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Al Harrington to play in China for the 2014-15 season

One of the members of the AARP unit reportedly won't be in D.C. to start the season, but that doesn't mean that he won't be here at some point in the near future.

By Albert Lee
Brad Mills-USA TODAY Sports

Al Harrington has been deciding between continuing to play or to start a coaching career. After all, he was an assistant coach for the Wizards' Summer League team that made the semifinals. He has decided to choose the former and play in the Chinese Basketball Association, at least for now. Per Bleacher Report's Jared Zwerling:

With this news, is Harrington gone from the Wizards for the season? Not necessarily.

Though players in the CBA aren't allowed to opt out of their deals midseason, the season typically ends in February to mid-March, well before the NBA regular season ends. Therefore, it's possible that Harrington could rejoin the Wizards (or any NBA team) for a playoff push, as CSN Washington's Ben Standig astutely noted. The Wizards still have an open roster spot, but in order to sign Harrington, they'd need to still have that spot open at that time. That means that if they want Harrington, they could fill the spot with someone on a non-guaranteed contract or eventually make another trade to clear the spot up.

So, best of luck in China, Al.

UPDATE: Harrington confirmed the news on Instagram and also wrote a message to Wizards fans:

Here's what Harrington had to say in case you can't read it on Instagram:

Secondly I wanna say THANK YOU to the Washington Wizards Organization (Ted Leonsis, Ernie Grunfeld, Tommy Sheppard, and Randy Whitman [sic] and his Staff) for giving me the opportunity to show that I could Still Play at the highest level of NBA Action and the platform to help Lead the team back into the playoffs and be an influence on the locker room. Wanna thank all my teammates for encouraging me to get back from injury and taking me on a Wonderful Ride to the 2nd round of the Playoffs! KEEP BUILDING ON WHAT WAS STARTED LAST YEAR!!! And last by not least the AMAZING DMV FAN BASE.... You guys really made me feel at home in my one season playing there and I encourage y'all to continue Supporting the Product that's being put on the floor at the PHONE BOOTH... It's Gonna be some great basketball being played there for a long time to come!