Boston Celtics' center Al Horford, Kings' forward Harrison Barnes opt out of contracts

Boston Celtics center Al Horford will decline his $30.1 million player option for next season and become an unrestricted free agent.

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 four-year, $113 million deal in 2016.

Horford averaged 13.9 points and nine rebounds in the postseason for Boston.

Once he opted out, the Celtics tried to negotiate a longer-term deal with him for more total money but a smaller yearly salary, lowering the team's salary cap figure and allowing them to sign higher quality free agents. But talks broke down and the veteran is expected to sign elsewhere.

Kings Barnes turns down option

Sacramento forward Harrison Barnes declined his $25.1 million player option for the 2019-20 season and will become an unrestricted free agent.

Barnes will opt out of the final year of a four-year, $94.4 million deal he signed with the Dallas Mavericks in 2016. Both sides are open to exploring a new deal that would keep Barnes in Sacramento,.

... A diversity report shows the NBA still leads men's professional sports leagues in racial and gender hiring practices. The annual report card from The Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sport (TIDES) 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 was better than Major League Soccer's B-plus, the NFL with a B and Major League Baseball with a B-minus, all since January. The NHL doesn't participate in the study.

French police investigating whether corruption played a role in the stunning decision to award the 2022 World Cup to Qatar took 1980s soccer superstar and former top executive Michel Platini into custody.

Platini's representatives denied any wrongdoing on his part, saying he is "absolutely confident in the future" and has "strictly nothing to reproach himself for." Also questioned were two associates of former French President Nicolas Sarkozy, adding a layer of political intrigue to the investigation of the hugely controversial decision to hold soccer's showcase tournament in a desert country so scorching hot in June and July that the matches will be played instead in November and December.

Weather woes hit this year's College World Series for the first time Tuesday, with the afternoon elimination game between Louisville and Auburn suspended after four innings because of rain and the night game between Vanderbilt and Mississippi State postponed until Wednesday.

Louisville led 4-1 when the TD Ameritrade Park grounds crew rolled out the tarp to cover the field and the game will be resumed at that point.

AROUND THE HORN

NHL: The Flyers acquired veteran defenseman Justin Braun from the Sharks for a 2019 second-round pick and 2019 third-round pick. Braun, a defensive defenseman, had two goals and 14 assists and averaged 20:18 in 78 games last season.

Auto racing: NASCAR suspended Johnny Sauter for one race for intentionally ramming into Austin Hill during the Truck Series race in Iowa.