76ers’ Erving Is Not Retiring Yet, but He Is Looking Back and Ahead

He said he’d have a decision by Christmas. Then he said he’d know by mid-January, after the Philadelphia 76ers returned from a West Coast trip.

Now, Julius Erving tells reporters: “You guys won’t have to ask me about it. When I’m ready, I’ll come to you.”

Erving, the 76ers’ longtime cornerstone and nine-time All-Star, is still wrestling with retirement.

“I’m contracted for one more year,” he said. “I don’t know whether it will be my last or whether I’ll be able to get another one in.

“The way things are going right now, there is cause for optimism. But a decision has not been reached yet.”

The Doctor, who turns 36 on Feb. 22, started talking about retirement last season, then sealed a $1.4-million deal for one more year.

It’s not surprising he’s considering leaving behind the game’s incessant physical punishment, the pressure of maintaining a stellar image, and the wearying travel of a National Basketball Assn. player. He’s endured it for 15 years.

But his main reason for wanting to walk is unusual: Erving wants to find his roots.

“My wife and I would like to trace the various branches of our families, nationally and internationally. We not only want to go back, but look three generations ahead,” he said during a recent interview.

If he retires, he reasons, “I’ll have more time and energy to devote to such things. I genuinely feel that there are certain things that I’m in a position to do that will have an affect on future generations of my family. Future generations of people, period.

“It’s something I yearn to do. It’s something inside of me that says this is important. It might be more important than basketball,” he said. “At some point in time, it certainly will be more important, and possibly more gratifying. That’s one of the main things I’ll do when I’m no longer a player.”

He’s already started his research.

“We’ve gone back to 1837 in my family history. The next challenge I feel, since I’ve gone 150 years backwards, is to try and go 150 years forward and see where that leads us,” he said.

Despite that desire, the 6-foot-6 Erving can’t easily shake what has been the focus of his life--basketball.

Age, of course, has robbed him of some skills, but he’s still one of the best players in the NBA and the game’s third-highest all-time scoring leader behind Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Wilt Chamberlain.

He still scores, rebounds, steals, defends and occasionally flashes one of his man-on-a-flying-trapeze maneuvers. Above all, he’s still a leader, the guy 6-10 Moses Malone and the other 76ers look up to.

His team contributions, meanwhile, are increasing rather than decreasing.

With an 18.2 points-per-game average, Erving now divides his time between the front and backcourt, lessening the physical wear and tear.

He says he likes the challenge of the backcourt.

“I wouldn’t say it was necessarily less strenuous. I probably can set myself up a little better to avoid injuries because I can play facing the basket.

“You don’t have guys coming from the blind side as much . . . and, obviously, I’m bigger than most of the players I’m matched with,” he said. “I feel very comfortable back there.”

Erving said if he decides to stay and is asked to contribute as a sixth man, he’d consider it.

“I don’t know whether I’d want to accept that unless it was clearly decided that the guys playing in front of me were better and this was what was best for the team. And also, that this was good for me,” he said.

When he decides that retirement is good for him, Erving is certain of one thing: “I’ll go out in a winning situation when I’ll still be a valuable player who has a lot of responsibility.

“I was a good player when I came in. I want to be a good player when I leave,” said Erving, who broke into the pros with the old American Basketball Association in 1971. “I don’t want to be a guy just sitting down on the end of the bench and collecting a pay check. I’m not that right now. That would be a tough role for me because I’m a mover and shaker. I’m an achiever.

“When I’m working and when I’m functioning it’s a totally giving experience and I can’t give sitting down just watching others do what I used to do.”

What if he decides to stay on and the 76ers prefer he retire?

“If I want to play and I’m not wanted . . . I might even explore going somewhere else,” Erving said.

Meantime, team owner Harold Katz says he wants whatever is best for Doc.

“He’s a class person. It’s most important how Doc is remembered. Whatever makes him comfortable, I’m comfortable. He has a great spiritual affect on the team.”