Royce White was the 16th overall pick in the 2012 NBA Draft, but has only played part of one season since.
While dealing with a well-documented anxiety disorder, White’s handling of his situation became a problem most teams weren’t willing to deal with.
Now, with the benefit of hindsight and perhaps an additional level of maturity, White is eying an NBA comeback, which may start this summer with the Los Angeles Clippers.
From Shams Charania of Real GM:Royce White is closing on a commitment to join the Los Angeles Clippers to make his NBA comeback in the July Summer League, league sources told RealGM.
White has considered interest from several organizations, including the Chicago Bulls, San Antonio Spurs and New Orleans Pelicans, but gained trust with the Clippers’ front office through dialogue with brass members.
White is nearing a commitment to the Clippers, but the 6-foot-8 forward will stay away from signing any sort of free-agent deal in order to showcase himself for the NBA’s other 29 teams. He has spent the year training in Minnesota with trainer Chris Carr.
The Clippers make sense, because White is precisely the type of player they’ll need to look at while trying to upgrade the roster.
L.A. is hamstrung from a salary cap perspective, and can only sign players to minimum (-ish) salary deals. But the Clippers desperately need to add depth, which is why a veteran player like Paul Pierce, and a castoff like White may be the best (and perhaps only) legitimate options.