McGraw: Bulls' Rose wears his feelings at pregame
Michael Jordan liked to stay away from politics and strong public opinions.
So did Derrick Rose, until Saturday when he wore a T-shirt reading "I can't breathe" during warmups before the Bulls played the Golden State Warriors at the United Center.
The shirt refers to Eric Garner, the New York man who died in July after being placed in a chokehold by police attempting to make an arrest. According to videos of the incident, Garner's last words were, "I can't breathe."
A grand jury announced Wednesday it would not indict the police officer involved in Garner's death. There have been protests around the country since that decision was made.
Rose did not speak to reporters in the locker room after the game, leaving his teammates to field questions about the T-shirt.
"I didn't know (Rose would wear it). I'm just as surprised as you guys," Taj Gibson said. "I thought it was great. I'm from New York. I thought it was a great message."
Joakim Noah did hear about Rose's plan before the team went out for pregame warmups.
"I knew that Derrick was going to put that T-shirt on. I think he has every right to express his beliefs," Noah said. "He told me he was going to wear it. I respect Derrick a lot. He's definitely making a statement by wearing it. That's my guy."
Noah has been vocal about trying to prevent gun violence in the city. He said he supports an athlete's right to make a statement.
"When you wear a T-shirt with a statement, everyone's going to know how you feel about it," Noah said. "I respect Derrick 150 percent. I'm going to ride with him. I think that definitely, like I said, a lot of people feel that way.
"It's really sad what happened. Police brutality is something that … it happens. Not every cop is a bad person. Not every black person is a bad person. You can't judge people. But he definitely made a statement by wearing that T-shirt."
Kerr knows Gasol:
Before taking on his current job, Golden State head coach Steve Kerr was one of the NBA's best broadcasters. So it makes sense that Kerr had some strong insight on new Bulls center Pau Gasol, who jumped from the Los Angeles Lakers as a free agent this summer.
"I thought watching Pau the last couple of years as an analyst, he looked unhappy," Kerr said. "He wasn't in a good fit. It was a team that was maybe on the descent. He just looked sort of spiritually spent.
"I know he's got a lot of wear and tear, but sometimes at that stage of your career when you've won titles and have plenty of money, it's about the spiritual lift more than anything.
"He's in a great city. (Warriors assistant coach) Luke Walton said he saw him last night at a restaurant and said he looked pretty happy and is thrilled living in Chicago and obviously playing for a great team. So it's been a good fit."
Bull horns:
Doug McDermott was scratched from Saturday's game because his right-knee injury flared up. McDermott missed the previous two games for the same reason but was a full participant at Friday's practice. … Golden State came into Saturday's game with a franchise-record tying 11-game winning streak. The previous 11-game streak came to an end at Chicago Stadium with a 110-105 defeat on Jan. 24, 1972. Chet Walker led the Bulls that night with 29 points.