Shame on you, Anthony Morrow. How dare you slip your head into a Bulls jersey with the No. 1 anywhere on it?
Mistake or no mistake by the Bulls’ new veteran forward, that No. 1 stands for greatness. It stands for a city’s pride. It stands for the best player on the roster.
That’s why there’s only one player who can wear it, and his name is Jimmy Butler III.
That’s right — there’s just one simple way to end the nonsense that has gone on twice now this season over the No. 1. When the Bulls return to the United Center on Tuesday for the game against the Denver Nuggets, Butler needs to quietly go through the pregame lay-up line, and then, after the anthem, when his warm-up comes off, his jersey must have a big “1’’ on the back.
Ludicrous? No more than what has gone on with Derrick Rose’s old number already.
The Bulls’ official stance is that, unless a number is retired, it’s in play. In training camp, it was Michael Carter-Williams who initially decided to wear No. 1 after the Bulls acquired him in a trade with the Milwaukee Bucks. Social-media attacks came quickly, and he changed to No. 7.
Then, on Friday, Morrow wasn’t able to grab the No. 2 he’d worn with the Oklahoma City Thunder — Jerian Grant already has it with the Bulls — so he opted for No. 1, not even thinking about Rose.
“When I sat down, I started going through my Twitter mentions, and it was like crazy,” Morrow said Saturday. “Like, ‘What makes you think you can wear that?’ I was like, ‘Ohhh, D-Rose . . .’ He clearly has a strong, cult-like following, and he’s from here, so I get it.”
By Saturday evening, Morrow had switched to No. 11 and the story went national, including reaction from Rose to New York reporters, saying he understands it’s just a number “but I get how the fans feel, too, as far as just the memories that we had, me wearing that number.”
The memories consist of four great seasons — with just one trip to the Eastern Conference finals, where Rose was locked down by LeBron James — and four years of drama involving Rose’s injuries and comeback attempts. That doesn’t warrant retiring a number or putting it on the shelf for a few years, let alone harassing players who select it with clearance from the front office.
If the problem is that Carter-Williams and Morrow aren’t perceived to have the talent to wear No. 1, that’s where Butler comes in. He’s better all-around on the court than Rose was and more committed off the court to making the Bulls a contender. In the last week, he averaged 22 points, 9.5 assists and 4.8 rebounds in a four-game winning streak marked by repeated clutch shots.
“That’s an elite player,” teammate Dwyane Wade said of Butler after they beat the visiting Cleveland Cavaliers on Saturday. “You have to know how to be great in many different ways.”
Many of the players in the locker room think the No. 1 outcry caused by Rose’s “cult-like following’’ is absurd.
So, like so much with the Bulls these days, put it on Butler’s back.
Follow me on Twitter @suntimes_hoops.
Email: jcowley@suntimes.com
