Golden State Warriors

"Wake your ass up! ... Wake the f**k up!!!"

Steve Kerr went BALLISTIC on a ref during the Warriors' game against the Sacramento Kings on Monday night -- and the whole profanity-laced rant was caught on a hot mic!!!

The blowup all started near the end of the first half ... when Kerr argued a Kings layup shouldn't have counted because there was a foul before the basket.

The GSW head coach received a technical foul for chirpin' the refs ... and then he decided to get his money's worth -- going BANANAS on the zebras.

The transcript? "Wake your ass up! Wake your ass up! Wake up! Wake up! Wake the f**k up!"

Kerr eventually cooled down and was escorted off the floor ... but his speech clearly didn't fire up his squad -- 'cause the Dubs ended up losing 111-98.

Of course, it's been a pretty miserable year for Kerr and the Warriors outside of Thursday's loss ... they've won just 9 games this season without superstars Klay Thompson and Steph Curry.

NBA champ Festus Ezeli might be one of the most positive dudes on the planet ... 'cause he's spin zoning the Warriors' awful season into an actual GOOD thing!!

TMZ Sports spoke with the ex-Dub at LAX about his old team stumbling out of the gates this season ... and he says despite being 3-17 and dead last in the West, there are things to be excited about.

... just maybe not for a while.

"I actually think that this year is the best thing that can happen to the Warriors," Ezeli says. "They’re rebuilding. They have a chance to work on their bench."

"So I feel like, with this year, they can use it to get those guys to get some game time, to get confidence, to get better and come back healthy next year."

Of course, this year has felt like a bit of a mulligan for the Warriors -- Klay Thompson AND Steph Curry are sidelined with injuries ... leaving everything up to Draymond Green and D'Angelo Russell.

Not ideal.

But, Festus says it's not all over for Golden State as long as they still keep that core intact.

Golden State has sucked so far this season ... but Baron Davis tells TMZ Sports it's way too early to put a dagger in the Warriors just yet.

Steph Curry and co. have clearly felt the absence of Kevin Durant and Klay Thompson through 2 games ... losing to the Clippers and Thunder by a combines 47 points.

In fact, Draymond Green summed up his evaluation of the team after Sunday night's loss, saying "we f**king suck right now."

But, Davis -- who played for the Dubs from 2004-2008 -- says all talk of a dethroning is premature.

"I wouldn't count them out ... it's too early," Davis told us at Petite Taqueria in West Hollywood.

"Always judge a team after the first 20 games. After 20 games, you'll know where everybody stand and where they going."

FYI -- the team's biggest free agency acquisition, D'Angelo Russell, had just 6 points in the Warriors' loss to Oklahoma City after getting ejected in the 3rd quarter.

Head coach Steve Kerr has also said there's a chance Klay doesn't come back from his ACL injury this season ... so things aren't looking great at the moment.

Charles Barkley ain't afraid to tell an NBA star his team is trash -- and Thursday night, he delivered a truth bomb right to Klay Thompson ... and the footage is hilarious.

Klay was joining the guys on TNT's "Inside the NBA" during halftime of the Warriors vs. Clippers game ... where Golden State was getting smacked around by L.A.

Of course, Klay is still out recovering from the torn ACL he suffered during the NBA Finals ... but he told the guys, he's still optimistic the Warriors can get back to dominating the league.

The issue ...  without Klay and Kevin Durant (who left for Brooklyn), Barkley thinks the team is in big trouble.

"Our window to win another championship I think is open for the next 5, 6 years," Klay said.

"Number 1, I hope you get back soon but you're just wrong," Barkley shot back.

"I think their window's shut. I don't think they can score enough."

Barkley also amended a prediction he made before the game -- "I was wrong before the game. I said [the Warriors] were gonna be the 7, 8 seed. They're not gonna make the playoffs."

Kenny Smith asked, "You know after one half of basketball?!"

Barkley responded -- "Yes."

Klay tried to defend his squad and said he has faith in the young player on the Warriors, but it was clear Barkley wasn't convinced.

By the way, the Warriors lost 141 to 122 in their first home game in their new arena.

"He’s still a great player, not a hall of famer yet, though."

That's Michael Jordan talking about ... get this ... STEPH CURRY!!!

His Airness made the statement on Tuesday's "Today" show -- when he was backing an old claim that the 4 dudes he would select in a pickup game would be Hakeem Olajuwon, Scottie Pippen, Magic Johnson and James Worthy.

When Craig Melvin asked if Steph Curry should be offended that he isn't on MJ's list, Jordan replied ... "I hope not. He's still a great player. Not a Hall of Famer yet, though."

Of course, Curry is a LOCK for the Hall of Fame -- 3x NBA champ, 2x MVP, 6x NBA All-Star ... and he's widely considered one of (if not) the greatest shooter of all time.

Guessing Curry won't take this too seriously ...

During the interview, Jordan also revealed he no longer plays pickup basketball because he's afraid his hyper-competitive nature will kick in and "it will take over."

Melvin says MJ is concerned that he would compete TOO HARD and end up hurting himself.

Steve Kerr still isn't ready to talk about China -- shutting down our photog when we asked the Golden State Warriors coach about the NBA's drama in Asia on his way out of dinner with Steph Curry.

Of course, Kerr initially shut down China questions last week -- saying he didn't know enough about the situation with China and Hong Kong to opine in the wake of the Daryl Morey tweets.

Morey essentially created an international incident by tweeting out support for Hong Kong -- which led to the Chinese government blackballing the Houston Rockets and putting the country's relationship with the NBA in jeopardy.

Since then, President Donald Trump verbally attacked Kerr ... saying the usually outspoken coach was "like a little boy" when asked about China -- claiming Kerr "was so scared to even be answering" a question about the topic.

Fast forward to Sunday night when Kerr and Curry hit up Mastro's Steakhouse in Beverly Hills -- not exactly a low-key hangout -- where our guy asked Kerr if he finally felt "well-versed" enough to talk about the biggest issue in pro sports.

But, Kerr shut it down. He was nice and friendly but made it clear he's still not ready to have a public conversation about China.

Michelle Wie got hitched to an NBA legend's son over the weekend ... exchanging vows with Jonnie West at a star-studded ceremony in L.A.!!!

The golf superstar and Warriors Director of Basketball Operations -- who got engaged back in March -- tied the knot in front of their closest family and friends, including tennis pro Genie Bouchard and fellow golfer Danielle Kang.

"MR. AND MRS. WEST Y’ALL!!!!," Michelle said in an Instagram post. "I love you HUSBAND with every living thing in my body and I didn’t think I could love you any more, but then I saw you at the end of the aisle and my heart exploded."

Best part of the whole shindig??? Wie's dad straight-up GETTING it on the dance floor at the reception.

Kevin Durant wants to make it crystal clear his old team deserves ZERO blame for his NBA Finals injury ... saying the Warriors didn't mishandle his calf injury and no one forced him to play.

KD is finally addressing the ruptured Achilles he suffered during game 5 against the Toronto Raptors ... saying Golden State didn't pressure him to come back early from a calf strain he sustained earlier in the playoffs.

“Hell, no. How can you blame [the Warriors]? Hell, no,” Durant told Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports.

"Nobody never said a word to me during rehab as I was coming back ... Right when the series started, I targeted Game 5."

"Hell, nah. It just happened. It’s basketball. Sh*t happens. Nobody was responsible for it. It was just the game. We just need to move on from that sh*t because I’m going to be back playing.”

There ya go, critics ... straight from KD's mouth.

Durant also addressed the claims that Raps fans were applauding his injury ... saying he was in a daze and didn't hear anything, but added, "It will probably be the last time they will be in the Finals."

Of course ... the 30-year-old is slowly recovering from the injury ... and TMZ Sports even spotted him walking without crutches last week.

As for his decision to leave the Dubs for Kyrie Irving and the Brooklyn Nets ... KD's reason is very simple.

Steve Kerr says he's legitimately fearful a shooter could walk into Warriors practice and start "spraying" him and the team ... after the latest massacres in Dayton and El Paso.

"I think about it all the time," the Golden State head coach said this week. "Somebody could walk in the door in the gym right now and start spraying us with an AR-15."

"They could," he added. "It might happen because we’re all vulnerable."

Kerr -- in a sit-down interview with the Bay Area News Group on Monday -- candidly revealed his concerns after at least 31 more people died in mass shootings over the weekend in Texas and Ohio.

The head coach says all of the violence has made him feel he's not safe anywhere ... including in an NBA gym.

"We’re all vulnerable," he said, "whether we go to a concert, a church, the mall or go to the movie theater or a school."

The 53-year-old says there's only one way to fix the issue ... saying American citizens need to "demand change from the gutless leadership that continues to allow this to happen."

Steve adds the country's leaders need to reevaluate the second amendment, saying, "The only thing that second amendment is doing is leading to mass murder right now. This is all just insanity."

Kerr does believe there's momentum building among America's citizens to force a change ... and he's ready to see the day where gun ownership is more heavily regulated.

D'Angelo Russell went joyriding in a luxury whip before signing his massive, $117 million deal with the Warriors ... taking a crazy expensive Ferrari out for brunch ... and TMZ Sports has the vid!!

Just hours before inking his reported 4-year deal with the Dubs on Sunday, DLo hit up Toast Bakery in L.A. with his folks ... and the dude knew how to make an exit, hopping in the passenger seat of the Rari and riding off down the street.

We fired off a bunch of questions -- if he had a message for the Brooklyn Nets after dealing him to the Dubs, if he's the newest Splash Brother, if the Warriors were still the team to beat in the NBA ... but the All-Star guard let the wheels do the talking.

No word on the exact year and type of this particular Ferrari ... but given the price tag of similar models, it's gotta be worth a quarter million dollars AT LEAST.

Draymond Green ain't worried about all that offseason drama with the Golden State Warriors -- he's chillin' out off the coast of Italy with his fiancee ... in a CRAZY huge yacht!!!

The 29-year-old NBA star is sailing in Sardinia, Italy with Hazel Renee -- whom he proposed to with a $300,000 ring back in January! 

Now that the offseason is in full swing, Draymond and Hazel are finally getting some R&R on a yacht called Ruya ... a 135-foot ship with 5 cabins, living room, hot tub and an on-board gym!

The cost to rent Ruya is about $200,000 per week -- but Draymond can clearly afford it ... he's about to enter the final year of his 5-year, $82-MILLION contract!

Green is expected to sign a MASSIVE deal when he becomes a free agent after next season -- so money ain't a thing for this guy. 

No other Warriors player will ever wear #35 again ... so says Golden State co-chairman and CEO Joe Lacob who heaped the ultimate praise on Kevin Durant after the superstar signed with Brooklyn. 

"As long as I am co-chairman of this team, no player will ever wear #35 for the Warriors again," Lacob said in a statement. 

Durant only played for the Warriors for 3 seasons -- but Golden State got to the NBA Finals every time ... and won 2 out of 3 championship titles. Durant was the NBA Finals MVP both times they won. 

Of course, Durant became a free agent at the end of the 2018-19 season and is signing a massive deal to play with Kyrie Irving and DeAndre Jordan on the Brooklyn Nets. 

But, Lacob ain't bitter -- saying, "Three years ago, we were thrilled with the arrival of Kevin Durant, a transformative NBA player and one of the best to ever play the game."

"Today, as he starts a new chapter in his incredible career, we thank KD for all of his contributions, for being an integral part to one of the most prolific runs in NBA history and we wish him well as he continues his Hall of Fame journey."

FYI, the Warriors have only "officially" retired 6 jerseys in team history -- so this ain't something they do often. 

There's more ... TMZ Sports just spoke with Warriors GM Bob Myers who praised Durant for being "awesome" ... and noting, "Appreciate all he did." 

Kevin Durant has had it with the Golden State Warriors ... 'cause he says he's taking his talents across the country to the Brooklyn Nets to play alongside Kyrie Irving.

KD just made the announcement Sunday evening via "The Boardroom" Instagram page -- the sports show he created, which is similar to LeBron's "The Shop." Speaking of Bron, Kevin's roll-out of his "decision" is very reminiscent of LBJ's take in 2010.

According to reports, Kevin is signing a 4-year, $164 million deal with the Nets, while Kyrie's going for 4 years at $141 million. DeAndre Jordan is also reportedly joining them.

This, of course, follows KD's horrific season-ending injury in the NBA Finals just a few weeks ago -- when he ruptured his Achilles tendon after coming back from a previous calf injury.

Kevin's leaving tens of millions of dollars on the table by not re-signing with the Warriors -- a team he just went to three straight Finals with, walking with two Finals MVP awards and two rings. Some reports suggested KD was unhappy with the way the team handled his injury.

That's all in the past now though, and even the 2019-2020 season is somewhat moot ... seeing how he's not expected to return to the court until the start of the 2020-21 season. 

Here he is!!! Kevin Durant is back out in public just 2 weeks after suffering a devastating injury in the NBA Finals ... but it's clear he's got a long road to recovery. 

The 30-year-old superstar was out in New York City on Wednesday -- with a team of people helping him out of a building and into a waiting sprinter van. 

You can see KD's right leg is bandaged up from his toe to his knee. An assistant was also holding a walking boot for Kev while another person followed close behind with a medical knee scooter. 

The clip is pretty short but you can see Durant is trying to be independent. It's obvious he wants to be able to move around without help. 

Durant underwent surgery on June 12 to repair a ruptured Achilles -- which he injured in the 2nd quarter of Game 5 of the NBA Finals against the Toronto Raptors. 

Durant had missed significant playing time before Game 5 due to a calf strain -- and some people questioned whether he came back before his body was ready. 

After the surgery, Durant posted on social media saying he wasn't pressured into returning -- and said, "I wanted to be out there that night because that's what I do."

There are reports Durant could miss the entire 2019-20 regular season due to the Achilles injury -- with some speculating he might be ready to go for the playoffs. 

Meanwhile, KD just declined his player option with the Warriors which means he'll officially be a free agent and can sign wherever he wants. He'll obviously get a max contract offer, which would kick off with a $38.2 mil starting salary. 

Get well soon!!!

10:20 AM PT -- Trump -- who was meeting with Trudeau -- was just asked if he's planning on inviting the Raps to 1600 Penn ... and he said, "That's an interesting question. They played phenomenal basketball, I watched a little bit of it."

"We'll think about that, if they'd like to do it, we'll think about that."

So ... maybe???

Toronto Raptors head coach Nick Nurse says he's DEFINITELY looking forward to celebrating their NBA championship with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau ... but Donald Trump? That's TBD.

It's uncharted territory for Canada's NBA team, considering this is their first title in franchise history ... so, many have been wondering if the Dinos would get an invite to party at the White House.

Nurse addressed the possibility with Prime Time Sports on SportsNet 590 ... saying the team hasn't gotten a call from Trump's camp yet ... and even if they DO get an invite, he's unsure how they'll RSVP.

But, as for meeting the top guy in Canada? Nurse says plans are already in the works ...

"Definitely the Trudeau meeting, because they have been asking me about scheduling it," Nurse said. "I've heard nothing from the White House. We're Canada's team anyway, right?"

Politics aside, Nurse says he truly doesn't know if there will be a trip to 1600 Penn, "I think we're here. Let's go see Trudeau up in Ottawa ... we're Canada's team."

Remember, the Golden State Warriors -- who won the NBA title the past two years before the Raptors -- famously boycotted Trump's White House ... opting to visit with President Obama instead.

Kevin Durant is expected to miss the entire 2019-20 season with a ruptured Achilles ... but one wrestling star says he can help KD get back to the court in HALF THE TIME!!

NXT superstar Riddick Moss -- who also ruptured his Achilles last year and returned in "record" time -- says he can have Durant back on the court in 5 months. And, how can he prove it??

'Cause he did it himself!!

"This talk about KD being out for an entire season, missing next season, I don't like it," Moss says. "I don't wanna hear it."

"I wanna shut up all these people that are saying an Achilles rupture's gonna put you out for an entire season. Wherever you go, I wanna see you hoisting hardware at the end of the season in June."

Moss -- who is one-half of the Outliers in NXT, managed by Robert Strauss -- says he didn't miss a beat when he returned to the squared circle after his injury ... and is the guy to help KD get back to normal.

"Don't call Kobe Bryant for help. Kobe Bryant did not set a record coming back from an Achilles tendon rupture like Riddick Moss did. Kobe can't help you."

So ... maybe it's time to hit up this Moss fellow, KD??