Davis Has ‘Substance Abuse’ Problem : Phoenix Suns’ Star Being Treated at Southern California Facility

Walter Davis of the Phoenix Suns was placed on the National Basketball Assn.’s suspended list Friday after entering an undisclosed Southern California center for treatment of drug and/or alcohol abuse, team officials said.

“He has a substance abuse problem,” General Manager Jerry Colangelo said. “By definition, substance speaks for itself--drugs and/or alcohol. That’s as specific as I can be. That’s as much as we know or care to talk about. There seems to be more concern for the facts than for the person. I’m concerned about the person.”

Davis, 31, a five-time NBA All-Star who has been leading the Suns in scoring this season, will be out “a minimum of four weeks. But more realistically, as long as it takes,” Colangelo said. “When the clinic feels he’s ready, that’s when he’s let go. At that point, he can be activated. But as of today, he’s suspended with pay.

“There will be minimum contact with outsiders. Those allowed to see him are his wife, a couple of the coaches and myself, and that’s it.”

Colangelo would not reveal the location of the clinic, but said it had treated several major league baseball players and at least two NBA players--Quintin Dailey of the Chicago Bulls and John Lucas of the Houston Rockets.

“It’s a clinic with facilities where an athlete can work out three times a day,” Colangelo said. “They’re treated gingerly and with great sensitivity.”