Posts Tagged ‘Daryl Morey’

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Feeling Lucky? Try 7 GMs With Decisions

February 19, 2013  ·  2:42PM

HANG TIME, Texas — The clock ticks down, the trade deadline draws near and all 30 NBA general managers are burning up their phones with possibilities realistic and absurd.

Some need to make deals to solidify playoff teams, others simply can’t bear the thought of sitting still. As Thursday gets closer, here are seven GMs with big decisions to make:

Danny Ferry, Atlanta Hawks

Is it finally time to give up on the hope that Josh Smith can be more than a numbers-gatherer in Atlanta? Ferry, the first-year Hawks’ GM, wasted no time in moving out Joe Johnson’s big contract. Part of the decision was that J-Smoove would blossom without Iso-Joe taking up a big part of the offense. Instead he’s averaging 1.4 fewer points and one rebound less than a year ago, his efficiency rating is down from 21.14 to 19.90 and he’s shooting only 50 percent from the free-throw line. The sense is that it’s “just time.” Still, that doesn’t mean Ferry has to move him. He’s positioned the Hawks so that they could afford to keep Smith and still sign a pricey free agent next summer. But that won’t stop the likes of the Bucks, Suns, Celtics, Wizards and Sixers from making a run. The Rockets have long had eyes for Smith, but might be more inclined to wait to make their moves in free agency.

Danny Ainge, Boston Celtics

Despite their 8-1 record since Rajon Rondo’s season ended due to torn knee ligaments, it’s too hard to see the Celtics making a serious and deep playoff run on the aging legs of Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce. The obvious move would be with the 36-year-old Garnett and making that long-rumored deal to the Clippers (Eric Bledsoe). The challenge is getting K.G. to waive the no-trade clause in his contract. Can Ainge appeal to Garnett’s own best interest to get another ring or his loyalty to the Celtics organization to help them start over? Even if Rondo’s knee injury isn’t as severe as first thought and he’s able to get back on the floor for the start of training camp, the rebuilding in Boston has to start sometime. It might as well be now.

Billy King, Brooklyn Nets

If King could know for sure that Deron Williams will shake off the injuries and inefficiency and return to the All-Star form he showed in Utah, then he’d be more inclined to sit back and put his feet up. Or maybe not in the realm of Mikhail Prokhorov. The Russian billionaire owner is willing to shell out big bucks, but also expects immediate results and does not handle mediocrity well. See Avery Johnson, who was fired with a 14-14 record, a Coach of the Month title pinned to his resume. The Nets will likely try to get Paul Millsap from the Jazz and could be in the running for the popular Josh Smith. Last year’s All-Rookie team member MarShon Brooks is on the block. Would Charlotte’s offer of Ben Gordon for Kris Humphries be enough? The Nets have been so inconsistent that with the possibility of a first-round bounce due to a bad matchup looming, you have to believe King won’t sit still.

Donnie Nelson, Dallas Mavericks

“The Bank of Cuban is open.” That was team owner Mark Cuban’s declaration last month, but what must be determined is in which direction the Mavericks are headed right now. They enter the post-All-Star stretch six games under .500 and 4 1/2 games out of the last playoff spot in the West. If the Mavs decide they’re better off reloading with a fully-recovered Dirk Nowitzki next season, they certainly have a good trade chip in Vince Carter, who’d be a wonderful addition to any playoff contender. He could also bring in future assets for Shawn Marion, Chris Kaman and Elton Brand.

Daryl Morey, Houston Rockets

You put him in this slot just because Morey lives with an itchy trigger finger and might be inclined to make a deal just because he can. But with the James Harden steal under his belt and the free agency hits on Omer Asik and Jeremy Lin, the Rockets will probably strike only if it’s a chance at a home run. With the youngest team in the league, a position in the West playoff race and a payroll that could make them big, big players in free agency, next summer is probably when they’ll make their move. But Houston is now big-game hunting for talent to play with Harden. If a chance to scoop up a true All-Star comes their way, Morey won’t hesitate.

Mitch Kupchak, L.A. Lakers

It’s almost obligatory to put the Lakers on any potential trade deadline list, despite Kupchak saying publicly that he’s not at all interested in dealing Dwight Howard or breaking up his All-Star group of underachievers at this point. He can’t trade Pau Gasol as long as the possibility exists that Howard walks as a free agent next summer — which it does. Besides, the Lakers problems are not about needing more players but getting the ones they have to play every night with passion.

Dennis Lindsey, Utah Jazz

Paul Millsap or Al Jefferson? Al Jefferson or Paul Millsap? With the contracts of both of the frontcourt veterans expiring, it was assumed since Day One of this season that the rookie GM Lindsey would have to deal one of them by the deadline, if for no other reason than to make room and more playing time for Derrick Favors. It would seem to make sense, but only if the Jazz can get a bonafide star in return. That’s what the 30-24 team lacks right now. But there is no reason to make a deal just to make a deal. The future is based on a young core of Favors, Gordon Hayward, Enes Kanter and Alec Burks. Millsap is the more likely one to go, but maybe only for another expiring contract in return. Salt Lake City is not a desired location for free agents. But as the effects of the new collective bargaining agreement are felt and big names teams try to avoid the increasingly punishing luxury tax, players will want to simply get paid. Don’t expect a panic move here.

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White, Rockets Reach Agreement

January 26, 2013  ·  10:29PM

HOUSTON – Already on the same team since they drafted him with the No. 16 pick in the draft, the Rockets and Royce White might finally be on the same page.

White and the club released a joint statement Saturday that says they have “an agreement that addresses the major issues,” that White is no longer suspended and will be immediately reinstated to the roster.

The rookie forward has agreed to report to the Rio Grande Valley Vipers of the NBA Development League on Feb. 11, after first working on conditioning in Houston. The Vipers have a home game against the Maine Red Claws on Feb. 12.

Rockets general manager Daryl Morey and White did not comment on the agreement. The settlement was approved by the NBA office and the players’ union.

After months of acrimony, which included White taking to Twitter to accuse the Rockets of “inconsistent support” for his generalized anxiety disorder, the settlement at long last gets a player the Rockets had rated as among the top five talents in the 2012 draft.

Despite his individual skills, White’s stock had dropped in the draft due to his mental condition as few clubs were willing to even consider the special circumstances that would be needed to deal with the player’s issues, which include anxiety over airline travel.

White surprised the Rockets by not reporting to training camp and then, after what appeared to be a truce, left them again in early November, accusing them of not agreeing to a special set of “protocols.”

White had resumed individual workouts with a member of the Rockets staff while the team was on the road during Christmas week, but was suspended on Jan. 6, a week after refusing an assignment to the Vipers. Morey then said they were suspending White “for refusing to provide services as required by his Uniform Player Contract.”

Now, three months into the season, the battles might finally be just about basketball.

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Rockets Young, Dangerous, Confused

January 16, 2013  ·  4:25PM

HOUSTON – There are nights when the 3-point shots rain down like the quenching drops from a summer thunderstorm, when the pace of the game is faster than a car chase in an action movie and everything is right in the Rockets’ world.

Then there are the others.

A 10-point lead to start the fourth quarter in New Orleans vanished like a drunk’s wallet on Bourbon Street. Down by two with seven minutes left to play in Boston, they lost. Down by three entering the final 4 1/2 minutes in Philly, they lost. Then a one-point halftime lead at home turns into a bag of hammers that falls on their heads in a beat-down by the Clippers.

A season-high five-game winning streak is followed by a four-game losing streak and the NBA’s version of a treadmill has taken them exactly where?

The Rockets are young and fast, young and entertaining, young and unpredictable, young and lethal, young and inconsistent. Did I mention young?

The Rockets have less experience than any team in the league. They’re like toddlers carrying around scissors — you’re never sure who’s going to get hurt.

“First of all, in an NBA season, if you have all veterans and you have 10 years of experience, you’re going to have slides,” coach Kevin McHale told reporters after the loss in Philly.

“That’s no excuse for it. We still have to do what we have to do. I’ve said it all along. Our guys are getting closer to understanding how we have to play and taking ownership of how we have to play.

“But then we’ll backslide and get into how they want to play. I think it will be a constant all year, just trying to get everybody on the same page.”

Perhaps no team in the league changed its DNA so dramatically and so swiftly as the Rockets, who pulled off the stunning trade to bring in James Harden from Oklahoma City just four days before the season opener.

Suddenly a franchise that had been in the limbo of having the best record in the draft lottery for three straight seasons since the Tracy McGrady-Yao Ming era ended with an implosion of bad knees and broken feet, had a bonafide star in Harden, a foundational player, to use the phrase of general manager Daryl Morey, upon which to build.

Harden has been all that and more, after barely unpacking his suitcase before dropping 45 and 37 points in the first two games of the season and since then tucking in among Kobe Bryant, Carmelo Anthony, Kevin Durant and LeBron James as one of the top five scorers in the game.

Harden is the big-time star that Morey has been chasing with his home-run swing for years and is not only an anchor for the future, but the magnet that the GM believes will draw more. While the Lakers can offer him the most money and the “Bank of Cuban” has been declared open for business in Dallas, Morey is of the opinion that he’ll have at least a puncher’s chance to get Dwight Howard to return his phone calls next summer.

Whether he lands the All-Star or not, Morey will go into the offseason knowing that he’ll have the salary cap space to land a max level player or divide that money up among a couple of others. While point guard Jeremy Lin still rides up and down the bumps in his first season as a full-time point guard running a team, fellow free agent signee Omer Asik has become a virtual double-double machine and undeniable success in the middle.

But for all the scoring outbursts and attention that Harden has brought to Houston, for now The Beard is more of a comb-over for lineup with plenty of bald spots. Though they play at the fastest offensive pace in the league, the Rockets don’t regularly combine smart with swift. And too often they try to substitute their own pace for playing defense. Their offensive rating is ninth in the league and their defensive rating just 17th.

In the past three games the Rockets have allowed their opponents to shoot 51.6 percent from the field and given up an average of 109 points.

Not many in Houston are complaining because their up-tempo style is fun to watch and Harden can be transcendent. Yet in terms of wins and losses, not much has changed. A year ago, at a similar point in a 66-game schedule, they were 17-14 (.548). Now the Rockets are 21-18 (.538) with a four-game road trip beginning in Dallas and a return to the playoffs could still be an uphill climb.

Right now, the Rockets are young and dangerous every night. The question is to whom?

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Rockets Suspend Royce White As Perplexing Saga Takes Another Twist

January 6, 2013  ·  12:15PM

HANGTIME SOUTHWEST – Watching Houston Rockets rookie Royce White‘s promising pro career crashing before it starts with one perplexing mishap after another has been nothing short of remarkably sad.

His chances of ever playing for the Rockets this season or beyond took another turn in the wrong direction Sunday with the team announcing that it has suspended the 6-foot-8 forward out of Iowa State. The suspension, which will withhold paychecks from the 16th overall draft pick, comes one week after White refused to report for assignment with the D-League Rio Grande Valley Vipers.

“The Houston Rockets have suspended Royce White effective immediately for refusing to provide services as requires by his Uniform Player Contract,” Rockets general manger Daryl Morey said in a statement. “We will continue to work with Royce to hopefully come to a resolution.”

Morey and White, 21, were unable to reach an agreement during talks this week.

White, whose contract is guaranteed for $3 million through his first two seasons, suffers from an anxiety disorder that includes a fear of flying. He has consistently railed against the team’s handling of his disorder and he recently said during an appearance on on a SiriusXM basketball program that until the Rockets deliver a proper protocol for dealing with mental health care, chances are “very high” that he will never play in the NBA.

“The reality is that it is not Houston’s fault,” White said on the program. “As much as we always want to try and blame one side or the other … they’ve been thrown into a position now where they’re forced to make things up as they go because a protocol has not been put in place for mental health up until this point.”

White also said: “It wouldn’t shock me if we couldn’t be logical and say a protocol is needed because it’ll be the hard thing to do. If that’s the case then so be it. I stand on what I say and I refuse to put myself in a hazardous situation to play a sport.”

It’s impossible to determine where this saga is headed next, but clearly it continues to go down a dark road for White, the Rockets and the NBA. Is this a call for the NBA to place a greater focus on the treatment of mental health issues and the needs of some of its players? Definitely, just as it is for the country as a whole.

But White must also realize that in any other profession, he will not, for one, command nearly the earning power, and more importantly, he still won’t be able to dictate terms of his employment. Few other places in society offer the luxuries of medical, training and other support staffs that NBA franchises afford.

It’s confusing as to what protocol will satisfy White. In the SiriusXM interview, he suggests that any NBA team would be in the same boat as the Rockets.

“There’s no mental health protocol here, for not only the Rockets but the entire league, really,” White said. “I expressed that that’s really unsafe if you think about it. So, basically, I’m fighting to have that rectified. I just don’t think it is OK or responsible or even logical to have GMs or any front office personnel have executive authority in medical situations.”

So now the paychecks stop for White, who has yet to play a game for the Rockets. His status as a first-round draft pick is quickly turning into an unfortunate footnote.

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Delfino Makes Milwaukee Return ‘Special’

January 5, 2013  ·  11:09AM

 

MILWAUKEE – Fine, so it wasn’t as big or as triumphant as Jeremy Lin‘s return to Madison Square Garden. Emotions weren’t raw and racing just below the surface the way they were for James Harden and the Houston Rockets when he went back to Oklahoma City just a month after being traded.

But Carlos Delfino enjoyed his time with the Milwaukee Bucks, wasn’t eager to leave and wound up taking some real satisfaction from his first trip back Friday at the BMO Harris Bradley Center.

“It’s always special going against your old team,” said Delfino, the eight-year NBA veteran who spent the past three seasons in Milwaukee. The 6-foot-6 swingman stuck the Bucks for 22 points – nine in the second quarter to whittle down an 18-point deficit, then 13 in the fourth to seal the comeback in a 115-101 victory.

Delfino averaged 10.6 points and 4.5 rebounds for the Bucks, starting 159 of his 178 appearances. He helped them reach the playoffs in his first season, then was badly missed in 2010-11 when he sat more than two months with concussion symptoms and neck strain.

Last summer, after a second straight lottery appearance, Milwaukee headed in a non-Delfino direction, counting on Mike Dunleavy and young Tobias Harris at small forward while committing to Monta Ellis alongside Brandon Jennings in the backcourt. Delfino was on the market until late August, his work for Argentina (15.3 ppg, 3.8 rpg) in the London Olympics done.

It wasn’t Bucks GM John Hammond ringing his phone, it was the Rockets’ Daryl Morey instead.

“I was sad in the moment. I thought I was staying in Milwaukee,” Delfino said. “I had a good feeling with everybody in the city, after you’ve been defending the colors for three years. Then when I didn’t have any offer, I didn’t get sad about that or blame anyone. It’s a business. But I was feeling more about the personal stuff. Getting a call. … I was more sad about that.”

What the Bucks and Bradley Center fans saw Friday was classic Carlos: Not his rousing, somewhat unexpected, one-handed driving dunk but his 8-of-11 shooting, including 6-of-7 on 3-pointers (while the rest of the Rockets were going 7-of-26 from the arc). Houston is 9-2 this season when Delfino makes at least three 3-pointers in a game; the past two seasons, the Bucks were 20-10 on those nights.

“When Carlos makes a couple, he’s got a beautiful shot,” Houston coach Kevin McHale said afterward. “I watch him in practice sometimes just shoot. When he’s relaxed and guys are rebounding for him, he goes for long, long stretches without missing.”

Delfino, who is 29 but seems to have been on the NBA scene much longer, also is a helpful veteran on an extremely young roster. “Carlos has no agenda,” McHale said. “He’s a pro. … It’s the same thing I felt about Luis Scola last year – these guys have been playing pro ball since they’re, like, 14. They have such a relaxed feel, they’re fun to be around.”

The Bucks aren’t having much fun at the moment. They have dropped three in a row and four of six, heading into their game at Indiana Saturday. Coach Scott Skiles, his staff, Hammond and half the locker room are working in the final years of their contracts.

The roster is heavily tilted toward the frontcourt, with only Beno Udrih as a reliable backup at guard. The guy they acquired to plug Andrew Bogut‘s hole last season, Samuel Dalembert, doesn’t play these days. Neither does Drew Gooden, who did what he could to plug that spot last season.

As the Bucks threw the ball away 19 times and shot 38.9 percent in the second half, they could have used someone exactly like Delfino. But he was working from the other end, in road colors, making sure his trip back to town stayed special.

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Unheralded Parsons Is Humming Now

December 18, 2012  ·  3:11PM

HOUSTON – The man from the radio station has him running through a list of the familiar questions: favorite restaurants and foods and things to like about Christmas, when suddenly here comes a curveball.

“Do you know the words to Rudolph?”

Chandler Parsons grins while looking around for a way out.

The second-leading scorer on the Rockets? It's Chandler Parsons, at 15.3 points a game. -- Bill Baptist/NBAE via Getty Images

Chandler Parsons is the Rockets’ second-leading scorer, at 15.3 points a game. — Bill Baptist/NBAE via Getty Images

“I guess the smart answer for me at this point would be to say no,” he replies.

Then a few seconds later, his head is bouncing up and down as he’s singing: “… and if you ever saw it, you would even say it glows.”

Why not? Parsons is having the time of his life.

In a season when the first verse of every song about the Rockets centers on the high-profile backcourt pairing of James Harden and Jeremy Lin, Parsons has been in the background providing the chorus. The 6-foot-9 forward is averaging 15.3 points, 6.6 rebounds and 3.7 assists per game. The fact is he scores significantly more than the heralded Lin (11.3) and ranks 12th in the league in average minutes played (37.6).

“Where would we be without Chandler?” asked Rockets’ assistant Kelvin Sampson, who served as interim coach for nearly a month when Kevin McHale took a sabbatical. “Not as much in the mix of a lot of games.”

Parsons has been the stirrer, whether by making 3-point shots, driving to the hoop or hitting the boards. He’s one of those players who finds a way to get a rebound, a tip-in, a loose ball, anything to make something happen. The kind of role-filler that every good team seems to have.

So how does that kind of player have workouts for 17 different teams prior to the 2011 draft and have all but one pass on him? How does a live wire not make a spark to be selected until the 38th pick of the second round?

“Because he’s not great at any one specific thing,” Sampson said. “He doesn’t seem to have a discernible talent. I don’t know if enough people in the NBA value intangibles when it comes time to draft or acquire players.”

Parsons first opened Sampson’s eyes early last season during a practice when after a defensive switch he was suddenly matched up against 6-foot point guard Jonny Flynn.

“I’m thinking, ‘Oh, this will be interesting,’ ” Sampson said. “But I’m telling you Jonny Flynn did everything he could to get by Chandler and he couldn’t. He moved his feet and he kept in front of him. Left, right. Time after time. Jonny Flynn couldn’t find a way around.

“Then I noticed that in our 2-on-2, drills, 3-on-3, 4-on-4, 5-on-5, Chandler’s team always won. There’s a value to that. That’s a big deal to me. After all, winning is what we’re supposed to be all about.”

General manager Daryl Morey says the non-traditional analytics used by the Rockets actually rated Parsons high.

“I think often teams believe that guys that play roles in college can’t translate that over to the NBA,” he said. “But the truth is we’ve got him doing the same things here that he did at Florida.

“It’s hard to know for sure what happened. It’s not an exact science. Obviously, he shouldn’t have made it to 38.”

When the lockout hit a year ago, Parsons signed to play in France to stay active and upon his return was forced to miss just about all of the abbreviated training camp while bureaucratic details with his contract were being worked out. Yet Parsons quickly found his way into the lineup, starting 57 of the 66 games and watched over the summer as the Rockets did a purge of almost their entire roster, trying to land Dwight Howard, and eventually bringing in free agents Lin and Omer Asik. But there were several weeks when he was one of the few holdovers and the Rockets sent him out into the community as a face of the franchise.

“I was watching all of the things that were going on, seeing what Daryl was doing and it got me excited,” Parsons said. “I kept thinking that I was glad that I was staying. Or at least I hoped to be staying.”

He spent the offseason in the gym working religiously on his outside shooting. He knew the only way he would ever get to do the things he liked in the NBA — attacking the basket to make plays for himself and his teammates — was to make defenses honor him on the perimeter.

“I was always shooting the ball differently last season,” Parsons said. “I had no arc on my shot. It was flat. Everything was a fadeaway. I wouldn’t hold on my release. It took thousands and thousands of shots in the summer, but now I feel comfortable.”

His 3-point shooting has improved from 33.7 percent to 37.5 and his free throws from 55.1 to 72.6. He’s scored in double figures 17 times in the 23 games he’s played and had his biggest games against high profile teams — 25 vs. the Heat, 24 vs. the Lakers and 31 vs. the Knicks, 20 vs. the Spurs.

“I think the best thing I do on the court is my playmaking,” Parsons said. “And I think now that teams are respecting me more for my shot, it opens up the floor for me. Now I’m shot-faking, making plays for other guys and having the time of my life playing ball for a living and doing anything they want. I’ll sing. I’ll dance.”

For now, the Rockets will be content to keep Parsons humming.

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White Makes Things Harder For Himself

November 16, 2012  ·  10:04PM

HOUSTON — Royce White has said he was not AWOL. He has said via Twitter that he is being fined $15,000 a day by the Rockets. He has said on his Twitter account that the Rockets were “inconsistent” in helping him. He tweeted several days ago that his employers were “low,” though that comment was eventually deleted from his timeline.

White reportedly told ESPN that he was willing to walk away from his NBA career. Then, a short time later, he backtracked a bit with another tweet:

“I’m not PLANNING to quit, but it if its between my HEALTH and BASKETBALL, health takes precedence.”

The point is, White has said a lot of different things since he left the Rockets following a game a week ago in Memphis, none of which would seem to be helping his cause as an NBA player or a would-be spokesman for those suffering from anxiety disorder.

Taken with the No. 16 pick in last June’s draft, the 6-foot-8 forward with the well-known condition was seen as either a bold gamble or the foolish waste of a valuable first-round choice by many around the league.

Rockets general manager Daryl Morey had to overrule advice against making the pick even from inside his own war room on draft night, but he believed White possessed the talent of a top five pick and was worth the gamble. Now that roll of the dice has the Rockets playing defense in a scenario that began with them holding out the only career lifeline.

Since that time, several NBA executives have said that if not for the Rockets, White might not have been drafted at all and never given his platform, which has been helpful in spreading awareness of mental health issues and hindrance to, it would seem, his own mental health.

White’s often stream-of-consciousness dialogue on Twitter has elicited both heart-felt support and vicious condemnation and has done little to close the breach that he has created between himself and the only NBA team that was willing to reach out to him.

From the beginning, the Rockets have been supportive of White’s needs and desires, renegotiating his contract in order to provide cars and RVs and drivers for road trips, due to his well-known fear of flying. They have provided him with even members of their staff to ride along as companions, and yet even that has led to this standoff.

White has claimed on Twitter that he is not AWOL, yet he fits the very definition of the acronym — Absent With Out Leave. The Rockets have been fining him for every day he misses practices and games, and also for not consulting with a mental health professional they have chosen.

He is certainly not the first rookie to try to talk his way into playing time, but suggesting that it would lower his anxiety and help his condition is pushing at the envelope.

White has said the media has misrepresented his side of the story and omitted facts, yet his only statements have been on Twitter. His latest on Friday evening:

“NBA might be a dream come true, but being UNHEALTHY isn’t, people will know I stood up for myself and what’s right. #NeverABadTime”

Whatever that is. Whatever he thinks that is.

He has a problem, a very real problem that is shared by millions all over the globe, and is very brave to talk about it openly. He can be a symbol of hope at the same time that he is a lightning rod for criticism.

However, this was never going to be an easy road, and Royce White keeps making it harder on himself.

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White Fires Back At Rockets

November 14, 2012  ·  9:27PM

HOUSTON – While the ongoing spat between the Rockets and Royce White shows no sign of ending, neither does the rookie’s inclination to keep digging the hole deeper.

After an insider told Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle that White was being fined for every day he remains away from the team or chooses not to attend sessions with a therapist the Rockets have arranged for him, the 21-year-old forward fired back with a barrage on Twitter:

– My #anxiety is fine, besides being disappointed in the communication, and worried about consistency and the effect that has on my health.

– I’m not saying anything inappropriate or anything thats wasn’t said or OMITTED by the organization, they have their media, this is mine.

– It’s NOT unprofessional to respond to misleading media provided by your employer, setting the record straight should be EXPECTED.

– I’m not saying anything negative about @HoustonRockets Im saying what I will and won’t stand for. Last Thing: #Mentalillness look it up.

The Rockets have hinted that White’s dissatisfaction stemmed from lack of playing time.

White, who suffers from generalized anxiety disorder, has not played at all this season and has been on the inactive list for the past four games. He did not attend practices Sunday or Tuesday, and did not show at the Toyota Center for Monday’s game against Miami or Wednesday against New Orleans.

General manager Daryl Morey reportedly told White in meetings last week that other players had earned playing time before him. White maintains that he has not been given a chance to show what he can do, and has claimed the Rockets are holding his anxiety disorder against him.

White has not attended sessions with Dr. Aaron Fink of the Baylor College of Medicine that have been set up by the Rockets.

About one hour before tipoff against the Hornets on Wednesday night, White seemed to raise the level of his social media vitriol by tweeting:

– “@HoustonRockets Fining me for saying I’m more COMFORTABLE with my own Doc. vs yours is for sure showing “support” to my health. That’s low!”

That tweet was later deleted from his Twitter timeline.

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Rockets’ White AWOL Again

November 13, 2012  ·  6:38PM

HOUSTON – The difficult path to a successful NBA career for rookie Royce White keeps getting harder.

After it was announced that the Rockets forward was among three rookies — also Donatas Motiejunas and Scott Machado — who were being sent to the NBA Development League, White once more did not attend practice on Tuesday.

White has been inactive for most games this season, including Monday night against the Heat when he did not sit on the bench.

“That’s tenuous and it’s tough to talk about something like that, but I think we can handle it internally,” said Rockets owner Leslie Alexander. “If he doesn’t work out, well, it’s tough to lose a draft choice.

“I feel bad for Royce and I feel very bad for the team. We’ve had internal repercussions which I’m not going to talk about.”

The Rockets knew that White suffers from generalized anxiety disorder when they chose him with the No. 16 pick in the draft last June.

Problems first surfaced when White did not show up for the start of training camp, which was held at the home of the Rockets’ D League affiliate Rio Grande Valley Vipers. During that time, White and his representatives worked out a plan with the Rockets and the NBA which would allow him to travel to many road games by bus, since a fear of flying exacerbates his anxiety disorder.

It is believed White has missed other practices, though it is not known whether Tuesday’s absence was related to anxiety.

When asked why White did not attend practice, acting coach Kelvin Sampson said: “I haven’t talked to (general manager) Daryl (Morey). I didn’t realize he (White) wasn’t here today until we got to practice. I guess after this little deal, I’m going to find out what’s wrong. I’m not sure what’s wrong right now. We talked to Scott and D-Mo last night. Royce wasn’t at the game last night as far as I know.”

White,  in a statement released by his publicist Tuesday night, said: “In hindsight, perhaps it was not a good idea to be open and honest about my anxiety disorder — due to the current situations at hand that involve the nature of actions from the Houston Rockets. As a rookie, I want to settle into a team and make progress; but since preseason, the Rockets have been inconsistent with their agreement to proactively create a healthy and successful relationship.”

White claimed he is not AWOL.

“Any other response is inaccurate,” he said in his statement. “This is important to me, it is a health issue. I must advocate for my rights, it is a player-commodity league – the failure to meet my requests for support will end with me being unhealthy and that is not a consequence that I am willing to accept to play any sport.”

It has been customary for all Rockets rookies to spend some time in the D League. First-round picks Patrick Patterson and Marcus Morris have been there the past two seasons and made the most of the experience. In addition, point guard Jeremy Lin said he used it to resurrect his career.

“For me personally, my experience in the D League helped my career go a little longer,” said Lin. “If I didn’t go to the D League when I got cut by Golden State, I’m not sure if Houston and New York pick me up if I never played in the D League the year before. It can be used as a positive in the right way.

“I think we’re all worried for (White). But he’s a tough kid and the best part about it is he’s a really good basketball player. So if he gets on that basket and he just is himself, you don’t have to worry about anything.”

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The Beard Grows Fast On Rockets

November 1, 2012  ·  12:10AM





Is it too soon for James Harden to ask for a raise?

Just hours after he signed that five-year deal in the $80 million ballpark with the Rockets, it looked like Harden was ready for a bigger ballpark.

Not to make too much of one game, but Harden’s 37-point, 12-assist, six-rebound performance was the basketball equivalent to a defibrillator — sending a needed jolt of electricity to the heart of a moribund Rockets franchise.

It was the first time in NBA history that a player scored as many as 30 points and dealt 12 assists in his first game with a new team. And what made it all the more impressive was the way Harden made it all look as easy as growing a beard in the 105-96 win over the Pistons.
(more…)

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