Mike Dunleavy tagged along with Shane Battier for his fashion fitting last week, and we were able to catch up with the free agent to get his thoughts on this past season and the future ahead.
Dime: What have you been up to since the season ended?
Mike Dunleavy: Going well. I live here in New York, in Manhattan, in the offseason, so just getting back here, getting settled in, and enjoying myself.
Dime: How are the Pacers looking?
MD: I think we finished up pretty well. I’m a free agent so I’m not sure what’s gonna happen next year, but I like being a Pacer, I like living in Indiana and whatever happens, happens.
Dime: Have you been involved in the labor talks?
MD: I’ve been keeping up to date. It looks pretty interesting. We’re certainly far apart right now in discussions. But hopefully we can all get something figured out that works for everybody and have a fun and productive season.
Dime: Talk about the Pacers making it back to the playoffs. How was that?
MD: It was a pretty good run on our part. You know, have a coaching change in the middle of the season and being able to pull it together and make the playoffs. We snuck in and got the eighth seed. We played the Bulls, and they’re a great team, a great up-and-coming team. I thought we gave them a run for their money and made it somewhat interesting and it was good experience for all of our young guys.
Dime: Looking forward, what are your thoughts on the Eastern Conference as a whole?
MD: The East is tough because you’ve got Miami there, which is a ton of talent and they’re only going to get better as they play more together. And then the Bulls, have the MVP of the league, they have a lot of good players, so those two teams are gonna be in the top of the conference for years to come and there will be other teams trying to knock them off.
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