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| Royce White (No. 30) won't play for the D-League team. (Getty Images) |
Yesterday, Royce White was assigned to the Rio Grande Valley Vipers, the Houston Rockets' D-League team, to begin the process of getting White acclimated to the team's system and organization on the court. It looked like a step in the right direction for getting him onto the court and into his NBA career after a well-documented struggle with the organization as he learns to adapt himself to the NBA lifestyle.
According to David Aldridge, that feeling of everything finally coming together for White and the Rockets might be short-lived:
Royce White says he won't play for Rockets' D League team, citing "unsafe" atmosphere of team officials making mental health calls.
— David Aldridge (@daldridgetnt) December 30, 2012
In statement, White says he wants to play, but only "with the collaboration and recommendation of trained professionals."
— David Aldridge (@daldridgetnt) December 30, 2012
White says HOU has only given an "image" of support, & provided info that is "extremely misleading, and a lot of times totally inaccurate."
— David Aldridge (@daldridgetnt) December 30, 2012
White's complete statement on the matter can be seen here on NBA.com.
This is extremely discouraging for those who have been hoping the situation would end up with a happy ending and White finally starting his NBA career. In a well-documented saga with White and Rockets management, there was a lot of name-calling and misgivings about the situation with both sides seemingly taking a very different stance on the situation. But after weeks of silence on this front and White apparently agreeing to work with the Rockets' recommended personnel, it seemed like all was well.
One day after being sent to the D-League, it has now all fallen apart and we're back to where we were with the ordeal back in mid-November. Regardless of whether White is correct in his assessment of the atmosphere around the Rockets and their D-League affiliate, the fact that he's saying these things means he believes it to be true and they're once again at an impasse.
