Royce White to play for Clippers’ summer league team

The Clippers did not have a lottery pick or even a selection in the first round of the draft last week, but there will be a player who once went No. 16 overall on their summer league team in Orlando, Fla.

He is Royce White, a 2012 first-round draft pick of the Houston Rockets who has played in only three NBA games largely because of issues related to social anxiety disorder.

The 6-foot-8 power forward never played for the Rockets because of a fractious relationship that developed over disagreements about how to treat his disorder, which included an acute fear of flying.

White signed two 10-day contracts with the Sacramento Kings during the 2013-14 season and played in three games, all at Sleep Train Arena, never joining his team on a road trip.

Clippers Coach Doc Rivers, whose team will be severely constrained in free agency by the salary cap, has acknowledged a need to get creative in his efforts to upgrade the roster. The Clippers currently have no big men under contract beyond Blake Griffin, so they will certainly take a look at White, who once starred at Iowa State and is only 24.

White has said he considers himself an advocate for mental health, once responding to critical tweets with the hashtag #BeWell. He previously criticized the NBA for lacking a clearly defined policy on mental health issues and wanted the Rockets to address concerns related to his disorder before playing for them.

White appeared to soften his stance in a March 2014 interview while playing for the Kings.

“In all fairness to Houston, they were in a much different position,” White told reporters at the time. “A lot of things, they couldn’t make a ruling on themselves as much as the league. They had to wait on a lot of OKs and things from people. It was a real complex situation.”

Pete D’Alessandro, who was the Kings’ general manager when White was on the roster, lauded the forward after his departure, calling him “the ultimate professional.”

The Clippers open play in the 10-team, seven-day Orlando summer league on July 4 against one of two teams from the Orlando Magic. The Clippers are expected to release their full roster on Monday.