It’s not about model citizen, it’s about the mental instability and that’s impact on his game as a prospect. White had huge negative intangibles.
As a prospect he also was coming up in in an era that still was big on guys being tweaners
If Flagg reaches 21 and is a head case like White, that hasn’t improved his weaknesses like shooting, and now takes plays off, let alone practices, it’ll show up on tape. He’d no longer be considered a generational talent. He’d be a White type that can make plays that are generational, but it’ll be watered down by average play
Physically and skill wise it’s not a horrible comp. White was 1 inch shorter with same wingspan, but much heavier and stronger. His instincts for play making were very good.
I guess if you want to say simply, Royce White had enough physical ability and instinct to be great, maybe a top 5 or #1 pick, sure. But there are a ton of guys you can say that about. And really Flagg is not some measurables/physical freak.
Refinement/development of skills is a massive part of "talent." Generational size and athleticism are two completely different things than generational talent. That doesn't mean be great at everything, but that means show the indicators that you are likely to become great at the skills.
The reason Flagg is considered such a high ceiling and talent is that his skill level at being 18 while still probably figuring out how to play in that body shows a hell of a lot. Just like Royce being a guy that pretty much had been physically mature for a couple years and still couldn't shoot 50% from the line showed a hell of lot.
Royce had a massive hole in his game as a jump shooter and FT shooter, and there was no indication that was likely to change. Royce's best comp. was Boris Diaw. And if you pick a guy and you get peak Boris Diaw, you're not disappointed. But you also aren't building teams around that either. There were a few things limiting Royce's draft stock. The combo of being 6'8 without elite quickness and poor shooting were as much contributors as what we knew of the off the court stuff at the time. It seems at draft time at least some teams felt confident they could work with Royce, and I'm sure Royce and his team were giving that impression. So it certainly hurt his stock but there were also significant on the court weaknesses.