'Basketball Wives' -- Adding Two New Cast Members

The producers of "Basketball Wives" are upping the drama level big time for season 4 -- adding two new cast members ... one of which was arrested earlier this year for allegedly trying to stab her husband!

Sources close to the show tell TMZ ... Kenya Bell (right) will be joining the show this coming season. We're told during filming so far ... Kenya has already assumed the role of villain and gotten into a few fights with the girls.

Bell is a former Miss Michigan USA who was arrested for allegedly trying to stab her husband, Charlie Bell, with a box cutter.

The other new cast member, we're told, is Kesha Ni’cole Nichols. She was set to marry Richard Jefferson back in 2009, but he bailed on the $2 million wedding the night ... telling her via email.