Royce White has been out of the NBA for five years, but the former first-round pick believes he could give the Wolves more bang for their buck than Andrew Wiggins.
In an unsolicited tweet, White questioned Wiggins‘ production on Sunday night and said:
“The Timberwolves are paying $147 million for 17 pts, 4 reb & 3 ast. Give me $20 million and the ball… I’m DEFINITELY giving you 20/8/5. If you’re a star at 30min/game, 4 rebounds fall in your lap. If you can draw 2 defenders, 5 assists fall in your lap. Come on now guys.”
White doesn’t say Wiggins’ name in the tweet, but Wiggins is averaging 17.3 points, 3.9 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game, and he’s in the first year of his five-year, $148 million contract.
White, a Minneapolis native, was the 16th overall pick to the Houston Rockets in the 2012 NBA Draft. His through-the-roof potential as a 6-foot-8 point-forward hasn’t been realized in the NBA, largely because of his public disapproval of the way the NBA treats players with mental health conditions.
The 27-year-old’s battle with Generalized Anxiety Disorder became public during his only season at Iowa State University in 2011-12, and White hasn’t been shy about raising awareness for mental health since.
Sage Steele and Stephen A. Smith, I understand the predicament you’re in (to a degree). Please hold off on the addiction and substance use castigations. Both of your voices are EXPLICITLY used in the marketing and selling of ALCOHOL. Can we discuss that? THAT’S A CHOICE. #BeWell pic.twitter.com/6fcmq1gNZ4
— Royce White 🇺🇸 (@Highway_30) December 22, 2018
White’s head coach at Iowa State was Fred Hoiberg, the former Wolves shooting guard and assistant general manager who most recently served as head coach of the Chicago Bulls before being fired in early December.
With the Wolves firing head coach/president Tom Thibodeau on Sunday there has been growing speculation that Hoiberg could become a candidate to replace Thibodeau. ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski is already on record saying Hoiberg is a possible candidate.
White asked his Twitter followers on Sunday night if they’d like to see a reunion of him and Hoiberg in Minnesota, noting that he would fly into a volcano with his former coach.
Like or RT if you think a reunion between The Mayor (aka lion whisperer) and me in Minnesota would bring cyclones and minnesotans out. I think the result would be… HYPE. MAGIC. Let’s get it! I’ll fly with Fred into a volcano. That’s just how we roll. #cyclONEnation
— Royce White 🇺🇸 (@Highway_30) January 7, 2019
Flying was a trigger for White’s anxiety, and it was widely publicized during his rookie season with the Rockets that he would be allowed to travel to some road games via a personal bus, rather than fly nearly 100 times a season with the team.
White didn’t play professional basketball for about three years until joining the NBL Canada in December 2016. He led the London Lightning to the league championship in 2017 and was named league MVP.
