His story is really only relevant to me insofar as it informs the issue of how the league should accommodate players who suffer from mental health issues.
The Rockets drafted him thinking it was simply an issue with anxiety over flying. That’s a simple matter you can treat with CBT, exposure therapy, hypnosis, other psychotherapy, or at worst PRN Benzos. The present they got instead once they opened the package was a full blown cluster B tsunami. Narcissistic PD, borderline... you don’t fix those things, you just get away from those people and let the 10% of humanity who believes their bullshit fall in the ditch. You’d like to save Royce White victims, but there’s no telling who will succumb since people like that are such ravenous predators.
Coaches always have inputs on drafting players. But the GM is ultimately responsible for the draft. Anyway, I don't think the Rockets, including both McHale and Morey, knew the extent of White's mental issues. Either White was able to hide his problems, even to his college coaches, or Morey did not do enough homework. I'd put Royce White among several of Morey's draft blunders. It's not a knock on Morey's overall effectiveness as a GM. Every GM has draft blunders on his resume. Also, the NBA as a whole was not prepared to deal with it. There was no precedent. White was not the only player who had mental problems. But none of them made demands like him. Whether he is just a self-absorbing b**** or he is sincere in raising mental health issues is anyone's judgment. The Rockets lost a first round pick. Interestingly, the DMo saga, while very different, also featured an unusual dealing by an injured player. Again, we can judge all we want whose fault it was. At the end of the day, we also lost a first rounder. At least DMo gave us one good season. Royce White was a lost cause from the very beginning.
He can sail to Lithuania and play ball with the Balls (LeMelo and LiAngelo). Bus their way to every game.
I'm sorry that the NBA didn't accommodate you. Your condition made you difficult to work with. It's a team sport. If you can't travel with your team consistently because of a disorder, you're a distraction. This isn't a 60 man roster. It's 12 people. Sorry not sorry, now move along.
I'm telling you it was all in his head. He even stated that he thinks the Rockets de-activated him in the first pre-season game to punish him for demanding to take the bus???? His further issues came when they assigned him to the D-league. In his head he thinks he's a star player deserving of NBA players so therefore being assigned to the D-league is the Rockets intentionally ****ing with him. In Reality if McHale gave him major NBA minutes he wouldn't have said anything. It's not a coincidence that he only started sulking and refusing to show up when he wasn't getting any NBA minutes.
I have sympathy for anybody dealing with such a disorder... but Royce White can go screw himself - straight up! The dude is a con man - end of story - end of career. Royce White is the polar opposite of Gerald Green... pun intended! lol!
I mean do you really think the guy is a diva for wanting NOT to fly on a PLANE but rather take a BUS? Come on - the dude is legitimately diagnosed with an anxiety disorder. I don't think you may realize what it's like to have a mental illness. There is a problem in our country when we think it's just being a diva.
Again, the mistake the Rockets made was to draft someone who has a mental illness - specifically a anxiety disorder and expect them to somehow handle the stress and grind of an NBA season. That doesn't make White a diva - it makes him mentally ill. There was no way the Rockets could have accommodated him because his issue really wasn't with the Rockets, it was with the notion of what it took to succeed in the NBA and how incapable that was with his mental illness.
Yes, narcissistic personality disorder IS technically a mental health issue, but I'm not sure it's an issue the league ought to accommodate. Successful treatment is extremely rare.
I do not doubt that White suffers from mental illness and faces many obstacles. I did not label as a diva, or anything. I just do not think the Rockets neglected him as much as he portrays the situation.
Ugh... now Deadspin has picked up the Royce White story... media trying to find a way to prevent Morey from winning Executive of the Year. https://deadspin.com/royce-white-isnt-ready-to-believe-that-the-nba-really-c-1823941157 Wish we sent him to OKC as part of that Harden trade.... on the bright side... we didn't pick Austin Rivers at #10. (Weak draft overall though after the Lottery... although Draymond Green would have been nice).
