Will Strick come back?

["Stephen Beauregard" <sb@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Guard has all the moves

Strickland would rather settle down

By Michael Vega, Globe Staff, 5/2/2003

ll he's ever desired from his NBA career, really, is a place to call home. A
place to settle down, plant some roots, and spread his wings as point guard.



''That's all I've ever wanted,'' said Erick Strickland, the former Celtic who
last night found himself in the visitors' locker room at the FleetCenter
dressing with his Indiana teammates before Game 6. ''A home.''

When he was with the Celtics last year, Strickland rented in Waltham. He now
owns a townhouse in downtown Indianapolis, about five minutes from Conseco
Fieldhouse. ''The last house I bought was when I was in Dallas,'' he said. ''I
probably won't buy again -- for a while.''

Unless, that is, he can find a home with another NBA team.

''Given what I think I give to a team, I'm going to give you all I got every
night,'' Strickland said, sounding like a player on a job interview. ''I'm
going to give you all I got, every night. I'm all about winning and I don't
have any agendas. I just want to win. I just think that somebody would want
someone who could play multiple positions.

''But, you know, the NBA is in a luxury-tax, cash-strapped situation, and
teams can only do so much, given what the circumstances are on their team. But
that's all I really want, man, is a home.''

Strickland, who has led a vagabond's existence in his seven years in the
league playing for Dallas, New York, Vancouver, and the Celtics, thought he
had carved a niche for himself in Boston, where he was given the opportunity
to contribute at the point as a tough-minded guard who had no qualms about
diving for a loose ball or drawing a jaw-rattling charge.

He was the prototype defensive-minded player Celtics coach Jim O'Brien was
happy to have. Problem was, the Celtics did little to retain Strickland,
offering him a one-year contract for the league minimum. Tired of being strung
along by the Celtics, who tried in vain to pursue Travis Best, Strickland
signed with the Pacers for the same terms the Celtics were offering.

Asked if he was disappointed how things never worked out with the Celtics,
Strickland said, ''Well, yeah, but given the circumstances with the ownership
situation, I understood [Celtics general manager] Chris [Wallace] and those
guys in upper management were strapped. It wasn't much they could do about it
and so I didn't look upon it as a slap in the face or anything like that.

''I just knew the situation. Indiana came to me and made me feel welcome, and
I saw I had a great opportunity to play on a great team and I took that up.''

Last night, with his team on the brink of elimination, Strickland again was
beset with questions about his future. After Pacers coach Isiah Thomas brought
in Tim Hardaway last month -- ostensibly to bolster his guard rotation with a
proven veteran -- Strickland's role has seemingly been diminished.

''I've been a starter in the league, I've been a role player, I sat the
bench,'' said Strickland, who last year played in 12 playoff games with the
Celtics and hit 11 of 39 field goals and 4 of 20 from 3-point range, averaging
2.9 points. ''I've played about every role probably anybody could play . . .
Given an opportunity, that's pretty much what I'm going to provide for a
team.''

Asked if he would entertain a chance to return to Boston, Strickland said, ''I
think, to sum it up, I could come back here, because of what the organization
is about, how they treated me, the relationship I have with some of those
players. I saw it as good a fit as any situation I've had. I'd definitely feel
comfortable being in a Boston Celtics uniform again, and I can see it. It's a
definite possibility.

''Those are things I'll have to consider with my agent [Joel Bell], but I
don't even know if they want me back and to what extent, so we'll just have to
wait and see.''

Thanks,

Steve
sb@maine.rr.com

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