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

Well.....Later BEEYOTCH!

 

My goodness, this guy... I can't stand him.

 

So he's asking them to amend his contract, which is impossible in account of the CBA? Yeah, he's done. I suppose another team could pick him up if/when we cut him by putting that in a new contract, but he'll never play for the Rockets.

 

Why Royce's agent and family don't stop him???

 

Maybe when this is all said and done and his "protocol" is installed, Royce will be the de facto owner, GM and coach of the Rockets.

"I'm having a lot of anxiety about guarding LeBron tonight, coach. I think I'll sit this one out."

"Man, conditioning drills cause me superstress. I'm not sure it's safe for me."

 

White made almost every single team flight while in college. I have read one report where he missed one, and another where he missed 3 and in each instance was driven to the game. In addition, he flew with the team to Europe. In addition, his college coach, Hoiberg (a good friend of McHale) vouched for Whtie's attitude, talent and mindset.

 

a thing of the past

 

Someone nailed it a few days ago. Make enough noise and force the Rockets to cut him, then he can sit on his ass and collect paychecks. But Morey isn't cooperating, and now comes the suspension. If Royce wants his money, he's going to have to get with the program.

 

I just hope he'll leave the team as soon as possible.

He's been a disappointment to the fans and a distraction to what has been an exciting season for everyone.

Questions:
- Has the team paid White anything since the start of regular season (not counting the suspension)?

- If the team has not paid him so far, does that mean his agent is not getting anything in return from White a client? Or White is still required to pay the agent regardless?

 

Indefinitely suspending Royce White without pay is a lose-lose situation for the White retinue and for the Rockets.

But it's the only way for Rockets fans to win.

 

That's an interesting question that I would like to know the answer to as well. Since this whole issue seems to have less to do with flying specifically and more to do with getting language written into his contract, I would assume that this is more agent-driven. And Feigen indicated that the Rockets had already agreed to attempt to accommodate his travel needs, so it seems like it's mostly just the contract language, which would fall on the agent.

As far as I know, the Rockets haven't really commented on this situation outside of the suspension announcement, so White commenting on Twitter as if they are misleading the public and giving inaccurate information seems misinformed on his part, especially when you consider that this is apparently a league issue and not a team policy.

Does anyone know if his agent represents other players or is he new to dealing with this sort of thing?

 

Rockets fans will still lose. A #16 pick could mean the difference between Milsap or Cousins/Love.

 

Agent driven.... are you joking? What agent in their right mind would put their client in a position to risk getting their contract voided? Royce's agent belongs to one of the largest agencies in the country that specialize in getting their clients excellent draft positioning & rookie contracts. After that, the player is almost entirely on their own.

If Royce's agent suggested ANY of the current actions he is taking, he must not like making money and giving himself more work than he can handle. Plus, a good agent that has control of their client would have had him off of Twitter when the first incident happened, and would have got Royce to NOT reject the support of the NBPA who would have been his biggest advocate had he not rejected their support months ago.

Royce's agent has ZERO control over his client, and is most likely only supporting him as little as he is legally required to do. This is most likely considered an embarrasement to their agency, and more than likely they have probably sought out ways to cut ties with Royce if they can.

 

Trying to decipher from his tweets what his highest anxiety is over I get that he has a fear of being unsuccessful - and to qwell his fear he has to be in a position to be the "star". D League doesn't offer him that, and therefore he won't report. All his "Protocal" demands are to set him up to be a star.

So essentially he wants to manage himself and his position on the team, and that isn't ever going to happen. Weird, sad, a loss for all parties involved, but I say let him go find his way elsewhere.

 

My post was in response to the poster who said the Rocket's did not do their homework.

 

I think the protocol he is demanding is basically: he wants to be treated as a day to day injured player for the rest of his career (since anxiety is probably not treatable) - and he probably wants to be the one who makes the calls (no, I don't feel up to playing or practicing today) - or if not him, a doctor of his choosing.

I can see doctors suggesting a protocol like that - since it would give him a lot of security and keep him from hazardous situations that would make his mental health worse. And if he is as ill as I am starting to believe he is, that might actually be what is necessary for him to start playing.

That being said, I don't believe a protocol like that is reasonable or realistic for a professional NBA player and I don't think it will ever happen. A player like that is just not worth the trouble... You never know what you might get ("no coach, I feel too stressed out for this game 7 final...").

 

Well it looked like Morey picked a turd this time with the 16th pick..

 

You can't expect everything Morey touches to turn into gold.

 

This goes way beyond just his beloved anxieties. (yes, he loves to obsess about them).

This is about Royce getting his accommodations he is demanding. He believes he is fighting for a cause here. It just goes to show you how paranoid and delusional he really is. He seriously is accusing the Rockets of essentially breaking the law by not following ADA law.

He believes this is some major war against the helpless. In a way, yes he has some points to be made. Yes, corporate America is shrewd, and not everyone gets a fair shake at their jobs. I get it. Also mental illness is way too taboo. I am all for opening dialog to allow those with mental illness to feel like its ok, and they can seek treatment.

But that's not the point here. Unless the Rockets BROKE THE LAW, they do not legally have to accommodate someone who is blackmailing them just because he has a mental illness. Giving a doctor outside of the organization "executive order"... What company in the entire world would allow that? That's like me getting an addendum put in my contract at my job for my own personal doctor to prescribe me a raise that my company now has to give because its the doctors orders for my health.

No organization in the US will EVER give that kind of accommodation. This has gone beyond absurb to just a plain old waste of our time. What's ultimately sad about this whole thing, is that now we realize what good Royce could have done with his causes on the NBA platform if he would have went about it the right way, and not went on the attack to the people that are actually trying to help give you that platform. Sad, sad, sad, but Im ready to just move on, and let this guy go save the world from his Twitter account that I no longer follow because... He's not a Rockets anymore.

 

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p>HOU prepared to dismiss Royce White's rookie year as a lost season as White demands protocol HOU believes violates CBA: <a href="http://t.co/KLWqk70w" title="http://usat.ly/WjHGw1">usat.ly/WjHGw1</a></p>&mdash; Jeff Zillgitt (@JeffZillgitt) <a href="https://twitter.com/JeffZillgitt/status/288297422327803905" data-datetime="2013-01-07T14:53:56+00:00">January 7, 2013</a></blockquote>
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