Where will Royce White go from here?
It is the question up for debate as the Philadelphia 76ers included White as part of their team cuts on Thursday to try and get down to a 15-man roster, that also included Khalif Wyatt, Mac Koshwal, Vander Blue.
Bob Cooney, who works the beat for the Daily News, broke the news on Twitter.
The Sixers acquired White back on July 5 from the Houston Rockets, with new Philadelphia GM Sam Hinkie using his relationship with the Rockets and White to form a reunion and a second chance for the former first round pick to stick in the NBA.
While White copes with his anxiety disorder, it will be interesting to see where his next stop in the NBA comes or if another organization will be willing to take on White and deal with attempting to place a structure around White that supports his mental condition. As for playing in Europe, we can flashback to this past January when White disregarded any notion to play internationally, instead focusing on resolving his issues with the Houston Rockets.
Flashforward to now after being cut by the Sixers and it's a safe bet that White still isn't thinking about Europe as his next destination:
There is no doubt that some teams overseas would be interest in White’s ability, but it likely would not be as heavy as some would think.
Yes, the ability to travel by bus to away games in some counties would surely cure White’s fear of flying problem, but if he thinks the NBA’s policy on mental health issues has loopholes, then Europe is light years behind.
To put it lightly: White would be crazy to venture overseas to play — if it came to that.
Couple that with the stress some players face adapting to a new culture, environment, battling being homesick and even the lack of simple communication and comfort of home and playing overseas really is not for everyone.
It is just not.
{youtube}BRUS6QBiViQ{/youtube}
According to Cooney’s timeline, White is still out of shape — an on-going issue that plagued him in Houston as well and during his D-League stint with the Rio Grande Valley Vipers — and could be a D-League option for the Delaware 87ers, the Sixers affiliate. It might be White’s best bet to get his legs under him, refine his game and play consistent minutes in a program that can provide structure.
In 5 preseason appearances, While averaged 5 points (9-23 FG) and 4.4 rebounds per game, and one ejection. He responded to the news on Twitter by thanking the Sixers and breaking down how he is handling being cut by Philadelpha: “Adversity… Adaptation…. Adversity… Adaptation.”
The report of White’s departure from Philly comes days after the team announced that rookie Nerlens Noel is forecasted to miss his rookie season.
It looks like there will be plenty of "adversity" and "adaption" going down in Philadelphia this season.
