221 replies to this topic

[DaDakota]

Jlin can penetrate, Harden can penetrate, we don't need a smooth dribbling PF who can pass, we need one that can finish.

Get rid of White, NOW.

I suspect that the Rox know exactly what they are doing Sir, and are building a case to void his contract. And they know what happens when they tell him what he doesn't want to hear, doesn't mean they should avoid it.

Royce has been surrounded by "YES" people for years, and he is 100% a mommas boy, everyone has bowed down to his every whim at every turn since high school, now he gets to the real world and doesn't understand what is going on.

Meanwhile all the enablers continue to tell him to do his thing.......wait until the money stops and see what they say then...lol.

GOOD RIDDANCE you fraud !

DD

[Matt Maloney's Ghost]

The only way to salvage the year for Royce White is to restructure his deal where he can only play home games; NBA and DLeague.

I know that sounds like a pipe dream but we have to figure out a way to up his value.

I would hate to trade T Jones or D. Mon.

DCousins is on the market. He is the only game changing player out there on the market. But what do I know, I had no idea Harden was available.

[Rahat Huq]

What an absolutely bizarre situation.

[Stephen]

I see 5 possibilities.

1) The Rockets do nothing,just bide their time,hoping it all works out.

2) Trade him.
Zero chance of trading him by himself,as any team interested has to believe the Rockets will eventually waive him and they can then pick up Royce for the minimum.
But,he could be the throw-in that another team has to take in exchange for getting the player they want from Rockets.
For examples:
Morris,White to Chi for Rip Hamilton and the lottery-protected(until 2016,unprotected) Charlotte 2012 First.
Pat,White,cash to Sac for James Johnson and the right to swap the next available Firsts(perhaps top-3 or so protected).
Morris,White to Phoenix for Wes Johnson,D. Garrett and the 2013 Laker First(and all it's permutations.)

3) Waive him. Pay him his 2 yrs guaranteed money and walk away. Most likely,even tho Morey takes PR hit and loses face w/Les.
Since all First Rd rookie deals are only guaranteed for two yrs,there's nothing Royce can do or sue over.

4) Negotiate a buy-out. Not gonna happen as Royce has zero reason to give up any guaranteed money.

5) Void his contract w/the intent of not having to pay Royce. Pleasing as that may be for many,it's dang near impossible.
It appears from the NBA's Uniform Player Contract that if the team was able to void his contract they would only be on the hook for the prorated portion of this yr's salary.
However they would have to prove:
(i) at any time, fail, refuse, or neglect to conform his personal conduct to standards of good citizenship, good moral character (defined here to mean not engaging in acts of moral turpitude, whether or not such acts would constitute a crime), and good sportsmanship, to keep himself in first class physical condition, or to obey the Team’s training rules;
(iv) at any time, fail, refuse, or neglect to render his services hereunder or in any other manner materially breach this Contract.
(Article 16,Clause A)
http://www.nbpa.org/...s/EXHIBIT A.pdf

This is where the lawsuits start to fly. The Player's Union will be actively involved as well. Heck,even Agents will be joining in to keep teams from arbitrarily voiding contracts and thus their commissions off same. Don't see the Rockets going there,so most unlikely.

[DaDakota]

I think they suspend him without pay and keep his rights...sort of like owning the rights to players when they go play in Europe etc.

DD

[bboley24]

Ill tell you this much, once White is picked up by another team and say he doesn't do well; the man is in for a long, LONG 60 years of life ahead of him.

[kjunfood]

...

[thejohnnygold]

It is always weird to dislike someone I have never met; yet, here I am....The man seems selfish. The red flags are there. Would anyone want a person like this at their job as a co-worker? Neither do any of the Rockets. Go home Royce. Someone else wants to earn your spot and their peers' respect.

[thejohnnygold]

D. Morey: "Look, I grew up watching the A-Team....I just figured we'd drug him before every flight.....I mean, it worked for B.A. Barracus.....Apparently, these days it's not ok for a man to roofie another man."


Harden: "Somebody say my name?"


EDIT FOR CLARIFICATION: (cuz he looks like BA Barracus....not for any roofie connnection)

[Jeby]

I'm done with White.
In the past I've compared him with Rodman in the respect that if he gets on the court and plays well, the off-court stuff doesn't matter. The difference between those guys is that Rodman came into the league as a late pick on a good team, then worked his butt off to get a spot. The crazy stuff came later, when the Worm already had a place in the league.
White seems to be more interested in changing the NBA/Rockets culture toward dealing with mental illness, rather than working through or overcoming his own personal anxiety disorder. If he was a star, he might have some leverage. As a rookie who refuses to show up for work, he has none.
I wish him well in his music career.

[redfaithful]

I think White causes more harm to the cause than good. Any team considering anyone with mental illness to draft will now have a good reason to avoid the risk. Too bad, if he and the people around him handled things well it could have been one of the best feel-good stories in a long time.

[Stephen]

Pure speculation follows.

While looking up standard NBA contracts from past CBAs a couple of things caught my eye.
In both the 1999 and 2005 versions,there were clauses on mental illness. So the NBA has recognized mental illness can derail a career for at least a decade.
Second a player unable to play due to mental illness is treated by the CBA as the same as a player unable to perform due to physical illness. In short,you can't just void his contract-unless the player refuses team approved treatment and refuses to visit team approved physicians.
And finally,teams can procure their own insurance for mental illness/health(depending on how you look at it).
Private insurance can include whatever terms the team is willing to pay for.

Back in Oct/Nov the team started fining Royce. He went to Players Union and told him there was nothing they could do as CBA clearly stated he had to see the Rockets choice of physician or they could void his contract.
Pure speculation here,but did the Rockets get insurance on Royce,especially after training camp fiasco? Was the Nov spat the Rockets trying to show good faith to Insurance Co,or even about getting Royce in for Insurance Company's approved physicians evaluation?
Because if the Rockets did obtain mental health insurance on Royce it changes their approach to White.
After so many games missed(and we're approaching the 41 game mark that the NBA's Coverage starts kicking in-private insurance might well use same benchmark) the Insurance Co starts paying large chunks of White's salary.
Again,pure speculation on my part,but if Rockets did get insurance on Royce,they can be a lot more patient as a big chunk of his salary will be paid by Insurance Co.

[phaketrash]

DD, while you're certainly entitled to your opinion, I'm not sure I would necessarily agree w/ your belief that he's "faking a handicap" and "only has OCD." I suffer from a form of OCD, and I can see how it can be debilitating. While I don't have the same issues that White does (he seems to get panic attacks in rooms full of people or when flying; not even sure if what he has actually counts as OCD per se), I do understand how that aspect can come to literally dominant your life. In a sense, it is a large part of your identity that has to be addressed one way or another.

That being said, I agree w/ all your other comments about him feeling entitled and being pampered (just watch the hocumentary lol). He's surrounded by people who think he's the second coming of LBJ, and they constantly remind him of that. I feel he almost thinks he deserves special treatment not JUST because of his anxiety issues, but because of how good he believes he is as well.

Yet I DO think he's a rare talent; prob top 10 in most NBA drafts (anxiety issues aside), so I somewhat prefer the Rockets wait it out on him. We can afford to because we have a plethora of young talent at the position, and we're "rebuilding" anyways. Will it work out w/ White in the end? Probably not, but I don't think Rockets are risking much (more upside than downside as is, imo).

Finally, though doctor recommendations certainly are only another set of "opinions"...I would say it carries decidedly more weight than anyone else's when it comes to health. What the doctors are exactly saying, no one in this forum knows haha. It also confuses me because he seemed to need less flying/more consistency. Um, isn't that exactly what playing for RGV gives him? Don't they bus to games and give him a bball schedule?

Maybe that's why I too am slowly running out of patience for him. I just don't feel the effort from his part. I go to work and I definitely have to think about things/make adjustments about things that other people might not have to, but it does NOT affect my work. I don't let it. Again, I'm probably not as severe as White, but I just don't know why he's seemingly expecting to not have to sacrifice anything...not like he didn't know what playing in the NBA entailed until just a few months ago...

[DaDakota]

phake,

Did you know that Royce's doctor is just a general practitioner and is not a trained mental health expert?

DD

[rockets best fan]

DaDakota: totally agree with your asessment of this guy. seems to me his only problem is a feeling of entitlement. while I don't thnk the rockets are in a position where we have to conclude this problem now the longer it festers does not bode well for white. I don't think the rockets will out right attempt to cut white, but I do believe he will be traded. there are always teams willing to gamble on players. problem is with all the acting out white is doing what will his value be?

[ObstructTheLore]

I visited family in Iowa over the holidays and one of my cousins had a friend who went to Iowa State and knew Royce and he said that he doesn't even like basketball but just plays because he's good andthat he's real big into conspiracy theories and stuff.

So maybe he wants this to not work so he can write a book "How the NBA Set Me Up to Fail"

I am hoping it works out though, mental illness's are rough but he could definately be handling it better.

[DaDakota]

I see Royce White as a complete fraud, a guy with mild OCD and Anxiety who has had people around him all his life making excuses for his bad behavior.

And the Mental Health is just the latest thing to hide behind, and give him an excuse.

Everything he has done has been forgiven - and he has been coddled, and enabled his entire life.

And now that he is being held accountable, like a spoiled brat he is throwing a tantrum - he wants it done HIS way only, and people have always done that for him, well, now, that is not happening and he is lashing out.

I don't buy for one second the mental health anxiety angle, I think this is a spoiled brat who is throwing a fit.

And you stick to your stance and hold him accountable - if he can't do that, then away he goes.

Just my .02.

I believe he is 100% fraud.

DD

[sircharles]

i think you're jumping the gun, its pretty clear that he is mentally unstable. were upset because we want to see him on the court. the truth is we have no idea what is going on behind closed doors, especially with this situation.

[DaDakota]

i think you're jumping the gun, its pretty clear that he is mentally unstable. were upset because we want to see him on the court. the truth is we have no idea what is going on behind closed doors, especially with this situation.

I disagree, nothing he is doing shows mental instability, but rather someone that has always gotten his way, and is throwing a tantrum.

We may not know - but each of us can read the tea leaves as we see them.

I think this is 100% an entitlement issue and a coddled malcontent who has gotten out of everything due to his enablers catering to his whims.

I think he is a con man that is abusing the system.

PS. One of his tweets says he wants the doctors to have executive control on all things they recommend, and that in college ISU followed all their recommendations - so basically, he only wants to play on HIS terms.

Time for the Rox to stay the course, and tell him when he is ready to grow up, let them know....meanwhile suspend him without pay.

DD

[rockets best fan]

will some one correct me if I'm wrong, but I thought working through your problems with most disorders involved facing your fear head on at some point. seems to me the longer people within his inner circle inable white to avoid his problem without facing it the more damage that will be done. I have tried to see royce's point of view and (IMO) he doesn't have a leg to stand on. the rockets have handled this mess about as well as could be expected. the ball is clearly in royce's court.