Royce White wants his own bus for 'drivable' games

Royce White sat down with ESPN.com's Myron Medcalf Wednesday night to talk about his ongoing anxiety situation, and in that discussion, White revealed part of his plan.

He wants to take the bus to certain games.

Busing to games, he said, is a vital component in the treatment of his anxiety.

White, who missed the team's media day on Monday and the start of training camp in McAllen, Texas, on Tuesday, said he hopes to reach an agreement with the team soon. He said he expects to join his teammates within "a week," if talks with the Rockets continue to progress.

"What it's going to look like is every game that's drivable, I'm going to get a bus for myself," White said. "And I'm going to make that bus feel like home so that there's a level of consistency in a job where inconsistency is very apparent because of the schedule. I'm going to try and level that out and make sure that my stress levels stay low and that my rest is regular and that my meals are regular and that as much as I can, draw consistency from a very inconsistent schedule.

"People with mental illness, one of the most important things is that they have that consistency and routine. The girth of (my request) was, 'Can I travel by bus to close enough games?' "

As CBS' Royce Young notes, White's request hardly covers any games on the Rockets' schedule.

A quick look at the Rockets schedule and they play just six games within eight hours of driving. In November, their road games are at Detroit, at Atlanta, at Portland, at Los Angeles and at Utah. Maybe part of White's plan though is to bus between road cities even. For instance, the Rockets play back-to-back games against the Raptors and Knicks in December. That's a reasonable drive.

It's a matter of logistics and the reality is, busing to games just might not work. But White's come this far fighting his mental issues and he's doing what he can to make it work best. Can't blame him for trying.

This is something that I think a few of us brought up as a possible circumstance back when the Rockets drafted White, but I wasn't so sure that it could work. Along with the scheduling difficulties, there's a sense of camaraderie that can be built between players who travel together. It sounds like White is going to miss that opportunity every now and then, if the Rockets do approve his request.