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Brooklyn Nets point guard Kyrie Irving says he meant "no disrespect" when he promoted a movie that contains antisemitic themes on Thursday.

Irving was widely criticized when he tweeted a link to the 2018 film Hebrews to Negroes: Wake Up Black America. On Saturday, he denied he is antisemitic:

I am an OMNIST and I meant no disrespect to anyone’s religious beliefs. The “Anti-Semitic” label that is being pushed on me is not justified and does not reflect the reality or truth I live in everyday. I embrace and want to learn from all walks of life and religions.

Hélà🤞🏾♾

— Kyrie🤞🏾 (@KyrieIrving) October 29, 2022

The Nets released a statement on Friday addressing the situation, per The Athletic's Alex Schiffer:

"The Brooklyn Nets strongly condemn and have no tolerance for the promotion of any form of hate speech. We believe that in these situations, our first action must be open, honest dialogue. We thank those, including the ADL, who have been supportive during this time."

Nets governor Joe Tsai condemned Irving's promotion of the film, saying he was "disappointed" and adding he hopes to have a conversation with the point guard to help him understand why his actions are "hurtful."

This is bigger than basketball

— Joe Tsai (@joetsai1999) October 29, 2022

The film is based on a book of the same name that was published in 2014. Jon Blistein of Rolling Stone wrote that the film is "stuffed with antisemitic tropes." Blisten wrote the film contains ideas "in line with more extreme factions of the Black Hebrew Israelites, which have a long history of misogyny, homophobia, xenophobia, Islamophobia, and especially antisemitism."

According to The Southern Poverty Law Center, an organization working to support racial justice in the Southern United States, Radical Hebrew Israelites' "central belief is that they have been robbed of their identity as being 'God's chosen people.'"

In September, the 30-year-old Irving also shared a video containing conspiracy theories from right-wing personality Alex Jones.

The instance drew the ire of NBA Hall of Famer Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, who called Irving a "comical buffoon" for posting the video. Irving showed no remorse for the situation despite all the backlash he received.

Irving's promotion of the antisemitic film comes after Kanye West's recent antisemitic comments that resulted in him losing partnerships with several companies, including Adidas, Balenciaga, Vogue and Foot Locker. Star athletes Jaylen Brown of the Boston Celtics and Aaron Donald of the Los Angeles Rams also both parted ways with West's Donda Sports marketing agency.

It also comes at a time when antisemitism is on the rise in the United States. In April, the Anti-Defamation League found that reports of antisemitic behaviour rose 34 percent between 2021 and 2020 and averaged more than seven per day.

There has not yet been any indication as to whether Irving will face any type of punishment for his actions. The Nets return to action on Saturday night against the Indiana Pacers.

As the Los Angeles Lakers search for quick answers amid their 0-5 start to the season, Russell Westbrook is making himself open to ideas after Friday's 111-102 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Speaking to reporters, Westbrook said he's willing to "sacrifice whatever it is that needs to be sacrificed" after coming off the bench for the first time since his rookie season in 2008-09.

Even though Westbrook made it sound like he's been amendable to playing a different role for the Lakers, some of his previous comments at least suggested he would be unhappy changing anything.

While dealing with a back injury last season, Westbrook told reporters the pain was exacerbated by sitting on the bench for extended periods of time.

Russell Westbrook said he felt discomfort in his back against Milwaukee, and adds that part of the issue is that he's not accustomed "to sitting down for long stretches".

— Kyle Goon (@kylegoon) February 11, 2022

The Lakers used Westbrook off the bench for the final preseason game on Oct. 14 against the Sacramento Kings. He tweaked his hamstring after playing just five minutes and cited the change in role as a contributing factor to the injury:

"I’ve been doing the same thing for 14 years straight. Honestly, I didn’t even know what to do pregame. Being honest, I was trying to figure out how to stay warm and loose. For me, obviously the way I play the game, it’s fast-paced, quick, stop-and-go. And I just happened to, when I subbed in, I felt something. Thought it was… didn’t know what it was, but I wasn’t going to risk it in a preseason game. But definitely wasn’t something I was used to. Wasn’t warm enough. But that’s something I just wasn’t accustomed to."

Head coach Darvin Ham told reporters on Oct. 20 he had a "brief discussion" with Westbrook about the situation and said he would do what's best for the team when figuring out a role for the former MVP.

The hamstring injury did keep Westbrook out for Wednesday's loss to the Denver Nuggets. Friday snapped his streak of 1,007 consecutive regular-season starts dating back to Nov. 29, 2008. He came off the bench for the first 17 games of his career with the Oklahoma City Thunder before moving into the starting five.

Westbrook did have his best game of the season in the Lakers' 111-102 loss to the T-Wolves. The 33-year-old had 18 points and eight rebounds in 33 minutes. He still struggled shooting the ball, making six of 17 field-goal attempts, and committed five turnovers.

The Lakers will return home on Sunday for another game against the Nuggets. They are one of two winless teams remaining in the NBA and are looking to avoid their first 0-6 start since 1957-58 when the franchise was in Minneapolis.

Kyrie Irving's promotion of a movie and book with antisemitic ideas in a tweet Thursday has been condemned by Brooklyn Nets governor Joe Tsai.

In response to Irving's apparent support for the 2018 film Hebrews to Negroes: Wake Up Black America, Tsai said Friday he is "disappointed" in the veteran point guard and wants to have a conversation with Irving so that Irving recognizes his "hurtful" actions:

This is bigger than basketball

— Joe Tsai (@joetsai1999) October 29, 2022

The Nets organization also released a statement about the matter Friday, via The Athletic's Alex Schiffer:

“The Brooklyn Nets strongly condemn and have no tolerance for the promotion of any form of hate speech. We believe that in these situations, our first action must be open, honest dialogue. We thank those, including the ADL, who have been supportive during this time.”

Hebrews to Negroes: Wake Up Black America is based on an antisemitic book of the same name that was published in 2015. It contains ideas "in line with more extreme factions of the Black Hebrew Israelites, which have a long history of misogyny, homophobia, xenophobia, Islamophobia, and especially antisemitism," according to a Rolling Stone article published by Jon Blistein.

The Anti-Defamation League notes that "BHI teachings become explicitly hateful when coupled with racial superiority and accusations against white individuals and specific hatred towards the Jewish community. Extremist Black Hebrew Israelites assert that white people are agents of Satan, Jews are liars and false worshipers of God, and Blacks are racially superior and the only true 'chosen people.'"

Irving's post follows antisemitic comments made recently by Kanye West (who legally changed his name to Ye). West's actions have resulted in both Los Angeles Rams star Aaron Donald and Boston Celtics star Jaylen Brown parting ways with his Donda Sports marketing agency.

In addition, several companies have ended their partnerships with West, including Adidas, Balenciaga, Vogue and Foot Locker.

It remains to be seen if Irving will face similar consequences for his actions.

Irving, the first overall pick in the 2011 NBA draft, is in the final year of a contract he signed with the Nets ahead of the 2019-20 season and is due to become a free agent over the summer.

LeBron James praised Russell Westbrook's performance off the bench after the team's 111-102 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves on Friday at Target Center.

LeBron says Russ was "great" in his role off the bench tonight.

"It definitely catapulted us."

(via @SpectrumSN)

— Lakers Nation (@LakersNation) October 29, 2022

Westbrook had 18 points, eight rebounds and three assists in 33 minutes as a reserve. He finished with a plus/minus of zero, whereas the starters all finished anywhere from minus-three to minus-23.

The nine-time All-Star entered the game averaging 10.3 points on 28.9 percent shooting over his first three matchups, so Friday marked an improvement. His outing clearly helped a second unit that kept the team in the game. Westbrook was replaced by Lonnie Walker IV with the game out of reach in the final seconds.

The 15-year veteran hadn't come off the bench since his rookie year in 2008-09, but the Lakers made a change after an 0-4 start. They rolled with a starting five of James, Patrick Beverley, Lonnie Walker IV, Damian Jones and Troy Brown Jr., who replaced an injured Anthony Davis (lower back tightness).

Ultimately, the Lakers fell to 0-5 thanks in part to Anthony Edwards' game-high 29 points. L.A. was within a possession early in the fourth before Minnesota pulled away.

L.A. will look for its first win on Sunday when it hosts the Denver Nuggets at Crypto.com Arena.

The Los Angeles Lakers dropped to 0-5 on the season following a 111-102 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves on Friday night at Target Center, and the Purple and Gold arguably look worse than they did in 2021-22, when they finished 11th in the Western Conference.

With Anthony Davis out of the lineup against the Timberwolves because of a back injury, it was up to LeBron James to carry the team. Although he finished with 28 points, seven rebounds, five assists and four steals, his efforts weren't enough, as the only other players to hit double digits in scoring were Russell Westbrook, Troy Brown Jr. and Austin Reaves.

Westbrook, L.A.'s $47.1 million man, finished with 18 points, eight rebounds, three assists, one steal and one block in 33 minutes off the bench. He made just six of 17 shots from the floor and one of four shots from deep.

Following yet another inefficient night from the point guard, NBA Twitter took aim at Westbrook:

https://twitter.com/AJontheguitar/status/1586181658226458625

No disrespect but why is Russell Westbrook continuously shooting 3’s??

— marlonhumphrey.eth (@marlon_humphrey) October 29, 2022

I have never, ever seen a basketball player display so little shame or regret for horrendous turnovers as Russell Westbrook does. Even coming off the bench, he led the Lakers with 5 sadly comical turnovers. Didn't seem to bother him a bit.

— Skip Bayless (@RealSkipBayless) October 29, 2022

Westbrook sure knows how to kill the vibe. What was that?

— Mark Gunnels (@MarkAGunnels) October 29, 2022

Westbrook came off the bench, missed his 1st 5, heated up, wound up with 10 pts, 5 boards in 13 minutes. But he got so full of himself again that he had the audacity to "rock the baby" on DRussell. Westbrick has been so pathetic he's disqualified from "rocking" on anybody.

— Skip Bayless (@RealSkipBayless) October 29, 2022

westbrook is really killing this team

— Joe. (@veteranho3) October 29, 2022

Lakers gotta be tanking on purpose because leaving Westbrook out there to end this game guarding Gobert ....is a choice.

— Waiting to Oxtail (@ThatDudeMCFLY) October 29, 2022

We constructed the roster so badly and that westbrook trade killed us. There’s no point of making a trade bc it won’t fix enough so yea blow it up pls https://t.co/XcQ8J4lC4n

— ︎­⬞ (@Jtalksball) October 29, 2022

Westbrook is a disaster. And that’s with all due respect to him.

— Ikpuho Ikpe (@ice_ikay) October 29, 2022

How does someone lose basketball skill this much when they were so good…? #NBATwitter #westbrook

— John Pfeiffer (@Money13G) October 29, 2022

The Lakers are one of two teams to still be without a win this season, joining the 0-4 Sacramento Kings.

At this point, trading Westbrook probably wouldn't help the team enough to vault it into title contention, especially considering L.A. likely won't get much in return to make packaging their 2027 and 2029 first-round picks in a deal worth it.

The Purple and Gold could very well ride the season out with the current group they have. If that happens, it's going to be a long season for fans.

Los Angeles Lakers star forward LeBron James has now scored 20 or more points more times than anyone else in NBA history after his 28-point outing in a 111-102 road loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves on Friday evening.

Year 20: Most 20-point games in history 👑 pic.twitter.com/1PC12cxqG0

— Los Angeles Lakers (@Lakers) October 29, 2022

James was tied with Basketball Hall of Famer Karl Malone entering Friday but now sits alone after an early fourth-quarter layup gave him 20 points on the evening and 1,135 games of 20 points or more for his career.

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Kobe Bryant and Michael Jordan round out the top five.

Congrats to @KingJames of the @Lakers for moving up to FIRST on the All-Time 20-POINT GAMES list! pic.twitter.com/wQMbwbSYAr

— NBA (@NBA) October 29, 2022

James, who is playing in his 20th NBA season, is now averaging 25.8 points per game and 27.1 PPG for his career. His 37,191 points rank second all-time on the career points list behind only Abdul-Jabbar with 38,387.

The San Antonio Spurs have announced that they have waived guard Josh Primo, the No. 12 overall pick in the 2021 NBA draft.

"It is our hope that, in the long run, this decision will serve the best interest of both the organization and Joshua," Spurs Sports & Entertainment CEO RC Buford said.

Primo provided a statement to ESPN on the matter.

Josh Primo statement to ESPN in the aftermath of his release from the Spurs tonight: pic.twitter.com/H1n3k3IIcn

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) October 29, 2022

No members of the Spurs organization (including players) will be speaking further on the move at this time, per the team's remarks.

The 19-year-old Primo averaged 5.8 points on 37.4 percent shooting and 2.3 rebounds in 19.3 minutes per game during his rookie season. He played in 50 games with 16 starts.

This season, the former Alabama star averaged 7.0 points on 34.6 percent shooting, 4.5 assists and 3.3 rebounds over 23.3 minutes per game.

He came off the bench for each of the Spurs' first four games but was listed as out on the injury report for San Antonio's most recent matchup, a 134-122 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves on Thursday. ESPN's Tim MacMahon relayed the reason.

The Spurs were listing Josh Primo on the injury report as out due to “Left Glute; Soreness” https://t.co/RA9pZkeizu

— Tim MacMahon (@espn_macmahon) October 28, 2022

ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski and Bobby Marks, Marc J. Spears of Andscape and Alex Kennedy of BasketballNews.com provided commentary on the situation.

Josh Primo was the youngest player in the 2021 NBA Draft when selected 12th to the Spurs. His on-court development absolutely had the organization excited about his NBA future. Waiving Primo so abruptly without explanation is fairly unprecedented -- and jarring.

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) October 28, 2022

Josh Primo is a great young talent. Scores easy. Just 19 years old. Spurs had been developing this kid. The small market Spurs don’t just drop a player like that unless something detrimental happened off the court. Not sure what. Coach Pop declined comment. Very odd situation.

— Marc J. Spears (@MarcJSpears) October 28, 2022

It was just 2 weeks ago that San Antonio exercised the 3rd year (2023-24) team option for Josh Primo.

He is under contract for $4.1M and $4.3M.

He is eligible to be claimed with room or an exception but a team will have to do its diligence on why the 19-year old was waived.

— Bobby Marks (@BobbyMarks42) October 28, 2022

NBA executives are very shocked by the Spurs’ decision to waive Josh Primo, and they wonder what could’ve happened behind the scenes.

“I’m sure there’s more to the story,” says one NBA general manager.

— Alex Kennedy (@AlexKennedyNBA) October 28, 2022

Marks also added notes on the waiver claim order for added insight on the potential of Primo's next destination:

Waiver claim order is based on the final 2021-22 regular season standings.

That gets adjusted to the current standings starting on Dec. 1. https://t.co/fOHpdBJlWt

— Bobby Marks (@BobbyMarks42) October 29, 2022

The Houston Rockets finished with the worst record last year, followed by the Orlando Magic, Detroit Pistons, Oklahoma City Thunder and Indiana Pacers to round out the top five.

The Spurs' next game will be home on Saturday versus the Chicago Bulls.

The 0-4 Los Angeles Lakers are just one of three winless teams remaining in the NBA, leaving the franchise searching for answers ahead of a tough stretch of games.

The possibility of Russell Westbrook coming off the bench was brought up again Friday by Lakers head coach Darvin Ham, who said the guard appears willing to trust the first-year leader.

Darvin Ham said he again spoke with Russell Westbrook about coming off the bench ahead of this two-game trip and Westbrook again expressed a willingness to trust Ham

— Dan Woike (@DanWoikeSports) October 28, 2022

Westbrook has averaged just 10.3 points on 28.9 percent shooting (8.3 percent from three-point range) in three games (all starts). He is heading to the bench now, however, after ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reported that Westbrook will be a reserve for the foreseeable future.

L.A. is playing the Minnesota Timberwolves on Friday night, and the reported starting five are LeBron James, Anthony Davis, Patrick Beverley, Lonnie Walker IV and Damian Jones, who practiced together at shootaround, per Wojnarowski. However, AD ended up sitting due to lower back tightness, and Troy Brown Jr. replaced him in the lineup.

Westbrook is a nine-time All-Star, nine-time All-NBA player, two-time scoring champion and one-time NBA MVP. He has also averaged a triple-double on four occasions, most recently in 2020-21 with the Washington Wizards.

After that season, the Wizards traded the 15-year NBA veteran to the Lakers, and it has not gone well in purple and gold. Westbrook struggled last year, and those issues have only gotten worse this year (albeit in a three-game sample size).

Ultimately, L.A. has to find answers quickly with a tough schedule ahead. Their next six games are against teams with winning records, including Zion Williamson and the 3-1 New Orleans Pelicans and reigning NBA MVP Nikola Jokic and the 3-2 Denver Nuggets.

For now, the Lakers hope to get in the win column versus Minnesota, which will feature Westbrook on the bench for the first time since his rookie year (2008-09).

The Philadelphia 76ers will be without superstar center Joel Embiid against the Toronto Raptors on Friday night due to right knee recovery, according to Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer.

It will mark the first absence this season for Embiid, who is averaging 27.6 points, 10.0 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 1.4 blocks in five contests this season.

Since missing his first two seasons with foot and knee issues, injuries have been a storyline in Embiid's career.

He largely stayed healthy during the 2021-22 season, playing in a career-high 68 games. He finished as the MVP runner-up behind Nikola Jokić for the second straight year, averaging a league-best 30.6 points to go along with 11.7 rebounds, 4.2 assists, 1.5 blocks and 1.1 steals per game.

However, injuries again reared their head in the playoffs. Embiid sprained his right thumb in Game 3 of the team's first-round series with the Raptors and fractured his face late in Game 6 of that series after taking an elbow from Pascal Siakam.

That injury cost him the first two games of the team's second-round series with the Miami Heat, which both ended in losses.

After the season, Embiid had surgery on both his thumb and on a previously unreported left index finger injury.

When asked about his fluke injuries in the 2021-22 playoffs, the 28-year-old told reporters:

"I don't regret it because it's life. It happens. You just got to deal with it. It sucks. Not, not looking for any excuses. But those are just the facts. It sucks. I don't think anybody will believe that I was 100 percent. So it does suck to get to the stage and not be yourself, not being able to do what you want and your body not allowing you to just be yourself. So it sucks, but I have no regrets."

Embiid is both Philly's best offensive player and its defensive keystone, so it is a concern any time he misses time, even though Friday's absence sounds more like load management than an injury.

The Sixers have struggled this season even with Embiid in the lineup, going 1-4, and beating the Raptors without him will be a massive challenge.

With Embiid out, the 76ers will turn to P.J. Tucker and Montrezl Harrell to eat up more frontcourt minutes alongside Tobias Harris.

New York Knicks star RJ Barrett appears to have taken on a heavier workload defensively this season, but head coach Tom Thibodeau doesn't see it that way.

"No. That's comical," Thibodeau told reporters Friday when asked if Barrett was taking on a bigger defensive workload this year to make up for a lack of defense brought on by the duo of Jalen Brunson and Evan Fournier.

Barrett has had to cover a number of perimeter scorers, mainly the opposing team's top perimeter threat, early on this season because he's a far better defender than Brunson and Fournier.

The 22-year-old ranked fifth in the NBA in distance covered on defense entering Friday's game against the Milwaukee Bucks, per Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News. However, this is nothing new for him.

Barrett led the Knicks in distance traveled in each of his first three seasons with the franchise, which selected him third overall in the 2019 NBA draft out of Duke.

It's been just four games, but it appears Barrett's focus on defense has led to an impact in his scoring efficiency. He's averaging 17.8 points, 6.3 rebounds and 2.3 assists while shooting 37.0 percent from the floor and 14.3 percent from deep.

During the 2021-22 campaign, Barrett averaged a career-high 20.0 points, in addition to 5.8 rebounds and 3.0 assists in 70 games while shooting 40.8 percent from the floor and 34.2 percent from beyond the arc.

For what it's worth, Barrett shot at least 40 percent from the floor in each of his first three seasons.

The Ontario native told reporters (h/t Bondy) that he doesn't believe the amount of ground he has had to cover defensively has led to his scoring issues.

"I don’t know. I feel like I was guarding people last year, ended up doing pretty well," Barrett said. "I definitely could be playing better offensively, and I feel my rhythm coming back after not playing for a while."

Quentin Grimes could take some of the defensive workload off Barrett in the future, though it's unclear when he will return from his foot injury.

The Knicks enter Friday's game with a 3-1 record. If they don't get some help defensively, they'll likely be a step behind the East's top-tier teams.