Los Angeles Clippers

Sam Cassell has something in common with John Mayer -- they both bought expensive watches from the same guy ... a guy accused of selling FAKES ... and now the former NBA star tells TMZ Sports he's bringing in experts to see if he got ripped off.

We broke the story ... Mayer is suing Charlie Sheen's BFF Robert Maron -- claiming he bought $5 million worth of Rolex watches from the guy ... some of which turned out NOT to be 100% authentic.

Cassell tells TMZ Sports he also bought a watch from Maron -- "It's an A. Lange & Sohne. It cost me a nice piece of change."

Sam wouldn't say how much he spent on the watch -- but A. Lange & Sohne pieces can run upwards of $150k.

Cassell says he was introduced to Maron by his former Clippers coach Mike Dunleavy -- and bought the watch from him because he offered the lowest price in town.

"What am I thinking ... this guys gonna rip me off? No. Mike got watches from him also. But at the same time, Mike's a basketball coach, not a jeweler."

Sam says he's now sending the watch to an expert to analyze the timepiece ... and says, "If it comes back fake, I'm going to the Dept. of Justice!"

The L.A. Clippers are rallying behind Blake Griffin ... with one baller telling TMZ Sports the entire team's got Blake's back if anyone tries to pull a Jermaine O'Neal and get in his face again.

In case you missed it ... O'Neal confronted Griffin in the hallway after the Clips smashed the Warriors 111-98 ... with Jermaine clearly looking for a Part 2 of the altercation they had on the court earlier that game.

We spoke with one of the Clippers who tells us, "People always hate on the best ... what do you except when you’re the best?"

"There's NO FEAR and Blake isn't worried about the haters. We have Blake’s back ... but he ain't worried."

Glen "Big Baby" Davis is adjusting pretty well to life in L.A. ... crushing it on the court -- and also at the nightclubs ... and TMZ Sports has the video proof.

We spotted Davis leaving DBA nightclub last night ... with (at least) THREE hot chicks in tow.

After they got in his waiting SUV, a bunch of other chicks flocked to Glen's ride ... like skeezer moths to a rich and famous flame.

Aside from chick wranglin', Davis also talked basketball -- telling us his L.A. Clipppers are gonna win the NBA championship.

Kanye West ... why you mad, bro??

You'd think the rapper would've been in a better mood last night ... since he sat courtside at a high school basketball game in Brentwood to support a friend's nephew -- but nope, he looked MISERABLE.

Sources on scene tell us ... one of the kids playing in the game is the nephew of Kanye's designer friend Tracey Mills ... and Yeezy was there to show his support.

So, props for going out to support a friend ... but dude, it's OK to smile!!!

Bonus -- L.A. Clippers coach Doc Rivers was also in the stands ... but sources say he appeared to be having a much better time.

Apparently, MONSTER DUNK SKILLS run in the family ... 'cause LeBron James' kids just went HAM on their Nerf hoop ... and the rim-crushing highlight was all captured on video.

LeBron's sons -- 6-year-old Bryce and 9-year-old Bronny -- teamed for a crazy alley-oop style slam on Christmas morning ... and LeBron was so proud, he posted the footage online.

James even Instagram'd a message to L.A. Clippers stars Blake Griffin and Chris Paul ... saying, "Bronny and Bryce gone hold down Lob City until y'all get back. Cool? It's like the both of y'all but we gone keep it in our room. Haha."

Fun Fact -- If 28-year-old LeBron can stay healthy enough to play in the league for 10 more years, he's got a shot at playing ALONGSIDE his son.

Lamar Odom has escaped to his Alma Mater – the University of Rhode Island – for the week ... and is hitting the courts at his old gym ... presumably training for his alleged return to the NBA.

Lamar told our camera guy over weekend he's been in talks with the LA Clippers ... after his career was derailed this summer by a serious crack problem.

The assistant coach at URI – Preston Murphy – was a former teammate of Lamar’s when they played college ball together back in ’98 … and it looks like Murphy is letting Lamar use the facilities to train while the team is away for the week.

Lamar has been mugging with students on campus.

Lamar Odom just confirmed to TMZ ... discussions are underway for a return to the team he loved -- the L.A. Clippers.

We got Lamar at LAX about an hour ago ... and he made it clear something is going on between him and the team.

Coach Doc Rivers said he met with Lamar Friday to have a chit chat and there is a buzz that serious negotiations are underway.

Lamar Odom is drugged out of his head ... but he's telling people he will sober up and play basketball again this coming season ... yes, he's that delusional.

Sources who have been spending time with Lamar tell us his drug problem is out of control -- that one of his drug dealers alone has sold him thousands of dollars in coke. We're told Lamar is now freebasing with pure cocaine.

As crazy as it sounds ... Lamar has done it before. We know he was using while on the Lakers and on the Mavericks. In addition, he was off the rails using drugs just months before joining the Clippers but cleaned up enough to get through the season.

We're told Lamar is full-on paranoid now ... he believes people are trying to set him up to get caught. As he told one friend, "Everyone wants to see me fail, but I'm not gonna let that happen."

Blake Griffin had it bad for his baby mama Brynn Cameron's brother ... and the NBA star even filmed a video to prove it.

A little background: Brynn's bro Jordan Cameron was a standout tight end for USC football back in 2011, and for some reason, Blake really really wanted to make sure Jordan got drafted by an NFL team.

So ... Blake filmed a hype video (and homage to Mars Blackmon) for Jordan -- co-starring Jordan -- before the draft.

Guess it worked ... the Browns picked Jordan -- mazel tov -- but did Blake only agree to shoot the hype video because he was banging Jordan's sister at the time? We can't say for sure (probably).

Here's a photo of Clipper's center DeAndre Jordan outside of Beacher's Madhouse Theatre in Hollywood last weekend having a short chat with one of his fans.

DeAndre is 6'11 -- the other is ... not close.

Discuss.

He's out with the Clippers, but Lamar Odom could have a new home in Memphis ... if Grizzlies superstar Zach Randolph has anything to say about it.

Randolph -- a former Clipper himself -- was outside The Emerson Theatre in L.A. last night when we asked if he'd welcome Lamar to his team, if L.O. can get his life back in order.

"Damn right," Randolph said ... "He's a good dude."

Randolph knows a thing or two about second chances -- he's had multiple run-ins with the law over the years and was once suspended for punching a teammate in the face ... yet overcame his troubles to emerge as a bona fide superstar.

... a superstar who knows what it's like to get SWATTED hard by L.O. (check out the video below).

Lamar Odom will remain a free agent -- at least for now -- because the L.A. Clippers refused to re-sign him in light of his abuse of drugs, including crack cocaine ... TMZ has learned.

NBA sources tell TMZ, team officials really wanted to re-sign Lamar over the summer after he performed well last season, but he was nearly impossible to reach ... and they couldn't make progress on contract discussions.

We're told the Clippers were STILL interested despite Lamar's flaky behavior, but after news broke about the NBA star's issues with drug addiction ... the team closed the book on a new deal, permanently.

The marriage of Khloe Kardashian and Lamar Odom is in crisis, and TMZ has learned ... the core reason is hardcore drug abuse.

Multiple sources familiar with the situation tell TMZ ... Lamar has had a problem for 2 years. It got so bad, last August Khloe pressured Lamar to go to rehab. Lamar went to a facility in San Diego, but he was so resistant Khloe hired private investigators to secretly stand guard at the rehab place to make sure he didn't leave. The P.I.s stood guard 24/7.

Our sources say Lamar constantly threatened to leave and Khloe made several visits to prevail upon him to stay. We're told after 3 weeks, Lamar left for good.

We're told Lamar actually stayed clean once he left rehab and was able to play well for the Clippers this past season. But when the season was over, sources say Lamar slipped deep back into hardcore recreational drugs.

As for reports that Lamar was cheating recently, we're told Khloe is convinced it happened, and she feels she's been hit with a double whammy ... but drugs are the main problem.

As for divorce ... neither Khloe nor Lamar has contacted a lawyer. As one source put it, "Khloe is more concerned about saving Lamar than ending her marriage."

We're told the situation has become dire. Sources tell us ... within the last 2 days, the entire family staged an intervention, trying to convince Lamar to go back to rehab, but he wouldn't have any of it.

In fact, on Wednesday morning, right after the failed intervention, Khloe threw Lamar out of the house and as you see from the pic (above), one of Lamar's friends is loading Lamar's stuff in his car as Lamar watches.

Los Angeles Clippers' superstar Chris Paul hasn't even been President of the Players Union for a full 24 hours yet -- but he's already put together a list of players' demands to take to the NBA, TMZ has learned.

Paul edged out veteran shooter Roger Mason and others to take the position -- and NBA sources tell us the players went with CP3 because they feel he's got the cojones and the clout to effectively take on the league.

Sources tell us ... Paul is taking his new role very seriously -- and is already talking to players about his agenda, which includes:

-- Preparing a battle plan to fight any league proposal for HGH testing
-- Eliminating flopping fines
-- Forbidding any dress code additions/changes

After more than a decade in the league, NBA star Matt Barnes FINALLY signed the mega-contract he's always wanted ... telling TMZ, "I've been underpaid for a long time."

Barnes -- who recently inked a 3-year $11 million deal with the Los Angeles Clippers -- was working out at TapouT in L.A. yesterday when we congratulated him on striking it rich.

"It's been a long time coming," said Barnes ... who only made $854,389 last season.

When we asked why he thought it took so long to get such a big contract, Barnes didn't hold back -- saying, "I don't know ... I don't think they liked me."

It's unclear who the "they" is ... considering he's played for multiple NBA teams including the Lakers, the Suns, Orlando and Golden State.

FYI -- back in 2010, Barnes passed on more lucrative offers to sign with the Lakers, hoping the opportunity to play in L.A. would lead him to a bigger contract down the line. It didn't work out at the time, but after the incredible season he had with the Clips last year, it would have been hard for the team NOT to show him the money.

Los Angeles Lakers executive Johnny Buss -- oldest son of deceased Lakers owner Jerry Buss -- has filed for divorce from his wife, who happens to be an ex-Clippers dancer, TMZ has learned.

Johnny -- who's currently the V.P. of Strategic Development for the Lake Show -- filed divorce docs in L.A. County Superior Court ... seeking to end his marriage to Christy Curtis Buss ... a marriage that began in 1991.

Here's the weird part ... in the court docs, obtained by TMZ, Buss states that he and Christy separated back in 2000 ... which means they've been split up for 13 YEARS!

Apparently, Johnny finally felt like cutting the cord ... because he filed the docs himself on June 11, 2013. It's unclear why he waited so long. They have no minor children.

In the docs, Buss blames the split on irreconcilable differences ... but checked the box that acknowledges he'll have to pony up spousal support.