Royce White leaves d-league team at advice of physician

[clover]

I think Houston has mismanaged this situation somewhat and not done all they could have to get value out of Royce White.  Had I been in their place, I would have tried to sell White on the idea that he is a project who isn't expected to contribute this season and that the best idea is for him to go straight to the D-League and adjust to playing in a pro basketball environment and schedule, that the team would rather be patient than rush him.  The plan would be to play him down there for the entire season, or at least until February, no matter how well he does.

I am not sure the Rockets fully understood when they drafted him that his problem wasn't something where you just had to figure out a way for him to "get over it" so you can plug him into the team like any other player.

He's on camera dismissing those who questioned his ability to navigate the NBA flight schedule, as he explained how it would b no trouble at all, and traveling on a team plane with just his teammates was completely different from his commercial flying as a college student.

I doubt your pitch would have gone over with White, and it appears from afar as if the only mistake the Rockets made was drafting this guy.

[Atzar]

I think Houston has mismanaged this situation somewhat and not done all they could have to get value out of Royce White.  Had I been in their place, I would have tried to sell White on the idea that he is a project who isn't expected to contribute this season and that the best idea is for him to go straight to the D-League and adjust to playing in a pro basketball environment and schedule, that the team would rather be patient than rush him.  The plan would be to play him down there for the entire season, or at least until February, no matter how well he does.

I am not sure the Rockets fully understood when they drafted him that his problem wasn't something where you just had to figure out a way for him to "get over it" so you can plug him into the team like any other player.

Isn't this what they tried to do with him, though?  He refused an assignment to the D-League early in the season. 

[LooseCannon]

I think Houston has mismanaged this situation somewhat and not done all they could have to get value out of Royce White.  Had I been in their place, I would have tried to sell White on the idea that he is a project who isn't expected to contribute this season and that the best idea is for him to go straight to the D-League and adjust to playing in a pro basketball environment and schedule, that the team would rather be patient than rush him.  The plan would be to play him down there for the entire season, or at least until February, no matter how well he does.

I am not sure the Rockets fully understood when they drafted him that his problem wasn't something where you just had to figure out a way for him to "get over it" so you can plug him into the team like any other player.

He's on camera dismissing those who questioned his ability to navigate the NBA flight schedule, as he explained how it would b no trouble at all, and traveling on a team plane with just his teammates was completely different from his commercial flying as a college student.

I doubt your pitch would have gone over with White, and it appears from afar as if the only mistake the Rockets made was drafting this guy.

I would have made my pitch before drafting him, making a tentative agreement a requirement before spending a pick on him.

Basically, he has needs that constantly require him to be treated differently.  This isn't a matter where you fix him so you can treat him just like everyone else.  But that different treatment is certainly doable.  I think the Rockets hoped everything would go smoothly, whereas, if I were in charge, I'd be planning for worst-case scenarios. 

Then again, I probably wouldn't have thought White was worth the risk.

[Josh88]

The mental illness and how both sides handled it aside; he's clearly a bust and is never going to be a productive NBA player at this point. Can we just stop talking about him and let this story die? I don't know what I'm more tired of, hearing about Dwight Howard  or this guy.

[Eja117]

I now have to ask myself on a scale from one to ten how terrible a person I am if my first thoughts were to feel bad for the people that drafted him in their keeper leagues.

[CelticConcourse]

If anyone to blame, blame Houston. Neither party really cares anymore, so get over it, y'all. If Royce plays, good for both sides. If not, there's no surprise.

No need to shuffle the blame around; it was played wrong in multiple areas.

[Atzar]

If anyone to blame, blame Houston. Neither party really cares anymore, so get over it, y'all. If Royce plays, good for both sides. If not, there's no surprise.

No need to shuffle the blame around; it was played wrong in multiple areas.

That's exactly why I'm irritated by what this kid is doing.    Houston comes out of this looking bad, but what else can they do?  They allow him use of a personal bus to avoid flying as much as possible.  Multiples times he hasn't allowed them to place him in the D-League for some playing time and seasoning.  At the end of the day, they signed a kid to a basketball contract only to have him continually find reasons to not play basketball.  At some point (and we may have already passed this point) he becomes more trouble than he's worth.

The biggest mistake Houston has made was taking White at his word when he said he could cope with his flying anxiety during the season.  They shouldn't have drafted him in the first place. 

[GreenEnvy]

I think Houston has mismanaged this situation somewhat and not done all they could have to get value out of Royce White.  Had I been in their place, I would have tried to sell White on the idea that he is a project who isn't expected to contribute this season and that the best idea is for him to go straight to the D-League and adjust to playing in a pro basketball environment and schedule, that the team would rather be patient than rush him.  The plan would be to play him down there for the entire season, or at least until February, no matter how well he does.

I am not sure the Rockets fully understood when they drafted him that his problem wasn't something where you just had to figure out a way for him to "get over it" so you can plug him into the team like any other player.

I'm sure he would have had a problem with that. It seems like he has a problem with everything.

I thought going into the draft this anxiety disorder of his was being overblown and he'd have an opportunity to succeed in the NBA. I still think that's the case, he is just being problematic, for reasons beyond his illness.

I think if he can't handle whatever issues he has with the normal NBA regimen, he needs to leave. If he loves basketball so much, go play overseas somewhere where they can accommodate him more easily. Take the Queen Mary if he has to.

Unless it can be proven exactly how Houston was insensitive to his condition, this is all on him. He seems to want the attention more than finding a remedy for this situation. I don't get why Houston would take him with a mid-1st and then not go out of their way to do whatever it takes to see him succeed. This is about him being intentionally difficult IMO.

[timobusa]

Sorry, I had to.

[CelticConcourse]

If anyone to blame, blame Houston. Neither party really cares anymore, so get over it, y'all. If Royce plays, good for both sides. If not, there's no surprise.

No need to shuffle the blame around; it was played wrong in multiple areas.

That's exactly why I'm irritated by what this kid is doing.    Houston comes out of this looking bad, but what else can they do?  They allow him use of a personal bus to avoid flying as much as possible.  Multiples times he hasn't allowed them to place him in the D-League for some playing time and seasoning.  At the end of the day, they signed a kid to a basketball contract only to have him continually find reasons to not play basketball.  At some point (and we may have already passed this point) he becomes more trouble than he's worth.

The biggest mistake Houston has made was taking White at his word when he said he could cope with his flying anxiety during the season.  They shouldn't have drafted him in the first place.

Well, you can't blame White for getting drafted. Maybe you can. At this point, it's over..

[moiso]

It's kind of telling that he quit his d-league team just a couple of days after saying the Rockets and the leagaue want him gone.  It sounds more like White himself wants to be gone, but want everyone to think it's not on him.  I'm sure the Rockets want him to keep playing in the d-league- as he hasn't played well enough to merit a call up.  And I don't buy for one second that he is following a physician's actual opinion.  For example, I could complain of back pain which I don't actually have, and get a physician to give a note saying I should not return to work until after the summer is over.  It happens all the time.

And the fact that he is quitting "to get ready for next season" is a joke.  It's like quitting school to prepare for an exam.  White is just full of poop, and I hate how he is already planning on dragging this on until next year.  He does not plan on playing and he is clearly attempting to force the Rockets into making a move for the sole reason that he wants to be able to complain about it and take action against it.

[kozlodoev]

Boy, I'm sure happy we're not part of this hoopla.

[Fafnir]

If anyone to blame, blame Houston. Neither party really cares anymore, so get over it, y'all. If Royce plays, good for both sides. If not, there's no surprise.

No need to shuffle the blame around; it was played wrong in multiple areas.

That's exactly why I'm irritated by what this kid is doing.    Houston comes out of this looking bad, but what else can they do?  They allow him use of a personal bus to avoid flying as much as possible.  Multiples times he hasn't allowed them to place him in the D-League for some playing time and seasoning.  At the end of the day, they signed a kid to a basketball contract only to have him continually find reasons to not play basketball.  At some point (and we may have already passed this point) he becomes more trouble than he's worth.

The biggest mistake Houston has made was taking White at his word when he said he could cope with his flying anxiety during the season.  They shouldn't have drafted him in the first place.

Well, you can't blame White for getting drafted. Maybe you can. At this point, it's over..

White declared for the NBA draft and signed the contract the Rockets offered, so yeah you can blame him for this ongoing embarassment.

[Fafnir]

Boy, I'm sure happy we're not part of this hoopla.

Oh yeah, big time.

[jdz101]

I just can't buy into it any more. The changing of the twitter picture to Gandhi was the final straw. Royce is not some crusader in a movement for change in mental health policy within professional sport. How he has acted since being drafted will have actually discouraged professional sporting organizations when taking a chance on players with mental health issues. He is fleecing his employer of a salary to push his own personal agenda in a negative light, creating conflict along the way. There are ways to use your standing in society and the media as a professional basketballer in a POSITIVE way to help others in society. See Jason Terry's community work.

There are plenty of people in professional sport and high exposure jobs that have mental illnesses just like Royce, who do not choose to parade around in the media with such self-entitlement. Royce knew full-well what sort of challenges the NBA poses on players, yet he still chose to submit for the draft.

Royce's way of coping with some obviously difficult mental problems is blaming everybody but himself for this predicament. He is always right, despite him submitting for the NBA draft CLEARLY being the wrong decision.

The draft for any NBA team is a gamble. They are spending millions of dollars on your future in the hope that you will net them some sort of return. Royce has shown no respect for his employer after such a large investment was made on him.

What a waste.