Clippers’ Leonard becomes free agent

The Kawhi Leonard freeagent sweepstakes has begun again.

The firstteam AllNBA forward is now an unrestricted free agent after declining his player option with the Los Angeles Clippers that would have been worth $36 million next season, according to a person with knowledge of the situation who is not authorized to speak publicly.

⏩ The Miami Heat picked up their $19.4 million 202122 team option on the final year of the twoyear contract of guard Goran Dragic, but bypassed a similar move with forward Andre Iguodala, making him a free agent.

⏩ The Dallas Mavericks picked up the $4.1 million team option on center Willie CauleyStein’s contract. CauleyStein came to Dallas in a deal with Golden State before the trading deadline in 201920.

Auto racing: Frenchman Esteban Ocon won a chaotic Hungarian Grand Prix in Budapest while Lewis Hamilton moved up to second place in the race after Sebastian Vettel’s disqualification, pushing Hamilton’s Formula One championship lead over Max Verstappen to eight points.

Verstappen was taken out early in the race by Hamilton’s Mercedes teammate Valtteri Bottas in a firstlap crash that caused Bottas and four others to retire.

The race restarted in absurd fashion with only Hamilton on the grid, while others were changing their tires because the track had dried. Hamilton did the same a lap later and came out in last place, a couple of spots behind Verstappen.

⏩ Ron Capps (Funny Car) and Leah Pruett (Top Fuel) gave Don Schumacher Racing a nitro sweep in the Lucas Oil NHRA Winternationals at Auto Club Raceway in Pomona (Los Angeles County) with their first victories of the season.

Golf: Annika Sorenstam ran away with the U.S. Senior Women’s Open, closing with a 4underpar 68 for an eightstroke victory in Fairfield, Conn.

Sorenstam, 50, finished at 12under 276 at Brooklawn Country Club. Playing partner and fellow Swede Liselotte Neumann was second. Laura Davies, the 2018 winner in the inaugural event, was third.