Horry says he wants to return for a 17th season

San Antonio Spurs forward Robert Horry has decided against retirement and wants to return to the NBA for a 17th season, a Houston television station reported Friday.

Horry is set to become a free agent Tuesday.

“I don’t want to retire, especially after a year like I had last year,” Horry told KRIV-TV. “I know I could have had a better year. The year started off crazy for me with family issues and then it ended crazy for me getting hurt right at the end of the season.”

The Spurs lost in the Western Conference finals to the Lakers in five games.

Horry averaged 2.5 points a game last season, 1.5 during the playoffs.

Horry turns 38 in August.

During the playoffs, Horry passed Kareem Abdul-Jabbar for the most playoff appearances in NBA history.

Horry finished this season with 244 playoff game appearances; Abdul-Jabbar had 237. Horry has been in the playoffs in every one of his NBA seasons.

“I didn’t get a full season in like I wanted to see if it’s really time for me to retire,” he said. “My last game I want to walk off the court sweating. My last game so far I walked off the court with a DNP [did not play] and I don’t want it to happen that way.”

Horry said he would like to return to the Spurs, where he spent the last five seasons. If that’s not possible, then he would like to go to the Houston Rockets, where he played his first four seasons.

“It’s not about breaking the bank,” said Horry, also a former Laker. “I just want the minimum. I’ve made enough money. I just like being with the guys and competing and having fun.”

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Disgraced NBA referee Tim Donaghy has exaggerated his cooperation in a gambling investigation in hopes of lessening his prison term and avoiding paying hefty restitution, prosecutors said in court papers.

He also has minimized his role in the scheme, according to the filing in Brooklyn federal court.

Prosecutors rebuffed defense arguments that Donaghy should get a break on his sentence for voluntarily coming forward and giving prosecutors inside dirt about alleged game-fixing and other misconduct by referees and league officials.

Prosecutors said that by the time Donaghy decided to cooperate last year, “the government had a clear understanding of the criminal conspiracy, and who was involved.” Though he deserves credit for giving investigators information on his two co-defendants, his claims of other internal NBA corruption “did not lead to evidence of prosecutable federal offenses.”

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The New Jersey Nets extended a qualifying offer to restricted free-agent center Nenad Krstic, allowing them to match any contract proposal from another team.