Chicago and to dominate Chicago basketball with the Bulls DNA.”
Garnett’s reasoning is an interesting one. He managed to convince Paul Pierce too, as his co-host eventually agreed that Rose deserves a statue in Chicago.
Garnett wants the statue to be inside the United Center and believes a replica should be placed outside Simeon Career Academy in Chicago, Illinois, where Rose starred as a high schooler. He reckons four or five million people would show up for the unveiling.
Rose certainly is an iconic figure in the area. He was born in Chicago, Illinois, and following his exploits at Simeon headed to the University of Memphis in 2007. After spending just a year there, he was drafted by the Bulls with the first pick in the 2008 NBA Draft.
Rose’s early years with the Bulls were quite special, with him becoming the youngest player to win MVP in NBA history in 2011. It seemed it was only a matter of time before he led them to glory but the injury bug then struck.
Rose tore his ACL in 2012 and that was just the beginning of a brutal injury nightmare. He tore his meniscus the following year and all that time on the sidelines meant he never came close to fulfilling his potential. The Bulls would eventually trade him in 2016, something that would have been unthinkable during his early years.
Rose ended his Bulls career with averages of 19.7 points, 3.7 rebounds, 6.2 assists, 0.8 steals, and 0.4 blocks per game. He never managed to take the team to the NBA Finals in his eight seasons there, but did lead them to the Conference Finals once.
I understand Garnett’s overall point about Rose’s incredible story, but I don’t think the Bulls will be erecting a statue of the guard. He ultimately didn’t do enough on the court to get one, but he might someday have his number placed inside the United Center.
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