Houston has a problem with rookie Royce White and Royce White has a problem with Houston. Late Tuesday, the Rockets announced they would be sending White to the NBA Developmental League to play for the Rio Grande Valley Vipers. White had not been seen in days, missing Monday’s game and practice on Tuesday. Whether or not the absences were excused depends on whom you ask. Was White missing games and practices because he was going to the D-League or is he going to the D-League because he missed games and practices?

The Rockets seem to think White should show up – or at least that is the point of view the media is pushing. And ownership isn’t doing much to quiet that notion. Via Ultimate Rockets:

Rockets owner Leslie Alexander said there have been “internal repercussions, which I’m not going to talk about.”

More foreboding, Alexander’s confidence in White’s long-term prospects seem shaken since he expressed enthusiasm for White’s potential during the summer league in Las Vegas.

“That’s tenuous,” Alexander said. “It’s tough to talk about something like that. I think we’re going to handle it internally. If he doesn’t work out, well, it’s tough to lose a draft choice.”

Meanwhile, White said in a statement that the Rockets knew why he wasn’t around.

“In hindsight,” the statement said, “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 pre-season 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.”

Today it was reported that the rift continues to grow and White is being fined for every day he is missing or failing to attend arranged therapy sessions. More from Ultimate Rockets:

Morey told White in those meetings that other players had earned playing time before him. White, however, argued that he was got given enough opportunity to demonstrate that he could earn a place in the rotation, increasingly saying the Rockets were holding his anxiety disorder against him and that he was being treated as a commodity, a position he has repeated in Tweets following Tuesday’s reports about White missing practices.

So far, the Royce White experiment hasn’t been very fruitful for the Rockets. White has yet to appear in a regular season game and it will be difficult for him to “earn playing time” if he isn’t “attending practice.”

Previously: Royce White Doesn’t Mind Paying Taxes, Thinks Both Candidates Campaigned Hard
Previously: Royce White, Who Suffers From Anxiety, is Called a “Head Case” by NBA Reporter [UPDATE]
Previously: Royce White: Anxiety Disorder Scared Off Everyone Except for Kevin McHale