Dickau keeps the faith

He's been from Phoenix, Arizona, all the way to Tacoma; from Dallas to Atlanta to LA.

He's been to northern California, where the reception was anything but warm, and had a successful yet all-too-brief stint in New Orleans.

Meet the epitome of the word "journeyman," former Zag Dan Dickau.

Early last week, Dickau's contract was bought out by the New York Knicks, whom he had been traded to this past June as part of the Zach Randolph deal. This is the latest step in Dickau's career which began on draft night 2002, when he was traded from Sacramento and began an up-and-down career in which he's been traded eight times in his first five years.

And yet, Dan Dickau feels ... blessed?

"I'm blessed to do what I do," Dickau said. "It just so happens that I play a sport that God has blessed me with ability for."

This doesn't seem like the typical reaction of a man who's played for as many teams as Dickau has in his short career. He's been on the roster for three teams for which he never played a minute (Sacramento, Golden State, New York). He played just four games in Dallas. He was traded after rupturing his Achilles tendon in Boston. He's even been traded twice by Portland, his hometown team.

This constant rejection should have completely killed Dickau's confidence, right?

"No. I'm in the NBA for a reason, and I get my confidence through God, not through some coach telling me I'm going to play or not play that night," he said. "It gets frustrating at times, but it's never taken away my confidence."

This guy's been a throw-in more times than a towel, having been nothing more than salary cap balance in trades for Rasheed Wallace, Nick Van Exel, Erick Dampier and Randolph. And yet still, he holds no grudges?

"Professional sports is a business," he said. "I've been included in trades because of my salary, but it's never personal, it's just what a front office believes needs to happen for a team to get better."

With an attitude like that, you begin to believe that Dickau really is blessed.

Despite all of the uncertainty of where he'll lace 'em up next, the improbability of getting significant minutes - one thing you can't say about Dan Dickau is that he is a quitter. He has always kept his head up, and no matter what circumstances surround him, the man always has a job.

Dickau has never once been out of the league. Never once has he been demoted to the D-League, never had to travel overseas and has never once been without an NBA home. As soon as his time with one NBA team ends, a new team comes knocking on his door, something he attributes to hard work and faith.

"As a rookie you come in with goals of being an all-star, but there are only a few all-stars in this league," he said. "But you have to keep setting your goals super high in order to become a better player in the league."

He could have given up, complained about his situation, or taken an easier road, but it hasn't happened. Dickau remains set on his goal of playing in the NBA and even though his path has not been as easy as he might have thought, he has remained a consummate professional.

"I'm at the point where I want to have a role and help a team, and I want to be on a team that has a chance to win a championship," he said.

And in the end, there's always a payoff. In fact, a day after being released by the Knicks, Dickau signed a free agent contract with the Los Angeles Clippers.

See? Persistence pays off. You may just have to take a few knocks to truly appreciate it.