9:29pm: According to a tweet from Yahoo! NBA reporter Adrian Wojnarowski, the Rockets have no intention of releasing White.
2:19pm: Steve Kyler of HoopsWorld tweets that if the Rockets wanted to part ways with White, their best option would be simply to cut him and eat his salary. He notes that White has a considerable amount of leverage in any prospective buyout negotiation.
12:58pm: Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle has posted White's full statement on the Chronicle's blog.
12:41pm: Rockets rookie Royce White has issued a statement saying that he will not accept his assignment to the D-League, according to Mark Berman of FOX 26 Houston (via Twitter). White had been assigned to the Rio Grande Valley Vipers yesterday by the Rockets.
White's anxiety and fear of flying have been well-documented this season, as his mental health issues have postponed his NBA debut and perhaps even put his NBA career in jeopardy. When news broke yesterday that White would be sent to the D-League, Berman and TNT's David Aldridge both reported that the assignment was part of a "multi-week plan" for the first-round pick, with a D-League stint merely the first part of that plan.
However, according to Berman, White's publicist China Myers has indicated that the 6'8" forward will not report to Rio Grande "until a mental health protocol is in place" (Twitter link). According to Aldridge, White's statement indicates he wants to play, but is uncomfortable with team officials making mental health decisions, calling instead for "the collaboration and recommendation of trained professionals." (Twitter links).
He is a joke, I sick of hearing about Royce White. He’s a diva and expects so much from the rockets. He has proven nothing and is nothing but a problem. Don’t pick a career when your fear of flying is so big that you can’t overcome it. That would be like me being a surgeon and having a huge fear of blood.
well, just concerning the flying, Wayne Gretzky was afraid of flying, and he managed
White could overcome it (to some degree)
But then again… Wayne Gretzky was born to play hockey, if he retired because of a fear of flying, that would be ridiculous… White is no Gretzky…