Suns’ Davis Wants to Play 2 More Seasons

PHOENIX, Ariz. — Veteran guard Walter Davis, now a free agent after Phoenix failed to pick up the option on his contract by April 15, says he would like to play two more years with the Suns and is agreeable to a reduced role with the NBA team.

Davis, who turns 34 on Sept. 9, met with Suns’ President Jerry Colangelo for 30 minutes on Friday to discuss his future with the club.

“I’m strictly looking year to year,” Colangelo said. “He may very well be able to play two. But our interest is one year at a time.”

“I can agree to that,” Davis said. “(Former New York Knick star) Bill Bradley did it toward the end of his career. We’ll see how it goes.”

Davis, a six-time all-star and the Suns’ all-time leading scorer with 15,666 points, had previously said that next season would be his 12th and last in the NBA.

The 6-foot-6, 207-pound Davis missed 11 games with a back injury last December and voluntarily came off the bench for 13 games midway through the season when the team was in a 10-game losing streak.

But after leading the Suns in scoring this season with a 17.9-point average, Davis reconsidered his decision to retire after 1988-89.

“When I hurt my back, I was really frustrated,” he said. “It was a scary situation. The doctors couldn’t tell me if the pain would go away. I said then I’d like to play out my contract. But my back feels good. I’ve got the strength back in my legs again.”

Davis, the Suns’ first-round draft pick out of North Carolina in 1977 and the league’s rookie of the year in 1978, asked Phoenix to pick up the option year on the two-year contract he signed in October 1986 for about $700,000 per season.

The Suns may cut that money figure anywhere from one-third to one-half, but Davis said the two sides are close to an agreement.

“It’s a business thing. I don’t take it personally. Money’s not everything. I’ll make it up some other way,” said Davis, who owns a travel agency here.

Colangelo said he will speak to Davis’ agent, Lee Fentress, this week about a possible contract.

“If he can accept his particular role, we’d like to have Walter here, at a reduced salary,” Colangelo said. “Everything will have to be done through his agent. I feel confident that can be done.”

Although Colangelo has put no timetable on a decision, all NBA teams have until June 8 to decide which of their eight players will be protected from the expansion draft.

Of the 68 games Davis played in this season, 48 were starts. Colangelo said Davis’ role next season will be as a sixth man coming off the bench for 18 to 20 minutes per game.

“If I’m not going to play as many minutes, if that’s the way they want me to contribute, I’ll come off the bench,” Davis said. “I’ll do whatever’s best for the team. That’s no great problem.

“I can make the transition. I want to be the best I can off the bench. I’ll work hard so I can have a good year again.”