Contra Costa Times LAIE, Hawaii - The last time Warriors small forward Mike Dunleavy worried was about six weeks ago. He turned in a 10-page paper on sports medicine, the finishing touches on his graduation from Duke. Though his basketball career is facing no small amount of uncertainty, Dunleavy said he hasn't felt a fraction of the worry he did over that paper. The Warriors have until Oct. 31 to sign Dunleavy to a contract extension. If a deal isn't reached, Dunleavy becomes a restricted free agent after this coming season, which means he can sign an offer sheet with another team, and the Warriors have the right to match it. Dunleavy said he's determined not to let the contract negotiations bother him. He's not calling his agent Arn Tellem for up-to-the-minute reports. He's not spending his evenings mapping out which other teams he'd like to play for. He's not making trade demands. "You can't think about that. You can't worry about it," Dunleavy said Tuesday after the first practice of Warriors training camp held at BYU-Hawaii's Cannon Events Center on the island of Oahu. "I really don't have any control over it. If it happens, it happens. What's the point of not sleeping over it?" Under the new collective bargaining agreement, teams can re-sign their own players for up to six years. So the longest extension Dunleavy could get is a five-year deal because he is under contract for 2005-06. Part of the reason for Dunleavy's calmness, other than his natural disposition, is what he saw last season. He paid close attention as teammates Jason Richardson and Troy Murphy suffered through negotiations over their pending contract extensions. "Those guys were stressed out," Dunleavy said. "The whole month of October. I think I learned from them there's no point to that." Richardson said he and Murphy were on shakier ground last year. The collective bargaining agreement was set to expire at the end of the season. Issues such as length of contracts and how much players could get were on the table, and there was uncertainty about whether there would be a lockout. "He saw what we went through last year," Richardson said at Monday's media day in Oakland. "Not knowing what's going on, being cautious on the floor trying not to get hurt. Troy talked to him about it a lot. I talked to him a little ... waiting till the last possible day to get it done. But (Dunleavy's) got his head on right." Dunleavy also can take some comfort in the fact that Chris Mullin, Warriors executive vice president of basketball operations, wants him back. There have been trade rumors involving Dunleavy since before last season's trade deadline. But Mullin said Tuesday he wants Dunleavy back. Source
