Russell Westbrook will not be exercising his $3.5 million player option with the Denver Nuggets for next season and will instead become a free agent, a person with knowledge of the decision told The Associated Press on Friday.

The decision doesn’t necessarily mean that Westbrook won’t be back with the Nuggets, said the person.

NBA reporter Marc Stein first reported Westbrook’s decision, which was later confirmed by ESPN and The Denver Post, among others.

Westbrook averaged 13.3 points, 4.9 rebounds and 6.1 assists for the Nuggets this season — his 17th in the NBA — and helped Denver reach the second round of the playoffs, falling in seven games to eventual Western Conference champion Oklahoma City.

He underwent surgery after the season to repair multiple ligament tears in his right hand, an issue he played through during the season. At that time, Westbrook posted in his newsletter than he was “grateful for everyone’s support all year and I can’t wait to be back out there at 100% soon. The comeback is already in motion.”

That would indicate that he is planning to play somewhere next season.

Westbrook is a nine-time All-Star, nine-time All-NBA selection and won the MVP award after the 2016-17 season. He’s also part of the NBA’s 75th anniversary team and has averaged 21.2 points and eight assists per game over his career.

Carlisle for the cause: At the NBA Finals, Indiana Pacers coach Rick Carlisle is trying to shine a light on what he considers an important cause.

Carlisle often has been seen wearing a QR code on his shirt — one that directs interested scanners to a site for his Drive & Dish initiative, something he founded about two years ago to raise money for battling food insecurity across Indiana.

So far, the program has raised more than $1 million. Carlisle and the Pacers have also made donations to the charity, which served more than 1,000 households and distributed more than 250,000 pounds of food in in its first year.

“Each year we’ve been able to help more people,” Carlisle said Friday night before Game 4 against the Oklahoma City Thunder. “People in Indiana should never have to deal with food insecurity. There’s plenty of food in Indiana. The challenge is logistics. So, this charity helps with logistics.”

The program has partnered with Spokenote, which provides the technology behind the scannable code. The Pacers and Spokenote also collaborated last year on the first scannable code on a jersey in the four U.S. major pro sports leagues.

Another partner is the Gleaners food bank, which works with Drive & Dish in providing fresh food, produce, eggs and more to families who need help.