New city, same old story. Royce White, the first round draft pick of the Houston Rockets in 2012, has been shipped off to Philadelphia (well, not technically, because the trade hasn’t gone through yet), which means the Sixers now shoulder the burden that plagued White’s rookie season: his fear of flying. White has been very outspoken over the past year about his anxiety and fear of flying, and, while Philadelphia is within driving distance to more NBA cities than Houston, will White get on an airplane at all for his new employer?
“Hell no,” the former Iowa State basketball star said after playing for the Walnut Creek YMCA Wednesday night in the YMCA Capital City League at Valley Southwoods Freshman High School.
“One hundred flights would be like if you’re allergic to peanut butter – it’d be like spreading your whole body with it.”
“Hell no” probably isn’t the best response to the situation, especially for a person whose chosen profession includes roughly 100 flights over the course of an entire season. But White does intend to play this season:
“Anything can happen between now and (the season),” White said. “It’s every intention of mine to play.
“I don’t know what Philly’s intentions are. I’m just going to go there, work hard and try to earn my place.”
At this point, everything surrounding the Royce White saga sounds like a broken record, so you’ll excuse us if we don’t hold our breath.
