Houston Rockets forward Royce White will not accept an assignment to the NBA Development League, according to a statement issued by the embattled first-round pick.
White cited in the statement that returning to the court would be "unsafe," due to "unqualified" team officials making decisions on the mental health of players. The Rockets made the decision to reassign White to the Rio Grande Vipers on Saturday in an attempt to "work him back into the organization," a source told TNT's David Aldridge.
White, the No. 16 pick in the 2012 NBA Draft out of Iowa State, has yet to see the floor this season while dealing with anxiety issues. While at Iowa State, White averaged 13.4 points and 9.3 rebounds per game in his lone season with the Cyclones. Prior to that, White attended the University of Minnesota, but two separate legal incidents led to his departure from the school in 2010.
This post first appeared on SB Nation.