Kevin Garnett to re-sign with Celtics

Kevin Garnett isn't ready to retire.

Few people expected Kevin Garnett to leave the Celtics given his loyalty to coach Doc Rivers. (Reuters)Garnett has decided to return to the Boston Celtics and is expected to sign a three-year, $34 million contract, league sources told Yahoo! Sports. The NBA's free-agent period begins at 12:01 a.m. ET Sunday and players can officially start signing contracts on July 11.

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Garnett, 36, averaged 15.8 points and 8.2 rebounds for the Celtics last season. He was expected to draw interest from other teams, but his loyalty to coach Doc Rivers made him likely to return to Boston once he decided to keep playing. One NBA executive said Garnett would have only left the Celtics if they didn’t make him a solid contract offer.

The Celtics have several other free agents in Ray Allen, Brandon Bass, Marquis Daniels, Keyon Dooling, Jeff Green, Ryan Hollins, Sasha Pavlovic and Mickael Pietrus. Allen is expected to be courted by the Phoenix Suns.

The Boston Herald first reported Garnett's intention to re-sign with the Celtics.