“We are trying to figure out a plan for me to be healthy and successful long-term,” White said. “It’s not really anything that’s going on right now. It’s more of trying to take a pro-active approach and trying to put together a solid plan.
“It is definitely linked with my anxiety sure, but it’s not so much as far as my anxiety now. Basically what happened was my doctor, we discussed it, and it was decided the way the plan was now just wasn’t logistically healthy.
“So what can we do strategically to try and improve the chances of everybody being successful in this situation, my success and the Rockets success? If I fail then that’s not good for them either, because it’s an investment.”
I don’t want to blow this out of proportion but this is extremely troubling. We made light of the matter at the time of the draft but it appears that still, the illness is something which will affect Royce in his life.
First, your concerns go out to Royce as a person. Mental health is no joke and can, in instances, cripple a person as much as physical afflictions. But, this is a sports blog, so at the risk of appearing crass, we have to discuss the implications of the event.
My first reaction to the news was remembrance of the late Eddie Griffin. That was an instance where the Rockets, the Rockets’ coaching staff and Rockets management did not handle a very delicate matter with appropriate sensitivity. You cannot apply ‘tough love’ in situations where a person should be approached with kid gloves. The Rockets did not give Griffin the mentoring and guidance that his background necessitated. Similarly, they must now ensure that White attains the medical attention he needs and adheres to the prescription outlined in consultation.
In crude terms, we are discussing a corporation and an asset worth millions to the profit-seeking ventures of that corporation. It would be downright foolish to not give proper heed to the sensitivity of the dilemma. I pray that Kevin McHale in particular handles this smartly. ’Tough love’ is not always the right path.
It would be easy to brush this under the rug and dismiss these concerns as sensationalistic. But the fact of the matter is that Marcus Morris just wasted away his entire rookie campaign largely in part to not having the benefit of a training camp. NBA training camp is no joke. The fear here is that White, if missing camp, might not ever get back up to speed and might not ever be granted a chance by McHale. Not to play slippery slope, but he could be buried before things even tip off. It’s happened before, like I said, with Morris.
This is a year, the first in ‘The New Era’, where the team must see what it has with its new prospects. They cannot afford to have any linger on the bench. Let’s hope that White gets the treatment he needs and that things get back on track. For both White and for the Rockets.