The Minnesota Timberwolves have joined Anthony Edwards in apologising for a video the former first overall pick posted in which he made a homophobic slur.

Edwards posted a video to his Instagram story on which he could be heard passing comment on a group of men gathered near the car he was sat in.

The offensive clip prompted a backlash on social media, and Edwards apologised on Sunday.

"What I said was immature, hurtful and disrespectful, and I'm incredibly sorry," he wrote on his Twitter page.

"It's unacceptable for me or anyone to use that language in such a hurtful way, there's no excuse for it, at all. I was raised better than that!"

The Timberwolves released a statement on Monday, attributed to president of basketball operations Tim Connelly.

"We are disappointed in the language and actions Anthony Edwards displayed on social media," it read.

"The Timberwolves are committed to being an inclusive and welcoming organisation for all and apologise for the offense this has caused to so many."

Stephen Curry has revealed the Golden State Warriors discussed the possibility of re-signing Kevin Durant – a move their superstar point guard would have welcomed.

Durant appeared set to be on the move this offseason after requesting a trade away from the Brooklyn Nets.

The former NBA MVP joined the Nets after leaving the Warriors in 2019, where he had spent three seasons playing alongside Curry, reaching the Finals in each year and winning two titles and two Finals MVP awards.

Curry and Durant won 131 of the 168 regular season games they played together (78.0 per cent), so it was perhaps no surprise the idea of a reunion appealed to the Golden State stalwart.

Ultimately, the Nets announced they had "agreed to move forward with our partnership" with Durant, but Curry has detailed his thought-process as the saga played out.

In an interview with Rolling Stone, conducted in August for the October issue, Curry said: "There was a conversation internally amongst us about, 'If he was available, would you?'

"Every team has those conversations, and obviously in our situation, they're going to call me and ask me, 'How do you feel about it?'

"I was never hesitant. The idea of playing with KD and knowing who he is as a person, from our history in those three years, I think KD's a really good dude.

"I think he is misunderstood. I think he has had certain things happen in his life that hurt his ability to trust people around him, in a sense of making him feel safe at all times.

"So all of those things I understand, having played with him and gotten to know him. I love that dude.

"And if you said, 'Oh, KD's coming back, and we're going to play with him'... I had so much fun playing with him those three years, I'd be like, 'hell, yeah!'

"Then you have to think: what does that actually mean? What does it look like? You tell me I'm playing with [Warriors team-mates Andrew Wiggins, Jordan Poole and Draymond Green], I'm like, 'hell, yeah!'

"There's all types of emotion and things that happen to the league. And if anybody's saying that you wouldn't entertain that conversation... no disrespect to anybody on our team, but you don't know how things work.

"But you also understand, if we run this thing back, I've got complete confidence in my team that we can win it again, as constructed.

"So, all those things were true. And it started with me wanting to play with KD at the beginning.

"Yeah, it's about winning, it's about having fun, playing the game of basketball. And that was part of the reaction of, 'yeah, it'd be amazing'... what does that actually mean?"

The NBA is expected to raise the salary cap by over $10million for the 2023-24 season, while also increasing the tax level.

The salary cap for the upcoming 2022-23 season has been set at $123.65m, with a tax level of $150.26m.

According to Shams Charania of The Athletic, the league told teams on Friday that the cap is projected to rise to $134m, and the tax level to $162m, a significant rise.

It is also around $1m higher than previous projections made by the NBA in June.

The new NBA season gets underway on October 18 when the Boston Celtics host the Philadelphia 76ers.

Free agent big-man Montrezl Harrell has agreed to a two-year contract with the Philadelphia 76ers. 

ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported the signing on Tuesday, noting that it is worth $5.2million, with the second year being a player option that Harrell can opt out of if he outperforms his contract.

The 28-year-old Harrell spent last season with the Washington Wizards and Charlotte Hornets, averaging 13.1 points and 6.1 rebounds in 71 games, and has previously been on teams with current Sixers coach Doc Rivers as well as James Harden. 

A second-round pick by Houston in 2015, Harrell spent his first two seasons in the NBA as a teammate to Harden with the Rockets. 

He then spent his next three seasons with the Los Angeles Clippers with Rivers as the coach and was named the NBA’s Sixth Man of the Year in 2019-20, when he averaged career highs of 18.6 points and 7.1 rebounds. 

With just 29 starts in 458 career games, Harrell will again provide depth off the bench, this time backing up five-time All-Star and back-to-back MVP runner-up Joel Embiid. 

In seven NBA seasons, Harrell owns career averages of 12.9 points and 5.3 rebounds while shooting 62.0 per cent. 

Among the 126 active players with a minimum of 3000 field goal attempts, Harrell’s shooting percentage ranks fourth. 

In a game with NBA talent on both sides, Giannis Antetokounmpo willed Greece to a 89-85 win against Croatia in Friday's Eurobasket action.

Antetokounmpo was the game's equal top-scorer with 27 points, shooting nine-of-24 from the field and nine-of-11 from the free throw line while adding 11 rebounds, six assists and three blocks.

He was supported well by teammate Tyler Dorsey, who was incredibly efficient for his 27 points, finishing nine-of-17 from the field, including going five-of-nine from beyond the arc, and he added five rebounds and two steals.

For Croatia, Utah Jazz wing Bojan Bogdanovic eight-of-15 from the field to score 19 points with seven rebounds, Los Angeles Clippers centre Ivica Zubac had 11 points and five rebounds with two blocks, and former top-five NBA Draft pick Mario Hezonja chipped in 10 points and eight rebounds.

Also on Friday, reigning back-to-back NBA MVP Nikola Jokic put up 22 points, six rebounds and four assists to help Serbia comfortably handle the Netherlands 100-76.

He dominated the outing along with Euroleague star Vasilje Micic, who posted 22 points and 12 assists.

In a terrific contest, recent Washington Wizards lottery pick Deni Avdija led his team to a 89-87 win over Cleveland Cavaliers forward Lauri Markkanen's Finland.

Avdija had 23 points and 15 rebounds, while Markkanen top-scored with 33 points and 12 rebounds, aided by a 14-of-15 performance at the free throw line.

Boston Celtics forward Danilo Gallinari could miss most or all of the upcoming NBA season, according to reports, after tearing the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee last week.

Gallinari was injured playing for Italy in a FIBA World Cup qualifying game against Georgia on Saturday. The Italian national team later announced the veteran sharpshooter sustained a torn meniscus, without providing further details.

ESPN reported on Friday that Gallinari was hopeful of returning late in the 2022-23 season. Typical recovery time for an ACL tear is anywhere from six to 12 months.

The Celtics confirmed on Twitter on Friday: "Danilo Gallinari has been diagnosed with a torn ACL in his left knee. Gallinari sustained the injury while playing for his home nation of Italy in a FIBA World Cup qualifier against Georgia on August 27. Further updates will be provided as appropriate."

Gallinari previously tore the ACL in the same knee while playing for the Denver Nuggets late in the 2012-13 season. That injury required an additional surgery that sidelined him for the entire 2013-14 campaign.

The 34-year-old signed a two-year, $13.3million contract with Boston in July, just days after being waived by San Antonio. Gallinari was acquired by the Spurs from Atlanta on June 30 as part of the trade that sent All-Star point guard Dejounte Murray to the Hawks.

Gallinari, who averaged 11.7 points and 4.7 rebounds in 66 games with the Hawks last season, was being counted on to provide bench scoring for a Celtics team coming off an appearance in the NBA Finals.

He also took to Twitter on Friday to post a statement, saying: "This has been a tough week for me as I have learned the extent of my injury. This game means everything to me and not being able to be on the court with my Celtics teammates hurts.

"I plan to give everything I can to the Celtics organisation and my teammates as we hunt for a title. I will work tirelessly with the Celtics staff to return to the court as soon as I can and I appreciate the unwavering support from the fans, my teammates, and the entire NBA family."

The 13-year veteran is one of only six players to average at least 15 points per game and shoot 40 per cent or better from three-point range over the last four seasons (min. 100 games), along with 2022 All-Stars Stephen Curry and Karl Anthony-Towns, Kyrie Irving, T.J. Warren and Bojan Bogdanovic.

The Cleveland Cavaliers are set to pull off arguably the biggest trade of the offseason by landing three-time All-Star Donovan Mitchell from the Utah Jazz, according to reports.

Mitchell, 25, was one of the most desirable stars on the market after it became clear the Jazz were entering a rebuild following their trade of three-time Defensive Player of the Year Rudy Gobert.

In return, the Jazz will receive three unprotected first-round picks. They include two future first-round pick swaps in guard Collin Sexton and stretch forward Lauri Markkanen, as well as Ochai Agbaji, who was the 14th selection from this year's NBA Draft.

It is a sizeable haul for the Jazz, who also received four future first-round picks, plus three rotation-level players from the Minnesota Timberwolves for Gobert, putting them in one of the most favourable rebuilding situations in the NBA.

For the Cavaliers, the move affirms their position as a true contender in the Eastern Conference for years to come, after emerging from this past season with a long-term core of Darius Garland, Rookie of the Year runner-up Evan Mobley and All-Star centre Jarrett Allen.

Cleveland will have one of the league's strongest six-man rotations when factoring in fifth pick from the 2020 draft Isaac Okoro – who will likely start at small forward – and potential Sixth Man of the Year Caris Levert.

Jurgen Klopp jokingly ordered his Liverpool players to pay him as much attention as they paid Steve Kerr when the Golden State Warriors coach visited the Reds' training ground.

Kerr won five NBA championships as a player and has been crowned a winner four times as a coach, with the Warriors defeating the Boston Celtics to claim victory in the 2022 NBA Finals.

The American also guided Golden State to 73 wins in the 2015-16 season, breaking the record for the most wins in an NBA campaign.

Kerr took the chance to visit Liverpool's Kirkby base during his off-season, meeting the players and coaching staff after he watched over their training session.

While coaching methods and man-management styles may have been expected to be discussed, Klopp revealed no such conversations took place between the two top bosses.

"We didn't have this kind of conversation, to be honest," Klopp said, when asked if there was a coaching element to their talks. "We had a very private conversation."

Klopp's players, who play Newcastle United on Wednesday, were so awestruck in the presence of Kerr that their German boss hoped they could show as much interest when he addresses them.

"A fantastic guy. It was a pleasure to meet him," Klopp said. "I took a picture when he spoke to a couple of the players and said to the boys, 'If you looked one time as concentrated when I talk to you, it would be really cool'.

"I told him what we were doing. The training grounds for football and basketball look slightly different and he liked everything that he saw.

"The one moment I was really, really happy I didn't become a basketball coach was when he said he has to do press every day. Wow. That would be a killer. But he has a four-month break."

Klopp added: "He is one of the greatest in the game – absolutely outstanding. You can be seen as big as you want in public. Smart people stay still, are very grounded and are just good people. It was a real pleasure to meet them."

RJ Barrett is close to signing a four-year extension with the New York Knicks worth up to $120million, according to reports.

The 22-year-old guard will become the youngest player in Knicks history to earn over $100m from a deal.

However, the news may indicate an end to the franchise's pursuit of Donovan Mitchell from the Utah Jazz.

It had been expected that Barrett would be part of those negotiations, but according to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, the player's agent Bill Duffy of BDA Sports and WME Sports has advised his client is penning an extension in New York.

Barrett made 70 appearances for the Knicks last season, averaging 20 points per game, as well as 5.8 rebounds and 3.0 assists.

The number three pick from the 2019 NBA Draft recorded 3,000 points, 1,000 rebounds and 200 three-pointers before he turned 22, joining an elite group of five to have done so along with Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, Kevin Durant and Luka Doncic.

The Los Angeles Lakers have acquired veteran guard Patrick Beverley in a trade that sees guard Talen Horton-Tucker and journeyman forward Stanley Johnson head to the Utah Jazz.

The move, confirmed by the teams on Thursday, gives the Lakers an experienced ballhandler and defensive pest as they try to bounce back from a dire 33-49 season.

Beverley played a key role last season with the emerging Minnesota Timberwolves, averaging 9.2 points, 4.1 rebounds and 4.2 assists as the franchise made just its second postseason appearance since 2004.

Beverley, 34, is on the move for the second time this offseason after being part of the blockbuster trade that sent Rudy Gobert from Utah to Minnesota in July.

The rebuilding Jazz, on the other hand, acquire a promising young guard in Horton-Tucker, who better fits their timeline.

A second-round pick in 2019, the 21-year-old has seen a steadily increasing dose of minutes over his three NBA seasons, averaging 9.3 points, 2.8 rebounds and 2.6 assists.

With Utah trading away another veteran player, the organisation's sights seem decidedly set on the future.

Trade speculation is likely to continue to swirl around three-time All-Star guard Donovan Mitchell, as well as other experienced players like Mike Conley and Bojan Bogdanovic.

Oklahoma City Thunder big man Chet Holmgren, the second overall pick of this year's draft, will miss the entire 2022-23 season with a Lisfranc injury sustained in his right foot.

Holmgren suffered the injury in the CrawsOver Pro-Am event on Saturday in Seattle while slipping on the court defending LeBron James.

The game Holmgren was injured in ended up being cancelled because of a slippery court caused by humid conditions combined with a large crowd at the Seattle gym.

"Certainly, we are disappointed for Chet, especially given the excitement he had about getting on the floor with his teammates this season," Thunder executive vice president and general manager Sam Presti said in a statement. "We know Chet has a long career ahead of him within our organisation and the Oklahoma City community."

Holmgren and James were a part of a handful of NBA players in the pro-am along with Jayson Tatum, Dejounte Murray, Aaron Gordon and the only player selected ahead of Holmgren in this year's draft, Paolo Banchero.

The Thunder drafted Holmgren after he averaged 14.1 points, 9.9 rebounds and 3.7 blocks in 32 games in his lone collegiate season for Gonzaga in 2021-22.

Not only an excellent rim-protector on defense, Holmgren was a solid perimeter shooter for his size, knocking down 39.0 per cent of his three-point attempts.

Despite his thin stature, Holmgren did not appear to have any trouble making the transition to the pro game, averaging 14 points and 8.4 rebounds in five games for the Thunder at the Las Vegas Summer League.

"One of the things that most impressed us during the process of selecting Chet was his determination and focus," Presti said. "We expect that same tenacity will carry him through this period of time as we work together and support him during his rehabilitation."

The Los Angeles Lakers are finalising a trade to acquire Patrick Beverley from the Utah Jazz, according to reports.

Beverley previously spent four years in Los Angeles when representing the Clippers between 2017 and 2021, before impressing with the Minnesota Timberwolves last campaign.

The 34-year-old was influential in the Timberwolves' run to the Western Conference playoffs, where they were beaten by the Memphis Grizzlies, before heading to Utah as part of their trade for three-time all-star Rudy Gobert in July.

However, according to a report from ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski, Beverley is on the move again as the Lakers look to improve a team whose defence ranked 21st in the NBA last season.

Beverley, who was a second-round pick for the Lakers in the 2009 draft before being traded, averaged 6.7 points, 3.2 rebounds and 1.7 assists throughout the 2021-22 campaign.

Guard Talen Horton-Tucker and forward Stanley Johnson are reportedly set to head to Utah as part of the deal, with the Lakers attempting to bounce back after missing out on the playoffs last term.

The Lakers also agreed a two-year contract extension worth $97.1million with LeBron James last week, ending speculation over the 37-year-old's future.

Organiser of the P.H.A.S.E 1 Elite 1 Caribbean Basketball League Wayne Dawkins says he’s looking at expanding the league to the rest of the Caribbean in the future.

The P.H.A.S.E 1 E1 CBL was held from August 13-20 at the National Arena in Kingston, Jamaica. It featured four teams comprised of professionals from Jamaica, Barbados, USA and Canada and saw excellent crowd support throughout.

“We want to do big things for basketball in Jamaica and the Caribbean,” said Dawkins in an interview with Sportsmax.TV on Saturday.

“Absolutely. We still have to perfect this and then, as that happens, we can expand it to the rest of the Caribbean but it really starts with the product that we’re able to perfect right here in Jamaica,” he added.

With this in mind, Dawkins also outlined the amount of work that goes into putting on a basketball league.

 “It’s an immense amount of work. You have to recruit players, think about player management, finding and developing staff. Identify venues, all the different production partners, sales, marketing and everything. All those divisions require a lot of coordination and a lot of work,” he said.

Kevin Durant is set to stay with the Brooklyn Nets after franchise and the 12-time NBA All-Star "agreed to move forward with our partnership".

Durant's future has been shrouded in doubt after the 33-year-old superstar reportedly asked for a trade at the end of June.

Nets general manager Sean Marks on Tuesday released a statement making it clear Durant is going nowhere after a meeting in which team owners Joe Tsai and Clara Wu Tsai, and head coach Steve Kerr, were present.

"Steve Nash and I, together with Joe Tsai and Clara Wu Tsai, met with Kevin Durant and Rich Kleiman in Los Angeles yesterday," the statement said.

"We have agreed to move forward with our partnership. We are focusing on basketball, with one collective goal in mind: build a lasting franchise to bring a championship to Brooklyn."

It was reported this month that Durant had given the Nets an ultimatum over his future, stating that he would only stay if Marks and Nash were fired.

Tsai threw his support behind Marks and Nash, tweeting: "Our front office and coaching staff have my support. We will make decisions in the best interest of the Brooklyn Nets."

Forward Durant is about to enter the first year of his four-year, $198million contract extension with the Nets.

The two-time NBA champion joined Brooklyn in a sign-and-trade deal in 2019 and penned a contract extension with the Nets 12 months ago.

Ex-Golden State Warrior Durant averaged 29.9 points, 7.4 rebounds and 6.4 assists from 55 games last season for a Nets team that was eliminated in the first round of the playoffs by the Boston Celtics.

Kevin Durant is set to stay with the Brooklyn Nets after franchise and the 12-time NBA All-Star "agreed to move forward with our partnership".

Durant's future has been shrouded in doubt after the 33-year-old superstar reportedly asked for a trade at the end of June.

Nets general manager Sean Marks on Tuesday released a statement making it clear Durant is going nowhere after a meeting in which team owners Joe Tsai and Clara Wu Tsai, and head coach Steve Kerr, were present.

"Steve Nash and I, together with Joe Tsai and Clara Wu Tsai, met with Kevin Durant and Rich Kleiman in Los Angeles yesterday," the statement said.

"We have agreed to move forward with our partnership. We are focusing on basketball, with one collective goal in mind: build a lasting franchise to bring a championship to Brooklyn."