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. ↵⇥↵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. ↵
↵⇥
↵⇥“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. ↵
↵
↵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.