The Royce White saga in Houston has continued to develop and has taken an interesting turn. White suffers from serious anxiety, and specifically is extremely uncomfortable with flying; something that is pretty much necessary to do when traveling to different NBA cities. The Rockets had worked out a travel plan, but apparently that has fallen apart.
On Monday the Rockets sent White down to the D-League and White released a statement that said: “In hindsight, perhaps it was not a good idea to be open and honest about my anxiety disorder due to the current situations at hand that involve the nature of actions from the Houston Rockets. The Rockets have been inconsistent with their agreement to proactively create a healthy and successful relationship. Failure to meet my requests for support will end with me being unhealthy and that is not a consequence that I am willing to accept to play any sport.”
But he wasn’t finished, the statement and rant continued on Twitter:
https://twitter.com/Highway_30/statuses/268543493352329216
https://twitter.com/Highway_30/statuses/268545604249063424
https://twitter.com/Highway_30/statuses/268547199183503360
https://twitter.com/Highway_30/statuses/268548743882735616
https://twitter.com/Highway_30/statuses/268549665362964480
https://twitter.com/Highway_30/statuses/268550222362316800
https://twitter.com/Highway_30/statuses/268552266334736384
https://twitter.com/Highway_30/statuses/268553970245578752
The Rockets knew the risk when they drafted White out of Iowa State, and his anxiety disorder is a reason that many teams let White fall in the draft.
The Rockets released their own statement Tuesday saying that, “Royce is not available right now. We are committed to his long-term success and we will continue to support him now and going forward.”
White has the talent to play in the NBA, but things have clearly gotten off to a rough start in Houston. You have to wonder if the Rockets are wishing they could go back in time and draft someone else.
The Rockets did what they could to try and make travel arrangements for White, but if White wants to be in the starting lineup or at least on the bench every night, he’s not going to be able to bus everywhere. It simply isn’t plausible or reasonable. Hopefully both parties can get the issues resolved and White can get a shot in the NBA.
H/T: CBS Sports