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"&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Paul Pierce will opt out of his contract with the Washington Wizards and become a free agent, according to the Players' Tribune.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Pierce, 37, averaged 11.9 points and four rebounds per game for the Wizards last season, making a major impact in the playoffs as part of Washington's run to the Eastern Conference semifinals. He's discussed retirement but has decided to play next year at the least.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Reports earlier this week indicated the Wizards organization believed Pierce would remain in D.C., with opting out and re-signing for additional money a possibility. Washington would, at present, be able to pay him more than the Los Angeles Clippers, who have been widely linked as a suitor for the veteran forward. Pierce still enjoys a relationship with Clippers coach Doc Rivers, under whom he won a title with Boston in 2008.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\u2022 &lt;strong&gt;Draft day aftermath: trades, rumors, more as free agency looms&lt;/strong&gt;\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Speaking of Boston, the Celtics have also been tied to Pierce, who according to Yahoo's Adrian Wojnarowski&amp;nbsp;also have designs on bringing in free agents to-be Kevin Love from Cleveland and Portland's Robin Lopez. Wojnarowski reported that a successful pitch to Love could help entice Pierce to return to Boston, where he spent the first 15 seasons of his career.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;The Wizards selected small forward Kelly Oubre out of Kansas in the first round of Thursday's draft, who could become Pierce's mentee or effectively a replacement, pending the veteran's decision.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;-&amp;nbsp;&lt;em&gt;Jeremy Woo&lt;/em&gt;\r\n&lt;/p&gt;"^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.si.com/nba/2015/06/27/paul-pierce-washington-wizards-free-agent-clippers-celtics>