Royce White refuses assignment to D-League (UPDATE: Rockets suspend him)

Attacking Morey in the last article, saying he is calling the shots now which he shouldn't because doctors should be in charge. You think this is going to cost him? Doesn't make Daryl look very good...

 

You raise a very good point. Even if Houston agreed to a "protocol," it may well be that the NBA wouldn't approve it. Such a protocol might set precedent a player to refuse a D-League assignment or demand rotation minutes by getting a doctor's note after doctor shopping for a pliable doctor. After all, Houston needed league permission before giving White a bus, even though Houston saw no problem with it. And since my take is that Royce wants something in writing, it may require the NBA League approval. So not only would he need Houston's approval, but Stern's as well.

 

This is already ongoing. Protocol should be updated on regular basis.

 

LOL. Even when we agree, you still find a way to disagree Carl. No worries... Notice I said IF they were looking to part ways, and litigation was an option.

I applaud your optimism for still thinking that the Rockets are going to find a way to work it out, but lets face it... Royce himself said that its highly probable that he never plays a minute in the NBA. To me it looks like this saga will end sooner rather than later.

The Terrence Williams situation was a little different because his situation was not related to such a controversial subject, the controversy was very low on the radar nationally, the Rockets were in a different situation basketball wise, and going through a nasty court hearing was never a topic.

While the Rockets have said (through Woj) that they are not going to release him, that doesn't necessarily mean that they definitely would go to battle with him & deal with the mess of what would happen in court. Those public messages could have been stated for a number of different reasons at this junction. Mainly because, from a business & PR perspective, its what you are "supposed to" say in the case of a dissability or anything that could show that you are Un-Accommodating from a worker rights perspective.

Your right that Les and Morey don't care as much about public perception as maybe the folks here on Clutchfans do, and they are not going to be happy with a wasted draft pick, but to me as I see a team & owner that are paying 9 players this season that aren't even on this roster anymore, I would be shocked if they decided to go to court over 3 million dollars in losses and the potential to MAYBE if they get lucky they can get the 31st pick in next years draft if things worked out for them in court.

I just dont see Les Alexander as the type of owner that would wage war against this guy in court just to prove something and get a late 1st rounder or 2nd rounder. Then you add in the potential for public consumption of the NBA looking controversial to the mental health community in any, way, shape or form.... yeah.

 

http://hangtime.blogs.nba.com/2013/01/05/white-says-chances-high-he-wont-play/?ls=iref:nbahpt6e

 

Ummm, Im gonna go with a resounding NO here.

Morey is doing the exact same thing EVERY.OTHER.GM would be doing.

You do NOT give power over your rotations and minutes alloted to a rookie player's personal doctor. That is what this is all about after all...Royce wants to be guaranteed minutes in the rotation immediately without having to go to the D-League (which Im sure he sees as an insult).

Morey would be seen as a humongous fool if he caved to these demands from a rookie.

 

HA HA HA!

 

White said chances high he won't play

by Fran

http://hangtime.blogs.nba.com/2013/01/05/white-says-chances-high-he-wont-play/?ls=iref:nbahpt6f

Well, I just hope he will leave the NBA so we don't have to hear his bull**** again. I'm getting annoyed with this because what exactly is his protocol? Does he want the NBA to issue a protocol for all teams so that all mentally ill players have to be starters and play as many minutes as they want because its the doctor's recommendation... Yea whatever Royce White

 

while i do sympathize with whites condition of serious anxiety, he needs to recognize he is in the NBA getting paid millions of dollars to play a game he should love. find a way to play, get over your fear of airplanes. he will never be an NBA player if he cant get over that fear, it is unlikely anyone will accommodate him or his condition. i dont believe he was even showing up to practice for a time, but it seems apparent that the rockets are willing to give him a shot in the D-league. i would love to see him pan out because we could use a player of his skill set at the 4. buttt.....

if it is one thing that i have noticed about the rockets, it is that players who give the front office headaches never stay...

 

If NBA TV and David Aldridge is reporting this
it is to 99.5 percent over if no miracle happens

 

It seems you're drawing a lot of conclusions here. When exactly did Royce say he wants to be guaranteed minutes with the Rockets or that he doesn't want to go to the D-League because it's an insult?

GM decisions require approvals. For decisions which affect the accounts, they likely need approval from the Chief Financial Officer. For decisions which have medical implications, there should be approval from the team doctors. There should be a process and policies to govern those decisions. To me, this appears to be what Royce is asking for, which is not unreasonable.

If the situation is what you're describing rather than what I'm describing, then by all means kick the guy to the curb. At this point, neither of us know because we haven't been given sufficient details to draw that conclusion.

Morey would be a fool if and only if he mishandles this situation and we/NBA gets sued for it - which is a real possibility, and a possibility which is more important that the vitriol of fans who are worried about a risk who's effect on the Rockets is no more or less than the routine drafting of a BUST in the first round.

This is a new situation for the Rockets and it is a new situation for White. It has been handled poorly by White, which is no surprise at all. The Rockets have done a decent job for the most part. Let's not start drawing emotional conclusions just because there is a lot of uncertainty in the air.

 

The guy is not paid to play a game he loves, he is paid to be an employee of the organization. The fact that he loves his job is as irrelevant here as it is to any professional in any industry. He gets paid millions because the market dictates it, not because it's a game which people love to play.

 

Good to hear from you again my brother, it's been a while.

I hope you had an awesome new year.

 

The timings have basically suggested that White threw a fit every time "Rockets assign White to the DLeague" was reported. He was apparently good when the Rockets gave him his own bus for certain games. And after the first debacle, he came back and practiced with the Rockets until... once again, they sent him down to the DLeague.

Also, air travel isn't even an issue for the Vipers, since they take buses everywhere. Given that White said he likes to play basketball and doesn't get anxious on a court, and he gets paid the same whether he plays with the Vipers or with the Rockets. It seems a perfect fit.

So if he's still not satisfied, what other possibility can there be for him not accepting the arrangement?

 

Not quite. After about Game 5 of the season he said to himself :'F it! I want to install a protocol!' He went to ESPN and other media to announce it. Rockets don't know how to accommodate me.... this and that
Then he went on to give interviews about how he started record label and other businesses.

I am actually sadder about Roy leaving the game than Royce

 

Isn't that about when the Rockets were going to send everyone down to the DLeague?

Regardless, I hope the exact nature of this "protocol" leaks out sometime in the future. I think the details are doctor-client-team confidential info and can't be discussed in public. But the fact that White himself keep screaming in on twitter must mean it should be known to the public, right?

 

Hey guys... since no rookies are going to play this year...

at least Royce makes things interesting...lol

Royce has gone from hero to villain..

i have a faith... he will get it together and it will become a hero love story in the end....

Dont get too upset rocket fans... we are winning...

 

If there are no such processes/policies in place with the Rockets, certainly there are none in place for the Vipers. Would seem to make sense that he would reject these assignments. Accepting these assignments would legally and operationally indicate that the issue has been satisfactorily resolved. If you had a dispute with your company during which you considered the absence of a work place safety policy hazardous to your health, would you go to a training course although you are not currently going to work? The organization pays for work. Royce is not going to work and the organization is not paying - essentially the contract is suspended. Why would he go to RGV right now? IMO that would make him a huge hypocrite - in the same way that his willingness to play for his college team despite the absence of appropriate policies weakens his claims.

You seem to be saying that this is only about flying. I think the flying issue was resolved. Maybe you know something I don't? From my understanding of the situation, this is all about having in place an additional set of policies and procedures which govern decisions in which players' health is at risk and a medical opinion needs to be added to the chain of command.

 

I think it started about mid November..... he first declined to go to the Dleague around end November....

Second time....by end December

I can't say for sure what's going on because the Rockets sure are keeping it to themselves while White is being public but vague

 

The thing is, Royce White is actually more


SPECIFIC


Here. FINALLY.

Good gosh. He could have EASILY said that MANY MANY months ago from day 1. One little candid interview was better than 10325456 tweets and hashtags.


There'da still been backlash if he did, but maybe 1/3 the level of backlash.

When he says "I refuse to put myself in a hazardous situation to play a sport.” he has no grounds to stand on when he already showed willingness before the season to put himself in hazardous situations