Royce White Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Kings Sign Royce White To 10-Day Contract

March 6th, 2014 at 12:10pm CST by Eddie Scarito

THURSDAY, 12:10pm: Sacramento has made the deal official, the team announced. The statement also notes that the team has assigned White to the D-League, as expected.

WEDNESDAY, 8:21pm: The Kings are expected to sign Royce White to a 10-day contract on Thursday, according to Marc. J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports. The team is giving him an NBA opportunity through their D-League affiliate, a source told Yahoo! Sports. The reported plan is to assign him to the Reno Big Horns, where he will be evaluated over four games. The former Iowa State star has battled an anxiety disorder and has a fear of flying. If White’s D-League stint goes well, the Kings will likely sign him to a second 10-day contract and add him to their active roster. The team has one open spot after waiving Jimmer Fredette.

White was taken 16th overall by the Rockets in the 2012 NBA draft. He had difficulties right off the bat because of his anxiety about flying. He missed the entire training camp and thought the Rockets weren’t treating his mental health issues effectively, according to the article. He was eventually suspended by the team for “refusal to provide services” stipulated by his contract.

White never ended up playing for the Rockets and was traded to the Sixers along with the rights to Turkish forward Furkan Aldemir and cash in July 2013, for a conditional second -round draft pick. White played for the Sixers this preseason, but was waived before the season’s start. The Sixers are on the hook for White’s $1,719,480 salary this season.

Western Notes: Clippers, Granger, White

February 27th, 2014 at 10:20pm CST by Eddie Scarito

After years of futility and being seen as a less than desirable location to play, the Clippers have officially become a draw for players, writes Arash Markazi of ESPNLosAngeles.com. With the recent signing of Glen Davis and the team possibly inking Danny Granger, it definitely is a departure from the past. The fact that a veteran player in pursuit of a championship ring would consider signing a minimum deal to join the Clippers over teams like the Spurs and the Heat is yet another example of how far the Clippers have come as both contenders on the court and in the minds of players as a destination franchise, opines Markazi. Doc Rivers, weighing in on the matter, said, “I don’t know if we’re going to make it THE destination, but we want it to be one of them. That’s our goal. Bringing in Big Baby when he could have gone to a lot of other places was a good thing. Darren Collison could have gone to a lot of other places and came here. At the end of the day we just have to keep being a good basketball team and the rest of the stuff will follow. I think the key to this is showing that we have a shot and we’re a good team. Players follow that. They’ll go anywhere for that.”

Kings Likely To Sign Royce White

February 26th, 2014 at 8:42pm CST by Chuck Myron

8:42pm: Coach Michael Malone tells Jason Jones of The Sacramento Bee that while the Kings are indeed interested in White, they won’t be signing him “soon” and that nothing is imminent (via Twitter). It’s unclear if this just in line with the wait for a roster spot to open upon Fredette’s finalized buyout, or if more substantial time could pass before Sacramento pulls the trigger on a deal with White.

1:49pm: The Kings will probably sign Royce White to a 10-day contract, two sources tell Sam Amick of USA Today. White has worked out in front of team officials, as Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle reported Tuesday. Since the Kings just filled their final roster spot with the signing of Orlando Johnson to a 10-day deal, White would most likely sign after the team finalizes a buyout with Jimmer Fredette.

A deal with the Kings would open the door for White to see the first regular season action of his career. The Rockets made him the 16th overall pick in 2012, but he had a well-publicized spat with the team over its accommodations, or lack thereof, for his mental health issues. Houston traded him to the Sixers this past summer, and Philadelphia waived him before opening night, swallowing his guaranteed rookie scale contract that pays the 22-year-old about $1.7MM this year.

White said in December that “quite a few” NBA teams were interested in him, and that he’d prioritize signing with a club that had an open mind about his mental health advocacy. Sacramento begins a seven-game road trip against mostly Eastern Conference teams on March 5th, but White also said in December that his fear of flying has been “overblown.”

The former Iowa State Cyclone recently changed agents, dropping ASM Sports to join George Bass of AAI Sports, as our Agency Database shows. He appeared in 16 games in the D-League on assignment from the Rockets, and he’s played in the preseason for Houston and Philadelphia, but more than 70% of Hoops Rumors readers who voted shortly after his release from the Sixers believed he would never make it into a regular season game.

Kings Work Out Royce White

February 25th, 2014 at 8:31pm CST by Ryan Raroque

The Kings worked out forward Royce White and could sign him once Jimmer Fredette clears waivers, hears Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle (via Twitter). Although the expected signing of Orlando Johnson puts Sacramento at the 15-player roster limit, the team will have another spot open if they reach a buyout agreement with Fredette.

White, selected 16th overall in the 2012 NBA Draft, has yet to appear in a single regular season game. The 6’8 forward was traded to the 76ers last July but was eventually cut from the team shortly before the start of the 2013/14 season.

Atlantic Notes: White, Marshall, Rondo, Knicks

December 10th, 2013 at 4:43pm CST by Chuck Myron

At least three NBA teams are showing interest in Royce White, agent George Bass of AAI Sports tells Sarah Lyall of The New York Times, in comments that jibe with what White said a week ago. The 16th overall pick in last year’s draft recently hired Bass after parting ways with his representatives at ASM Sports. White says he’s ready to play, but when the Sixers waived him before the season, there’s was apparently more to their decision than concerns over his mental health difficulties, Lyall writes.

“They just told me they didn’t want to keep me at this point in time, and that’s pretty much the gist of it,” he said. “There was a lot being said in meetings, and all of it was contradictory — ‘You’re supertalented; you can play; you can be an excellent player in the league, but we don’t want to keep you at this time.’”

There’s more on a player that Philadelphia seems more enthusiastic about in our roundup from the Atlantic Division:

There were rumors that the Sixers were interested in Kendall Marshall right after the Wizards released him at the start of the season, according to Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic. Marshall is now with Philly’s D-League affiliate, which makes sense, Coro says.
Rajon Rondo said today that he’s had “no conversations” with Carmelo Anthony about joining forces, in response to the rumor that Anthony is recruiting the point guard, notes Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe (Twitter link). Yet saying otherwise would probably constitute tampering, as Frank Isola of the New York Daily News suggests (on Twitter).
Rondo would be an awkward on-court fit with Anthony and many of the current Knicks, opines Keith Schlosser of Knicks Journal.
Knicks owner James Dolan met with Mike Woodson right after Sunday’s 41-point loss to the Celtics for a conversation that “must have been as pleasant as root canal” for the embattled coach, according to Frank Isola of the New York Daily News. At least one player was also in the meeting, Isola adds.

Royce White Drawing NBA Interest

December 3rd, 2013 at 12:54pm CST by Luke Adams

Despite being selected 16th overall in the 2012 draft, Royce White has yet to play in a regular season NBA game. While White played for the Rockets’ D-League affiliate last season and appeared in a handful of preseason games for the Sixers this fall, his well-documented anxiety disorder has derailed his NBA career so far.

Nonetheless, White doesn’t believe his NBA career is over. The 22-year-old tells Randy Peterson of the Des Moines Register (link via USA Today) that he’s receiving NBA interest and that reports of his fear of flying have been “overblown.”

“We’re in contact with some teams,” White said. “Quite a few more than expected. People are more understanding than you think. It’s not an insensitive crowd. There are teams involved. It’s finding a situation that’s appropriate.”

After a year of trying to make things work in Houston, the Rockets sent White to the Sixers in a salary dump to clear cap room for Dwight Howard. Given the team’s low expectations for 2013/14, Philadelphia looked like a good landing spot for White, but the club waived him prior to opening night, making him a free agent.

When we asked Hoops Rumors readers whether White would eventually see action in the NBA, you were skeptical, with more than 70% of respondents predicting that the Iowa State product wouldn’t ever make his NBA debut. Still, White believes it could come down to finding the right fit.

“Basketball is in a flux for me at this point, but it’s something that happens to a lot of guys in their early careers,” White said. “For me, it’s can we find a team that has the right setup, has an open mind, wants to understand what I’m saying, and other things that we’ve discovered since I’ve been in the league.”

The Rockets are the only NBA team ineligible to offer White a contract, since clubs aren’t allowed to re-sign free agents so soon after trading them.

Amico On Bynum, Roster Cuts, Hamilton, 76ers

October 27th, 2013 at 6:20pm CST by Luke Adams

Andrew Bynum represented one of the more interesting free agent cases of the offseason, and his new contract reflects that: Bynum could earn as little as $6MM with the Cavaliers if he’s released on or before January 7th, or as much as $24MM+ if he plays out the two years of his deal. It doesn’t look like the former All-Star will be in Cleveland’s lineup when the regular season gets underway, but he’s making progress, according to head coach Mike Brown, who confirmed today that Bynum has gone through “most of practice.”

Sam Amico of the FOX Sports Ohio has the latest details on the ex-Laker, along with plenty of other tidbits from around the league, so let’s check out the highlights from his piece….

Shannon Brown and Kendall Marshall are drawing interest around the league, with clubs expecting them to be waived by the Wizards tomorrow. Marshall could hear from the 76ers, a league source tells Amico.
Other recently released players who are receiving some level of interest include Royce White, Josh Childress, Damion James, Vander Blue, Royal Ivey, Jermaine Taylor, and Seth Curry.
At least seven teams have inquired on free agent guard Richard Hamilton, a GM tells Amico. The former Bull appears likely to wait until midway through the season to sign with a team, perhaps anticipating that a guaranteed deal or a non-minimum contract will be more attainable at that point.
“Scuttlebutt around the league” suggests that there’s a good chance the Sixers move the expiring contracts of Evan Turner and Spencer Hawes by the trade deadline.

Poll: Will Royce White Return To The NBA?

October 26th, 2013 at 8:59pm CST by Chuck Myron

Perhaps the most high-profile roster cut this week was the Sixers’ decision to let go of Royce White, the 16th pick from the 2012 draft. White’s psychological disorders have been well-documented since his time playing college ball at Iowa State, where he excelled as a versatile 6’8″ force. There were doubts about his mental health leading up to the draft, but his abilities on the basketball court made him a top-five talent, as far as Rockets GM Daryl Morey was concerned. Morey, who had three first-round picks last year, figured he would use one on the high-risk, high-reward White.

Alas, Morey’s gamble went bust. White and the Rockets engaged in a back-and-forth all season long about language that White wanted to have inserted into his contract to provide for his mental health. The Rockets countered that the league’s collective bargaining agreement wouldn’t allow them to put special provisions in his standard rookie-scale deal, and White went the entire regular season without appearing in an NBA game, only hitting the court during preseason and for 16 games with the Rio Grande Valley Vipers, Houston’s D-League affiliate.

Morey decided to write off his loss halfway through the two-year guaranteed portion of White’s contract, trading him to the Sixers for Philadelphia’s 2014 second-round pick. Morey sweetened the deal for his former assistant, newly minted Sixers GM Sam Hinkie, adding the rights to Turkish prospect Furkan Aldemir and, as we learned yesterday, enough cash to cover White’s 2013/14 salary.

White’s brief tenure in Philadelphia was a quiet one. He made few headlines, and the story that he didn’t accompany the team for its exhibition games in Europe was somewhat overblown, since the Sixers left other players on their roster home, too. White appeared in five preseason games this month and even started one, averaging 5.0 points and 4.4 rebounds in 18.1 minutes per contest. He seemed mentally and physically prepared to play.

Still, Hinkie and the Sixers decided that it wasn’t worth keeping White around, even though they have a roster that’s roundly expected to finish with the league’s worst record this season. That leaves more questions than answers surrounding the future of a player whom Morey, and likely other league executives, considered better than most lottery picks based on talent alone less than a year and a half ago.

White’s future might not include the NBA. He’s never played in a regular season game, so, officially, he has yet to make his debut. Let us know whether you think he ever will, and leave a comment to explain your thinking.

Western Notes: Rockets, Lakers, Nash, Thunder

October 25th, 2013 at 2:00pm CST by Luke Adams

With the NBA’s opening night just four days away, let’s round up some items out of the Western Conference on the last Friday of the offseason:

Philadelphia released Royce White yesterday, but it will be the Rockets, not the 76ers, who are on the hook for his $1.7MM+ salary, tweets Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer. When Houston sent White to the Sixers, it was reported that the deal included cash considerations, so perhaps the amount in the trade was equal to White’s salary.
Phil Jackson recently spoke to Seth Davis about a number of topics, including the Lakers, and while that interview won’t air until next week, Mark Medina of InsideSoCal.com passes along a few of the Zen Master’s comments. Among the notable items: Jackson says he’s unlikely to ever coach in the NBA again due to his health.
Steve Nash is currently the oldest player on an NBA roster, and there’s some concern from the Lakers about his health heading into the season. However, while he acknowledges to Dave McMenamin of ESPNLosAngeles.com that he’s at a “different stage” in his career, he says he’s up to the challenge.
After waiving Diante Garrett today, the Thunder aren’t in the market for a third point guard, according to head coach Scott Brooks (Twitter link via Darnell Mayberry of the Oklahoman).
In the wake of early speculation about Kevin Durant‘s 2016 free agency, ESPN.com’s Larry Coon (Insider link) details Durant’s options, concluding that the Thunder star figures to take a wait-and-see approach.
Dee Bost, who was waived by the Trail Blazers, and Troy Daniels, who is expected to be released by the Rockets, will soon sign with their clubs’ respective D-League affiliates, tweets Shams Charania of RealGM.com.

Sixers Release Wyatt, Koshwal, Blue, White

October 24th, 2013 at 6:14pm CST by Luke Adams

6:14pm: Bob Cooney of the Daily News and Tom Moore of the Bucks County Courier Times report that Vander Blue and Royce White have also been released (Twitter links). Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer says there’s a chance that Blue, White, Wyatt, and Koshwal could be signed to Philadelphia’s D-League affiliate, the Delaware 87ers, if they clear waivers.

4:04pm: With at least five cuts to make by opening night, the Sixers began trimming down their roster today. Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer reports that the team has waived Khalif Wyatt and Mac Koshwal, leaving 18 players still under contract.

Wyatt, a 6’4″ guard out of Temple, joined the Sixers’ Summer League team after going undrafted in June, then inked a camp deal with the team that reportedly included a partial guarantee. Koshwal, a 6’10” forward/center, received a camp invite from Philadelphia after finishing last season with the PBL’s Rochester Razorsharks, as our international tracker shows.

Wyatt’s release could be good news for Vander Blue, since coach Brett Brown recently suggested the two players may have been vying for a single roster spot. It will also give Wyatt a chance to latch on with another team — Bob Cooney of the Philadelphia Daily News hears from a scout that there’s some interest in the 22-year-old (Twitter link).

The Sixers will need to release at least three more players by opening night to get down to the regular season maximum of 15 players.