SAN FRANCISCO • Golden State Warriors star Kevin Durant apologised on Tuesday for exchanges with fans on Twitter about his departure from Oklahoma City Thunder, branding his comments "childish" and "idiotic".

He said he regretted posting remarks that cited former coach Billy Donovan and former team-mate Russell Westbrook.

The National Basketball Association Finals MVP (Most Valuable Player) was caught out on Twitter after using his official account on the social media site to reply to comments from a fan asking why he had left Oklahoma City.

"He didn't like the organisation or playing for Billy Donovan," Durant wrote in the third person. "His roster wasn't that good, it was just him and Russ (Russell Westbrook)."

US media reports have said the 28-year-old meant to post the remarks from a fake Twitter account.

Durant on Tuesday took ownership of his gaffe - but vowed to continue replying to fans.

"I use Twitter to engage with fans," the eight-time NBA All-Star said. "I happened to take it a little too far. That's what happens sometimes when I get into these basketball debates about what I really love, to play basketball. I don't regret clapping back at anybody or talking to my fans on Twitter.

"I do regret using my former coach's name and the former organisation I played for. That was childish. That was idiotic, all those types of words. I apologise for that."

He added that he is set to scale back his social media activity.

"I really enjoy it, and it's a good way to connect us all, but I'll scale back a little bit right now and just focus on playing basketball," said the league MVP for the 2013-2014 NBA season. "I'll move on from that, it was tough to deal with yesterday."

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE