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

Awwww.... honestly rejection is painful, either way.


I don't know why the Rockets keep doing this to themselves.

Scottie Pippen (after the trade, pre-Morey era)
Carmelo Anthony
Chris Bosh
Dwight Howard
Pau Gasol
Derek Fisher (sort of mutual, though)
Royce White

I'm sure things will work out as they always do, when we are able to trade White for another awesome undersized power forward.

 

I doubt he'll ever play in the NBA at all, and especially not for the Rockets. He'll take whatever money he's gotten from the team, sink it into creating bad music, and then drift off into obscurity. Only when he matures a little will he look back and realize he could've made millions over a dozen or so years as NBA roster fodder. Somebody has to take slots 11-15 on a roster, and had he worked hard he could've been that guy. Instead, he'll turn 30 and be just a regular working stiff like most of us.

Still, as far as the Rockets go, this could have a pretty big impact. Les can absorb whatever financial hit he takes on this fiasco, but DM might think twice before taking on another headcase. In the near future, that could be as big a deal as opting not to try to acquire Demarcus Cousins. Once bitten, twice shy.

 

If anything, it's possible that people are increasingly losing the desire to give him the satisfaction of a buyout/release. Let him rot with no pay in basketball purgatory for the whole length of his contract if need be.

 

I really feel its because the Rockets are winning and this fiasco isn't affecting the Rockets on the court. why not see if he can amount to something if this stuff gets resolved.

 

jerry west has gone on record as saying he stays away from drafting not only headcases (he put it a little more politely), but even from kids who don't come from strong familes (usually with both parents present).

 

That's a good point. Though they still did draft Royce White after getting burned on the Eddie Griffin fiasco. They still don't seem to put enough wait on the mental health risks. And, who knows, maybe Morey would still say today that White's talent is enough that the gamble was still justified, even though he lost. Maybe our willingness to spend on Cousins has gone down a bit, but I'd be surprised if Morey said they wouldn't take him at any price.

 

Makes sense. While he's clearly gifted-athletically, he seems hopelessly mired in his issues to ever help a team long-term.

 

Might be a lost cause. But who knows. Sometimes things change. Royce White isn't going anywhere. Give the guy time to sort things out. Clearly there's nothing the Rockets, NBA, and Players Assoc can do - they won't rework the CBA just for one rookie.

But you know what's interesting reading his twitter feed. How many people who suffer from anxiety call him an "inspiration". So there's something he's clearly tapped into.

Maybe he cares more about that than anything else. People with anxiety and OCD might actually have a need to have everything done a particular way. Not because they are prima donnas - but rather it's the only way they can operate.

So maybe he's just doing what he needs to do to be successful. We really don't know. But I think people are just going to have to be patient and let things unfold.

 

No, they may like for people to let them do things a certain way, but that is certainly not healthy from a psychological (and psychologist's) perspective.

 

I'm starting to think White doesn't even have GAD but has a factitious disorder, possibly Munchasen.

 

Royce White has what we call a personality disorder.

Namely
1) Borderline personality disorder: extreme "black and white" thinking, instability in relationships, self-image, identity and behavior often leading to self-harm and impulsivity.

2) Narcissistic personality disorder: a pervasive pattern of grandiosity, need for admiration, and a lack of empathy. Characterized by self-importance, preoccupations with fantasies, belief that they are special, including a sense of entitlement and a need for excessive admiration, and extreme levels of jealousy and arrogance.

The genius was that doctor who diagnosed him as general anxiety disorder because non medical professionals would think that it can be helped w medication vs someone who just does not function well in society and requires help. If White was diagnosed as Borderline/Narcissistic then I am 150% certain that Daryl wouldn't have touched him with a stick.

 

It could be Munchausen syndrome, which would explain why he's so open about it.

 

thanks for the reply! i just hate that this is dragging... and yes, i would like to see royce waste his time and money

 

This is perhaps why they don't want to give mental illness the same #protocol as physical illness/injury. Mental illness has a lot more subjectivity elements and a lot less physical evidence in it, and is a lot easier to fake and thus misdiagnosed.

White keeps saying that it is a "medical" issue and therefore should be decided by medical professionals, implying that it can be lumped together with all medical conditions.

 

To quote Chris Rock.... "Whatever happened to CRAZY!"

 

What a bizarre post. Keep doing what to themselves, exactly? Lumping in White with Howard is kinda surreal. Howard made clear from the outset that he wasn't interested in Houston. White did not say anything like that prior to the draft. Apples and oranges.

Also, Chris Bosh? Huh? Bosh was a free agent and the Rockets made a pitch for him. He listened but ultimately decided on Miami. What's wrong with that? Are you suggesting the Rockets never even attempt to sign or trade for a player unless they make it unequivocally clear that they want to be in Houston more than anywhere else? If so, I think what you're asking for is the equivalent of a UH/Rice/Prairie View all-star team.

Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose. But you can't just not play the game, which is seemingly your suggestion, if your priority is to try and win NBA titles.

 

didn't bosh run the old mis-direction and tell them he was going to be one place when he was actually completely across the country.

i may not agree with the premise of the guys argument, but that right there qualifies as rejection.

 

That's the pathetic part. The Rockets were already once bitten when they drafted White, but Morey selected him anyway, so Les has now been burned twice, giving up a total of four picks for two disturbed young men, one of which is already dead and the other sounding like a tragedy waiting to happen. This is why I'm not surprised that Morey has zero interest in acquiring Cousins.

 

I agree that there is a good chance he has been misdiagnosed, or not completely diagnosed.

 

Not sure if you're in mental health and serious about diagnosing him as this, but I thought I'd add my 2 cents into this assessment.

Borderline Characteristics (Looking for 5 of the 9 clusters to be diagnosed)

1. frantic efforts to avoid real or imagined abandonment. Note: Do not include suicidal or self-mutilating behavior covered in Criterion 5. NO

2. a pattern of unstable and intense interpersonal relationships characterized by alternating between extremes of idealization and devaluation. NO

3. identity disturbance: markedly and persistently unstable self-image or sense of self. NO

4. impulsivity in at least two areas that are potentially self-damaging (e.g., spending, sex, substance abuse, reckless driving, binge eating). Note: Do not include suicidal or self-mutilating behavior covered in Criterion 5. None that we are aware of....I think we'd hear about this repeated behavior by now. NO

5. recurrent suicidal behavior, gestures, or threats, or self-mutilating behavior NO

6. affective instability due to a marked reactivity of mood (e.g., intense episodic dysphoria, irritability, or anxiety usually lasting a few hours and only rarely more than a few days). MAYBE

7. chronic feelings of emptiness UNKNOWN

8. inappropriate, intense anger or difficulty controlling anger (e.g., frequent displays of temper, constant anger, recurrent physical fights) NO His anger and behavior...though unreasonable....has been quite controlled

9. transient, stress-related paranoid ideation or severe dissociative symptoms NO - At least no evidence by what we've seen on twitter and in the media.

Bill Bradley might be able to lend his experience with this as well, but I'll speak for me. I've had to deal with two borderlines in my time as a professional. Royce doesn't fit the bill.....if you try to interact and connect with a Borderline, you'll know without question you're dealing with one relatively quickly.

Narcissistic PD (Again looking for 5 of the 9 clusters)

(1) has a grandiose sense of self-importance (e.g., exaggerates achievements and talents, expects to be recognized as superior without commensurate achievements) - NO - I think we might assume this thinking his reasons for not wanting to report have to do with him thinking he's too talented for the DL and should be treated like a star....but that's not unique. I'm sure a lot of rooks think that. I don't think anything on Twitter indicates this.

(2) is preoccupied with fantasies of unlimited success, power, brilliance, beauty, or ideal love NOT SURE Can't tell by what he's communicated so far.

(3) believes that he or she is "special" and unique and can only be understood by, or should associate with, other special or high-status people (or institutions). NO This one's tricky because he might think he's "special" but what makes a it NPD is when they think they can ONLY be understood by the highest level of people. He seems to think the common person should be able to understand him.

(4) requires excessive admiration NO I don't see anything in his communication that indicates he's expecting admiration of his talents or abilities. He seems to be focused on making this about a safe mental health environment....or at least he says.

(5) has a sense of entitlement, i.e., unreasonable expectations of especially favorable treatment or automatic compliance with his or her expectations YES This is my interpretation from his communications but it does seem like an unreasonable sense of entitlement, though I'm sure he's thinking it's reasonable under the ADA.

(6) is interpersonally exploitative, i.e., takes advantage of others to achieve his or her own ends MAYBE His communication doesn't indicate this, but I might read into his actions as such (theft comes to mind). This one could go either way.

(7) lacks empathy: is unwilling to recognize or identify with the feelings and needs of others NO I don't think I see this. A NPD comes off as a real ass when speaking to others. He seems to be able to be actually quite cordial and composed in his communication.

(8) is often envious of others or believes that others are envious of him or her NO I don't see this

(9) shows arrogant, haughty behaviors or attitudes NO Again I'm not seeing this either.


It's obviously hard to make a diagnosis without actually sitting with a person to evaluate them or five them an assessment test so we're all just going off his twitter and media communication. So unless there's definitive examples of him fulfilling any of these clusters I don't see him falling into any of the Axis II PD's.

And again, if you've had to work with one....you'd know it pretty quick too. So not saying he doesn't have issues that need to be worked through....I just don't think this would be the right diagnosis.