Draymond Green loves to ruffle a few feathers, but he actually might be right on this one.
Following the Bulls’ epic and emotional retirement of Derrick Rose’s jersey over the weekend, Green made the claim that Rose stands alone at the top of the mountain in Chicago, even Michael Jordan takes a back seat to the Chicago native.
“There’s not one bigger person in the city of Chicago than Derrick Rose,” Green said on his podcast. “Make no mistake about it. You heard what I said. There is not one bigger person that means more to the city of Chicago than Derrick Rose.”
He made sure to add, “With all due respect to [Michael Jordan] — I love MJ. We all wanted to be like Mike. Still love Mike. Mike doesn’t mean more to the city of Chicago than Derrick Rose. That’s just facts.
“Derrick Rose stops everything. Derrick Rose stops crime. Derrick Rose can walk around Chicago – no problem. What he means to the city of Chicago is unbelievable.”
Despite the injuries that derailed his career, Rose’s legacy is one that won’t be soon forgotten, Green says.
“Obviously, we know what happened with the injuries and stuff that took D-Rose off the path that he was on,” Green said. “Youngest MVP in league history in the Chicago Bulls jersey when the Chicago Bulls were struggling for years after Mike. Derrick Rose came and saved the franchise.”
Green added, “Shout out to D-Rose, man. Tip my cap. Well deserved, brother. Definitely hope to see D-Rose in the Hall of Fame. You went MVP of the NBA. You deserve to be in the Hall of Fame. It’s the best league in the world and you were the best player.”
The ceremony on Saturday, which included speeches from Rose’s old teammates, Tom Thibodeau and a super long and awe-inspiring speech from Rose, saw Rose’s banner hang with the likes of MJ and Scottie Pippen’s at United Center.
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