Royce White takes Rockets to the curb in statement

Royce White, recent RGV addition and resident pissed off rookie, released a statement about his current situation with the Houston Rockets Tuesday night, and it's not pretty.

Here's the full statement, from ClutchFans:

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.

At this point the Rockets are aware of my position and the reason for my absence. Any other response is inaccurate. 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.

I can't speculate as to what the Rockets have or have not done to "create a healthy and successful relationship,'' but what this tells me - and what the Rockets' muted response tells me - is that both parties weren't quite aware of what they signed up for the moment they joined forces. And while the Rockets knew they were getting a potential red flag in White, they couldn't have envisioned such a rocky beginning to the relationship.

Naturally, we all want answers as to which side is at fault here. Which side did more to create such a rift? The obvious thing to do is to point at Royce for asking for too much help and too much assistance from a professional organization that is paying him millions of dollars and one that has other important things to do. And those who do so certainly have a point: The Rockets aren't going to babysit anyone.

But maybe the Rockets didn't live up to their side of this presumed agreement, and maybe they shouldn't have signed up for White in the first place if they weren't prepared for the entire package. Just two weeks into the season, it appears everything is spiraling out of control. It's up to the Rockets to find the best solution - they hold the keys to everything. If that means cutting ties with White before he ever plays a minute, that's what this might come down to. One rookie isn't going to force a team to give up leverage.

The other question, of course, is what exactly that leverage is. Not even Royce has been totally clear on that, and yet, he's the one crying wolf. That's almost as telling as the Rockets' near-silence on the subject.

Here's hoping both sides settle down and reach some middle ground, because again, when a player speaks out on his own like this, and when an organization does little to respond and removes all transparency... that makes for an ugly road ahead.