Horford reportedly will be a free agent
A person familiar with the decision told the Associated Press that Boston Celtics center Al Horford will decline his player option for next season and become an unrestricted free agent.
The person spoke to the AP on the condition of anonymity Tuesday because the decision had not been announced. ESPN was first to report Horford’s decision.
A five-time All-Star, the 33-year-old Horford joins point guard Kyrie Irving, who also won’t exercise his option to remain in Boston for the final year of his contract. Horford signed a fouryear, $113-million deal in 2016.
The Celtics finished the regular season 49-33 and were eliminated 4-1 in the conference semifinals by the Milwaukee Bucks.
Leonard remains quiet on future
Fresh off leading the Toronto Raptors to their first title, two-time NBA Finals MVP Kawhi Leonard isn’t revealing what his future plans might be.
Leonard helped lead the Raptors to victory in Thursday’s Game 6 clincher at Golden State and returned to Toronto in time to ride in Monday’s parade.
Leonard, who just finished his eighth season, is expected to decline the player option on the final year of his contract and become a free agent.
“It’s not time to stress,” Leonard said Monday. “It’s still time to have some fun.”
He doesn’t have a lot of time left to be a fun guy — free agency starts at 3 p.m. Pacific time June 30.
Meanwhile, Toronto police are looking for a fourth person and haven’t recovered the gun involved in a shooting at Monday’s Raptors rally that wounded four people.
Toronto Police Chief Marc Saunders said they are looking for a male who was wearing a white buttondown T-shirt at the shooting.
Police arrested three people who are now facing firearm charges, but the shell casings at the scene didn’t match two guns seized. Shaquille Anthony Miller, 25, Abdikarim Kerow, 18, and Thaino Toussaint, 20, have been charged and made brief bail hearing appearances Monday.
Those wounded by the gunshots didn’t suffer lifethreatening injuries. Attorney: Deputy suffered concussion
A deputy suffered a concussion and is on medical leave after an altercation with the Raptors’ president as he tried to join his team on the court to celebrate their NBA title, a lawyer said.
The 20-year veteran of the Alameda County Sheriff ’s Office also has a serious jaw injury and is considering suing Raptors President Masai Ujiri, attorney David Mastagni said.
The clash between the deputy, whose name has not been released, and Ujiri happened as the deputy checked court-access credentials after the game Thursday in Oakland.
Tops in diversity
A diversity report shows the NBA still leads men’s pro sports leagues in racial and gender hiring practices.
The annual report card from the Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sport at Central Florida indicated almost identical scores from last year. The grade for racial hiring was an A-plus with an unchanged 98.7 score. The grade for gender hiring was a B but slid slightly to 80.9.
The overall grade was an A at 89.8. That beat Major League Soccer’s B-plus, the NFL’s B and Major League Baseball’s B-minus, all since January. The NHL doesn’t participate in the study.