All-Star center Al Horford of the Boston Celtics will decline to exercise his $30.1 million option for the 2019-20 season and become an unrestricted free agent, league sources tell ESPN.

While Horford, a five-time All-Star, will move into the free-agent marketplace on June 30, there's motivation for both Horford and the Celtics to work toward an agreement on a new long-term contract, league sources tell ESPN.

Horford could help Boston's salary-cap flexibility with a new deal that starts below that $30.1 million salary.

Horford, 33, is a key member of the Celtics core and a favorite of management, coaches and teammates. Horford averaged 13.6 points and 6.7 rebounds for the Celtics this past season, his third with Boston since leaving Atlanta for a four-year, $113 million free-agent deal with the Celtics.

Horford has been to the Eastern Conference playoffs 11 times in his 12-year pro career. He won two national championships at the University of Florida.

The New York Knicks have declined a recent trade offer that would have sent the No. 3 overall draft pick to the Atlanta Hawks in exchange for the eighth and 10th picks, a source told ESPN's Jonathan Givony.

The Hawks have been aggressively exploring trade scenarios where they would package the Nos. 8 and 10 picks to move up in Thursday's draft, the source told Givony.

But the Knicks were not interested in moving down to acquire Atlanta's picks, according to the source.

Although Duke star RJ Barrett has been projected as the No. 3 pick, New York plans to hold a workout Wednesday for Vanderbilt guard Darius Garland, according to Givony.

Garland recently told ESPN that he is the "best" guard in the draft and has been widely viewed as a top-five pick. He was projected to go No. 5 overall to Cleveland in ESPN's latest mock draft, but Caesars Sportsbook currently lists Garland as a minus-170 favorite to be selected at No. 4.

The Pelicans are considering the possibility of trading the No. 4 pick to Atlanta for Nos. 8 and 10, the source told Givony.

ESPN reported Saturday that New Orleans will acquire the fourth pick as part of the blockbuster trade that will send Anthony Davis to the Los Angeles Lakers.

The Timberwolves, Celtics and Bulls are three more teams that are looking at the possibility of trading up to the No. 4 pick, with Garland in mind, according to Givony.

With loads of cap space, dozens of high-quality free agents, a changing of the champion and lots of uncertainty, the next three weeks could reshape the face of the NBA.

With the draft coming up and free agency right behind it, here are some of the questions that are being discussed in league front offices:

How much will the Bucks, 76ers and Hornets spend?

The Milwaukee Bucks have spent into the luxury tax once in their history and not since the 2002-03 season.

Behind the scenes, the current ownership group has let it be known it's willing to go into the tax for the first time since buying the team. Honestly, that was clear when the Bucks signed Eric Bledsoe to an extension this spring that guarantees him $54 million over the next three years.

Coming off a 60-win season and a year away from Giannis Antetokounmpo's chance to sign an extension, the Bucks pretty much have to go into the tax. But how much can they afford? The team has four important free agents to handle: Khris Middleton, Malcolm Brogdon, Brook Lopez and Nikola Mirotic.

With so much open cap space across the league, Middleton is likely to get four-year max offers elsewhere and apply pressure on the Bucks to match or even beat them with a five-year offer. Knowing the position the Bucks are in, rival teams might put them to the test with an offer sheet on restricted free agent Brodgon, who has shown to be a valuable player for them.

They have limited rights to Lopez, who is coming off a brilliant season, so they might lose him either way.

The Philadelphia 76ers haven't paid the tax since 2004.

This summer they face three starters in unrestricted free agency: Jimmy Butler, Tobias Harris and JJ Redick. With a handful of teams with max space and Redick's experience and shooting in high demand, keeping all three might cost the 76ers more than $400 million in salary commitments. And, by the way, Ben Simmons is in position to ask for a nine-figure extension this summer.

It's massive money, and while the group has promise, there's no assurance that mix works long term.

"We've said it repeatedly and we'll keep saying it," team owner Josh Harris said last month. "We're committed to do what it takes to bring a championship to Philly, including spending into the luxury tax. ... It's a system where if you make the wrong decisions financially, you hamstring your team. So there's a lot to consider."

A lot indeed. Teams have been eyeing Harris and Butler for months. There has been a feel recently that the 76ers are committed to keeping both, even on max deals, but executives from hopeful poachers are readying pitches to make sure that's the case.

The Charlotte Hornets are one of two teams that have never paid the tax. Owner Michael Jordan has made it a priority to avoid it during his tenure.

But with the remnants of a spending spree from 2016 still on the books, re-signing Kemba Walker almost certainly would push the Hornets there for at least the 2019-20 season.

For weeks, it hasn't just been a question of whether they'd offer Walker a five-year max -- but would they make it a supermax deal and pay $221 million after he made the All-NBA team? If Walker were to sign for a max elsewhere, it would mean leaving $80 million versus the supermax.

Everyone is saying the right things. Walker has said the Hornets are his priority and hinted he'd take less than the supermax to stay if it helped build the team. Hornets general manager Mitch Kupchak left open the possibility of paying the luxury tax in comments last week and even hinted he wanted to move up from the No. 12 pick.

But teams aren't just watching whether the Hornets pay Walker -- they're also watching that draft pick. That asset is perhaps the most valuable and last option to attach to a player to offload salary before Walker hits free agency. If avoiding the tax is truly a mandate and keeping Walker truly a priority, the pick could be on the move on or before draft night.

What will happen to the Celtics if/when Kyrie leaves?

Outwardly, the Boston Celtics are keeping a stiff upper lip, but internally they've long since been planning in case Kyrie Irving signs with the Brooklyn Nets, as widely expected at this point, or elsewhere. The reality is, the Celtics are probably going to lose their best player and might have no functional way to replace him immediately.

The most important thing at the Celtics' doorstep right now might be Al Horford, who has chosen to opt out of his contract. Keeping him, perhaps on a new long-term deal, is vital and that is the scenario league executives are watching closer than Irving, to be honest.

As Horford hits the market, he is seen as an extremely desirable player for a contender. Teams might even be willing to part with players to clear a spot for him. But if Irving leaves and Horford is retained -- perhaps on a contract that lowers his $30 million salary scheduled for next season -- Boston would have some flexibility to go out and add some more talent.

Then they could exceed the cap to re-sign free agents Terry Rozier and Marcus Morris if deals could be worked out (neither seem eager to return, but Rozier is restricted and Irving's decision might change the whole environment).

You might have seen this number floating around this season: The Celtics were 12-3 when Irving didn't play. In raw data, it's true, the Celtics have won more over the past two seasons without Irving than with him. They were 26-11 when he didn't play, a .704 win percentage, and 78-49 with him, a .614 percentage. And, of course, they went to Game 7 of the Eastern Conference finals without him in 2018 and were knocked out in five games with four straight losses to the Milwaukee Bucks in the second round this year with him.

When Irving doesn't play, the Celtics are better on defense and Rozier's production blossoms. Some of the best games we've seen from Jayson Tatum are without Irving, too. So Irving bolts and everything should be just fine, right?

Eh. Despite all those numbers, Irving's value is unquestioned. They were way better on offense with Irving, and their net rating, which to some is the mother of all team stats, drops by more than half from plus-5.9 points per 100 possessions to just plus-2.7 points when he's not in the game.

Using Real Plus-Minus data, ESPN's Kevin Pelton estimates that if the Celtics brought back their entire roster minus Irving, they would have five fewer wins next season. That would mean a record of 44-38, which would've gotten them the No. 6 seed this past season. Not exciting.

But you can say this: They probably would be happier as a team without the Irving off-court drama and on-court ball domination. That reality doesn't always show up in the analytics but did show up in their record, and if you watched the Celtics when Irving was out, sometimes it felt like they were kids at recess.

Plenty of scouts believe Tatum and Jaylen Brown have a lot more to show. Plus president Danny Ainge has three first-round picks and other assets to use to help. It would be an interesting scenario to watch.

Will Kawhi take a short deal and run it back?

The location is most important, clearly. But the length of contract Kawhi Leonard might sign is something that's being discussed throughout the league.

We'll go over the numbers in a moment, but it isn't lost on anyone that Leonard could split the difference of his priorities by taking a one-year contract with a player option with the Toronto Raptors and try to run it back while not committing the rest of his prime. There's some financial incentive to this scenario as well.

Broad strokes are this: If Leonard stays with the Raptors, he could sign for up to five years and $190 million. If he goes elsewhere -- say, to the LA Clippers -- he could get $140 million over four years. But cap rules would mean he could make potentially tens of millions more if he signs a long-term deal in 2021, when he'd have 10 years' experience, than in 2019.

So why not consider a one-year deal for $33 million plus a player option for $36 million? Especially with Kyle Lowry, Serge Ibaka, Fred VanVleet and Pascal Siakam under contract for next season. That group would include Marc Gasol as well if he picks up his player option, as expected.

The answer to why not? Kawhi just saw two free agents-to-be, Kevin Durant and Klay Thompson, go down with major injuries and Leonard already has had a major injury that cost him a season. But it is something that's on the board.

David Ortiz's condition has been upgraded as he continues to recover at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, his wife said in a statement Tuesday.

Tiffany Ortiz said that doctors have listed Ortiz's condition as "good."

"We remain grateful to everyone who has helped David through this ordeal, both in the Dominican Republic and here in Boston," Tiffany Ortiz said in a statement released through the Boston Red Sox. "David's journey to good health has been bolstered by the many expressions of love that have come to us from across the globe. Your support has lifted his spirits tremendously during this challenging time."

In the Dominican Republic, where Ortiz was shot on June 9, authorities on Monday identified the man they believe paid hitmen to try to kill the former baseball star.

The man was identified as Alberto Miguel Rodriguez Mota, who authorities say is a fugitive.

Authorities have detained 10 people in the case and are looking for at least two others mentioned in court documents, including the man accused of paying the alleged hitmen.

Police have said the coordinator of the attack was offered 400,000 Dominican pesos, or about $7,800, to orchestrate the shooting of Ortiz.

The attorney general's office in the Dominican Republic has scheduled a news conference for Wednesday, where it is expected that they will reveal new details in the case.

Houston Astros second baseman Jose Altuve could be activated as soon as Wednesday as he makes his return from a strained left hamstring that has kept him out for more than a month, manager A.J. Hinch said Tuesday.

Hinch told MLB Network Radio on SiriusXM that Altuve will join the team in Cincinnati ahead of the series finale against the Reds.

"We're gonna bring him to Cincinnati, assess him," Hinch said. "There's a chance he is activated as soon as tomorrow, which would be great for our team, both morale-wise and production-wise."

Altuve has not played for the Astros since May 10 because of his hamstring injury. He has played five games at Triple-A Round Rock in a rehab assignment.

Hinch also gave an update on outfielder George Springer, who has been on the injured list since May 25 with a left hamstring strain. The manager said Springer will run the bases in Cincinnati on Tuesday before they look to send him on a rehab assignment later this week with the hopes of his return coming next week.

Reliever Collin McHugh, who has been out since May 14 with an elbow injury, had a rehab appearance Monday and is set for another one later this week, Hinch said.

"Slowly but surely we're gonna get back to full strength," Hinch told SiriusXM. "Our young guys and our new guys have done a good job of holding the fort down, but we all know that when you can get some All-Stars back and you can get your normal team back, that improves the bench, which improves our Triple-A depth."

Altuve is hitting .243 with nine home runs and 21 RBIs this season, Springer had been the American League leader with 17 home runs prior to his injury and McHugh was 3-4 with a 6.04 ERA in 10 games (8 starts).

Governing body also announces that the recruitment process for a new permanent CEO of the organisation will commence this week

UK Athletics (UKA) has announced the appointment of Chris Clark as chair to the organisation.

His appointment follows Richard Bowker’s departure from the role in January.

As a former head of global marketing for HSBC, Clark gained experience of developing key relationships with rights holders, governing bodies and marketing agencies to expand the HSBC brand and become one of the dominant players in global sports sponsorship.

His early career was founded in advertising where he spent seven years at Saatchi & Saatchi. In recent years he has moved into a portfolio career and currently holds two non-executive positions with Aviva UK Digital and the Board of the Royal Marsden NHS Trust.

His interest in athletics ranges from that of a keen spectator in his youth, to that as a parent to a high standard middle-distance athlete. He has also completed four London Marathons, alongside multiple 10km and cross-country races.

“He strongly believes in the role athletics has to play in the sporting portfolio of the nation, with its easy access, social inclusiveness and proud history of societal impact and benefit,” said the national governing body when announcing Clark’s appointment.

Clark said: “I am thrilled to be taking on the chair role of UKA. As a nation we have a very proud heritage of performance on all levels of the world stage and the grassroots of this great sport are in great shape and thriving with ever increasing numbers of runners taking part in events and staying fit.

“I am very much looking forward to a strong partnership with my fellow chairs in Scotland, England, Wales and Northern Ireland. There will be much to get done with Tokyo 2020 just around the corner and I’m sure we will be managing a pretty busy ‘to do’ list.”

Clark joins as chair of the UK Athletics board from July 1 and will be working with interim chair Sarah Rowell, the board and the senior executive team on a managed transition over the summer.

The board also confirmed that Rowell, who has served on the UKA board since her appointment as a non-executive director in April 2012, will be extending her final term on the board by a year.

She said: “Having been closely involved in the recruitment process, I am delighted that Chris has accepted the position of chair and I am looking forward with absolute confidence to working closely with him over the summer months and beyond as we finalise the new UKA organisational strategy and move into the 2020 Olympic and Paralympic season.”

Meanwhile, UKA announced that the current senior independent director Peter Taylor, who joined the board in September 2016, will be stepping down in order to take up a new role in education. Penny Avis, who joined the board in November 2017 as a non-executive director and chair of the audit committee, will take up the role.

UKA also confirmed on Tuesday that the recruitment process for the role of chief executive officer will commence with the advert for the role going live on Thursday (June 20).

Former chief executive Niels de Vos left UKA in September.

Nigel Holl, UKA’s strategy and partnerships director, is undertaking the role of interim chief executive.

Further details on Rowell’s handover with Clark and UKA’s plans for the future will be outlined in the governing body’s regular column in the next edition of AW, out on Thursday.

Andy Murray is set to make his competitive return on Wednesday in the doubles at Queen's. In his regular BBC Sport column, the 32-year-old Scot talks about meeting the woman who performed his "life-changing" hip surgery and how operating on the Queen Mother and Prince Philip didn't necessarily mean she was right for him.

Five months ago, sitting in a news conference at the Australian Open, I thought I was seemingly on the verge of retiring from the sport that I love.

It was uncomfortable playing with my children at the soft play centre. I couldn't sleep properly. I couldn't do basic everyday tasks like putting on my shoes and socks. I was in pain all the time.

Now I'm getting ready to step back on to the court competitively in the doubles at Queen's.

I didn't expect to be in this position, I didn't know how it would feel if I had the hip resurfacing operation.

Even if I'd never tried to play tennis again, I would have had the operation because I couldn't walk properly.

A pivotal moment in my return has been meeting Sarah Muirhead-Allwood, the surgeon at the London Hip Unit who operated on me in January.

I knew she had operated on Prince Philip's hip last year, and before that the Queen Mother - but I didn't know how that would translate to working on an athlete.

I first met Sarah in late January, shortly after I got back to London from Melbourne, and we chatted for about an hour. During this I asked her: "How do I know you're good?"

I wasn't doing it to be rude, but in sport you can tell how good someone is by their ranking. But how do I know a surgeon is good?

She just said to me: "Well, you don't. You don't know."

I felt she was very honest with me and I admired that. She didn't promise I would get back to playing. She told me exactly what to expect and what my expectations should be.

If she didn't know something then she would say she didn't know the answer rather than trying to sell me something that might not be case. That was why I had surgery with her.

I didn't want to have someone telling me "you'll definitely be back and winning Wimbledon in five months", because it doesn't work like that and it wouldn't have been true.

I wasn't promised that. The reason for having the operation was not to come back and play tennis. The reason was to improve my quality of life and the operation has been life-changing.

'I don't believe in fate - but some odd things happened'

A few very strange things happened on the day I met Sarah for our first chat.

I went to have a scan after our meeting and the guy who operated on my back in 2013 messaged me out of the blue, asking how I was getting on with my hip.

I told him I was actually having a scan at the Lister Hospital in Chelsea - and it turned out he was in the room next door seeing patients.

So he came to see me and we chatted about Sarah. He said she had a fantastic reputation and that she was very good.

I also bumped into the guy who has read all of my scans over my whole career when I walked out of the lift.

He asked what I was doing there and I told him I'd just met Sarah. He also said only very positive things.

After speaking to Sarah for about an hour, and then hearing what these people in the medical industry said, I knew in my head I wanted her to operate on me.

I don't necessarily believe in fate but it was really odd. It feels like the only person I didn't bump into to ask for an opinion was Prince Philip!

I went home and chatted it through with my wife Kim and my team. Then a few days later I had the operation.

'It was harder to enjoy spending time with my children'

Long-term pain can be demoralising and it definitely affected my mental health, but at the time I didn't realise it as much because it became the norm.

Days just became trickier and I wasn't living life like I would want to. I'd finish practising and would just want to have my feet up all day because of the pain.

I was still able to play with my kids; it was just getting harder to enjoy the things we did together.

When we'd go to soft play places, it was so uncomfortable on my hands and knees crawling through tunnels. Now I'm the first one on the slides or taking part in mini gymnastics.

I'm doing all the things I used to really enjoy doing and which I wouldn't have been doing six months ago - playing golf, taking part in 'escape rooms', spending more time with friends. Added to that, I'm back on the court and enjoying playing and all the physical training.

Escape rooms are definitely something worth trying if you haven't yet. You get locked in a room with your friends and try to escape within your allotted time. It is all about the strategy and it gets competitive, which I love.

I also played golf with my brother in the club championship at Wentworth on Saturday. It's an amazing course, but it didn't go well - and I started with several shanked shots on the first hole. We both shot triple digits and I play off a handicap of six! It was windy though...

Before the operation I'd have never played golf the day before a tournament because my hip would hurt, whereas now I can do things like that and be pain free.

Andy Murray was talking to BBC Sport's Jonathan Jurejko.

ORRVILLE, Ohio – Monday’s Ollie’s Bargain Outlet All Star Circuit of Champions Cometic Gasket Ohio Sprint Speedweek event at Wayne County Speedway has been canceled because of rain.

Affecting an already saturated facility, a downpour just before the 2 o’clock hour, followed by a second downpour just before the 3 o’clock hour, left series and track officials with no choice but to cancel the program.

The Ollie’s Bargain Outlet All Star Circuit of Champions presented by Mobil 1 will continue Ohio Sprint Speedweek on Tuesday  at Sharon Speedway in Hartford, Ohio.

With unfavorable conditions a factor over the next 12 hours, All Star Circuit of Champions and Sharon Speedway officials will monitor the situation closely. If additional precipitation falls on the already-saturated Sharon Speedway facility, track officials will be forced to cancel the event. A final decision will be made by 9 a.m. on Tuesday.

In the event that Sharon Speedway should cancel their Ohio Sprint Speedweek program by 9 a.m., Wayne County Speedway will then step in and proceed with a Tuesday night program. Track and series officials will make a coordinated effort in spreading word of the venue change in a timely and efficient manner.

“We certainly appreciate everyone’s patience as we continue to work around Mother Nature. I think we can all agree that we are hungry to race. We are doing everything in our power to make those efforts a reality,” Eric Walls explained, All Star Circuit of Champions Race Director. “With Mother Nature impacting much of our schedule, we’ve taken it upon ourselves to do whatever it takes to give our teams an opportunity to compete. I greatly appreciate the cooperation put forth by the tracks, especially in helping us organize a potential last minute change in Tuesday’s schedule.”

The New York Rangers acquired defenseman Jacob Trouba from the Winnipeg Jets in exchange for Neal Pionk and the 20th overall pick in Thursday's NHL draft, the teams said.

Trouba, 25, had eight goals and 42 assists for the Jets in 2018-19, his most productive season since the former No. 9 overall draft pick debuted with Winnipeg six years ago. He averaged 22:52 a night, second-most on the team.

Trouba has long been trade bait for the Jets; despite his talent as a puck-moving blueliner, he has been far apart in contract talks with the Jets for some time.

Rangers general manager Jeff Gorton said the Rangers "jumped on" the opportunity to trade for Trouba.

"He's a big defenseman," Gorton said. "He's 25 years old, he can play against the best players, he has offense, he can kill penalties, he's in the prime of his career."

In 2016, Trouba requested a trade from Winnipeg, which he later rescinded. The Jets are also facing a cap crunch this summer, as several players -- including Patrik Laine and Kyle Connor -- are in need of new contracts.

Trouba was awarded a one-year, $5.5 million contract in arbitration last summer and will be a restricted free agent as of July 1. If the Rangers don't sign him to a multiyear deal, he'll be an unrestricted free agent after next season.

The Rangers aggressively pursued Trouba over the past few weeks, though the in-division rival Islanders also expressed interest.

Pionk, a Minnesota native, signed with the Rangers in 2017 as an undrafted college free agent after his sophomore season at the University of Minnesota Duluth. Pionk is a restricted free agent this summer who is arbitration-eligible.

Meanwhile the No. 20 first-round pick in the 2019 draft returns to Winnipeg, which had dealt it to the Rangers at the trade deadline for rental right wing Kevin Hayes.