James 'Flight' White Gets Another Chance

In the midst of so much doom and gloom in the world today, we have our ray of light. James "Flight" White, regarded by anyone with a computer as the finest dunker in the world, has been signed to a 10-day contract with the Rockets. This isn't the first chance White's received to prove he can stick in the pros; at one point, the Spurs wanted to groom him into a kind of a space-aged Bruce Bowen. But the Rockets, currently reconstituting themselves with a stable, healthy Ron Artest and Aaron Brooks at PG, might be just the in White needs.

Well, maybe not. The Rockets could really use White, but they may not get the chance to learn this for themselves. From The Houston Chronicle:

White, a 6-7 forward who was averaging 25.9 points for Anaheim in the NBA Development League, joins the Rockets during the heaviest part of the schedule. At most, the Rockets will have two practices during his 10 days. White was on the inactive list, the first time a healthy Rockets player has been inactive since December (Steve Francis and Joey Dorsey ). He had no complaints, however.

“I feel great man, just to be in a position to come back to the NBA, try to make a difference for a good team,” he said.

Predictably, White goes on to explain that he's more than just a dunker, that his all-around game is solid, and all those other things players say when they'd been pigeon-holed as high-flying freak shows that electrify fans and strike fear into the heart of opponents. Yes, I'm biased toward this kind of player, and think that the sheer value of a secret-weapon finisher is as hard to quantify as Shane Battier. But it's true, White's going to have to show he can make some impact plays with this team, as well as shoot a little and hold up his end on defense, to earn a spot with the Rockets.

But if nothing else, it's nice to see a team take a chance on a player whose buzz had reached critical mass. If White succeeds, a lot of people will be stoked and self-satisfied. If he fails, well, at least we've gotten to see a cult hero get a decent chance and fail. Or wait, do we really want that? Whatever, I guess I'll stop selling those FREE JAMES WHITE mugs posthaste.

This post originally appeared on the Sporting Blog. For more, see The Sporting Blog Archives.