Thomas Campbell – USA Today Sports Images
The Philadelphia 76ers are obviously a team that is blowing it up, which they made clear the night of the 2013 NBA Draft when they traded away Jrue Holiday. Conversely, the Houston Rockets are a team that is building to contend for a championship right now after adding James Harden last year and now Dwight Howard.
Given those two teams current states, it was only fitting that the Rockets would send much maligned forward Royce White to the 76ers for future draft considerations, largely to clear more cap-space so they can make more signings to fill out their roster.
White didn’t play a single game in the NBA last season and spent most of the year in the Developmental League where he was somewhat unproductive. However, White was a pretty well received college player that many people believe could have some sort of success at the pro level.
However, the biggest issues with White thus far have been his outspokenness about his mental illness. He claims to have been victimized by the NBA for not respecting his phobia of flying and his anxiety issues. However, some people truly believe that White may have issues, but that he is playing them up for publicity. Either way, no one really knows the whole truth except White. What’s for certain is that the media hasn’t painted the most glamorous picture of White.
The bad news for White is that Philadelphia is one of the most unforgiving sports cities in the United States. Their fans are passionate about their teams, but if you fail them, they will relentlessly let you hear criticism. For a person with anxiety issues, that’s a terrible place to be working in. I sincerely hope White can get his issues worked out, but it definitely seems like this is a situation where he’s destined to fail in.
Cody Williams is a Senior Writer with Rant Sports. Follow Cody on Twitter @TheSizzle20, add him on Google+ and like his Facebook page.
