SAN ANTONIO -- Mike Mitchell, the San Antonio Spurs' top scorer the past two seasons, has checked himself into a drug treatment center in California, the San Antonio Light said Thursday.
'Drugs is correct,' Spurs general manager Bob Bass said. 'I don't know if it was cocaine specifically, or not. None of us has talked to him.'
He said Mitchell, 31, left San Antonio Wednesday for Van Nuys, Calif., site of the NBA-sanctioned substance abuse center.
Mitchell apparently turned himself in to the NBA Players Association, and the league office notified Spurs officials late Wednesday, Bass said. Team officials were floored by the news.
'Nobody had any inkling of this,' Spurs president Angelo Drossos said. 'I'm shocked and surprised. There were no warning signs. I thought the game before last (a 15-point effort against Golden State), he had had a good game.'
Spurs coach Bob Weiss also expressed disbelief.
'I had no indication at all. It was a real surprise, a shock to me,' he said.
By coming forward voluntarily, Mitchell sidestepped the league's mandatory lifetime banishment. Once the 6-foot-7, 215-pound forward's four to six-week treatment program is complete, he would be free to rejoin the Spurs.
Team officials would not speculate on his future.
'I don't know where we go from here, though,' Bass said.
It has been a tough season for Mitchell. He reported to training camp out of condition and had a struggle to regain past form. He then injured his knee during stretching exercises and underwent arthroscopic surgery Nov. 20, an operation that kept him sidelined until Dec. 19.
After an early slump, Mitchell played well the last two weeks, culminating with 27 points Friday against Sacramento before going into a slide in an overtime loss to Atlanta Tuesday. Mitchell played just 12 minutes against the Hawks, missed 6-of-7 field-goal attempts and finished with 4 points.
In his 40 games for the year, he has averaged 12.7 points.
Mitchell was absent from practice Wednesday but team trainer John Andersen said he assumed he had overslept.
Mitchell's teammates were astonished at the news.
'I'm surprised,' said Walter Berry, who substituted for Mitchell as starting small forward while Mitchell was convelescing from surgery. 'So that's why he didn't show up to practice? Lately, he'd been playing real well too. He had 27 points in that one game. This is just unbelievable.'
'My goodness, is that right?' said guard Alvin Robertson. 'That's terrible.'
'His locker's right across from mine,' said forward Ed Nealy. 'I had no indication at all. I don't think anybody did. We'll all just support him as much as we can. I'm sure he'll get through it.'
'It catches me totally by surprise,' said forward Larry Krystkowiak. 'People from back home asked if anybody on our team had a drug problem. I said, 'No, it would be a surprise if anyone had one.''
