| Royce White doesn't like the support from the Rockets. (Getty Images) |
The Royce White saga in Houston has taken another turn.
The Rockets worked out an apparent travel plan to help the rookie with some of his anxiety issues, but things evidently haven't gone too well. Not only has White not appeared in a game this season, he was sent down to the Rockets' D-League affiliate on Monday.
On Tuesday he released a statement calling the team's support "inconsistent."
"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," White said in the statement. "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."
Then he took to Twitter to continue his thoughts:
The Rockets released a statement of their own on Tuesday.
“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.”
Obviously the Rockets understood the baggage that came with White when they drafted him. It was a reason a lot of teams shied away. He was going to need special considerations if he was to have a successful NBA career. Any thought otherwise would be unfair and naive.
At the same time, this is the NBA and there are unavoidable circumstances, such as travel. While the Rockets made some arrangements for White to travel by bus to some road games, complete cooperation there isn't reasonable. At least not if White wants to be a regular rotation player on the team. While White is battling a difficult disorder, he understood these challenges were going to be there. It's like someone who's afraid of spiders becoming an exterminator and being upset when he has to kill one.
Still, White potentially has a very bright NBA future ahead and both he and the Rockets are responsible for making the most of it. What specifically he wants from the Rockets is unclear, but it's obvious that he doesn't feel like the team is supporting him enough. It was what they signed up for when they called his name on draft night and if they weren't willing to do it then they either didn't do their homework or they just didn't understand White's anxiety issues.
Again, though, we don't know the specifics of what's going on but it's something White isn't happy about. Clearly.
Either way, White's NBA career isn't exactly off to a great start. Hopefully for his sake, things take a better turn not just for his NBA career, but for his personal health, too. Because like he said, that's more important than basketball.