Los Angeles Clippers

L.A. Clippers center Ivica Zubac says Shaquille O'Neal is flat-out WRONG to say Paul George needs to be traded ... telling TMZ Sports the team can be successful with PG-13 AND Kawhi Leonard on board.

Remember, the NBA legend was critical of the Clips following their 2nd round exit in the 2020 playoffs ... saying the team needs to ship George elsewhere and let Klaw be the guy.

We asked Zubac if he agreed with Shaq's comments Thursday at LAX ... and while he didn't say much, he got his point across.

"No," the 7-footer told us ... adding, "that's the man!!!"

Now, there were reports of serious locker room drama within the Clips organization this past postseason ... and while Zubac wouldn't dive into that discussion, it's clear he's sticking with his guy.

While the Clippers will be led by a different coach next season -- Doc Rivers is out, Ty Lue is in -- the squad is still one of the favorites to win it all.

Shaq says if the Clippers ever want to win an NBA championship, they gotta ship Paul George’s ass outta Los Angeles ... like now!!

Some background ... after landing Leonard and PG last season, the Clips were favorites to win an NBA title in 2020 ... but ended up getting bounced by the Denver Nuggets in the 2nd round of the playoffs.

Doc Rivers was fired as head coach ... and now O'Neal -- who's got 4 rings and knows a little something about winning -- says it's time the team unloads its 30-year-old, 6x NBA All-Star who averaged over 21 points last year.

Here's how the conversation went on Shaquille's "The Big Podcast with Shaq."

Shaq: [The Clippers] gotta get rid of someone.

Co-host: Who?

Shaq: C'mon, bro.

Co-host: Pandemic P? They ain't gonna get rid of him, they gave up the farm for him.

Shaq: Well, guess what? They gave up the farm, but we can change some crops on that mug.

O'Neal went on to say that the Clippers should trade George -- who struggled mightily in the playoffs and reportedly beefed with teammates -- for multiple role players ... so 29-year-old Kawhi Leonard is clearly the man on the squad.

"You gotta use [George] to get 2 good solid players because I need Kawhi to be the man. See Kawhi, I don't want Kawhi to delegate," Shaq says.

"See, when Kawhi was with Toronto he knew he was the man, everybody knew he was the man. Now you got one guy that thinks he's the man, one guy that is the man."

Even following the 2020 disaster, the Clips still have the 2nd highest odds to win the title next year -- behind LeBron James and the L.A. Lakers.

Tyronn Lue will be the next man in charge of leading Kawhi Leonard and the Clippers to a championship ... the former Cavs head man has agreed to become the new coach in L.A.!

ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reported Thursday that Lue and the team agreed to a 5-year contract ... officially setting the stage for Ty to take over from Doc Rivers.

As we previously reported, DR was booted from his role as HC just a few weeks ago after he failed to lead a stacked Clips team past the 2nd round of the NBA playoffs.

Now, Lue will take over ... and expectations are higher than ever.

The Clippers are set to return most of their stars -- including Leonard and Paul George -- in 2021 ... and could add even more firepower through trades and free agency this offseason.

Lue, meanwhile, has a championship pedigree ... he was the head man in Cleveland when LeBron James and Kyrie Irving came back from down 3-1 to the Warriors to win a 'ship in 2016.

Well, THAT didn't take long.

Doc Rivers is back on an NBA bench just days after leaving the L.A. Clippers ... agreeing to become the next head coach of the Philadelphia 76ers, according to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski.

The longtime L.A. coach mutually parted ways with the Clips earlier this week ... after a disappointing exit from the playoffs.

Rivers addressed the exit in a statement, saying, "While I was able to accomplish most of my goals, I won't be able to see them all through. Though it was a disappointing ending to our season, you are right there and I know what this team is capable of accomplishing with your support."

Rivers made it clear he wasn't ready to hang up his tie just yet ... and while an official announcement has yet to be made, it's only a matter of time.

Rivers -- who has posted a 943-681 record as a head coach -- beat out huge names like Mike D'Antoni and Ty Lue for the gig ... and is taking on a team with a ton of talent.

The Sixers have been hoping to get back into the Finals for years ... and now they got a guy who has won it all.

Doc Rivers is officially OUT as Los Angeles Clippers head coach ... after a quick exit from the NBA Playoffs.

58-year-old Rivers has coached the Clips since 2013 ... and after adding Kawhi Leonard and Paul George this last off-season, L.A. Clippers were favorites to win an NBA title.

Despite having a 3-1 lead on the Denver Nuggets, the Clippers were eliminated in the Western Conference Semifinals.

Shortly after they were bounced from the playoffs, there were reports of turmoil within the team ... with PG allegedly feuding with his teammates.

Rivers addressed losing his job on social media, writing ... "Thank you Clipper Nation for allowing me to be your coach and for all your support in helping making this a winning franchise. When I took this job, my goals were to make this a winning basketball program, a free agent destination, and bring a championship to this organization."

"While I was able to accomplish most of my goals, I won't be able to see them all through. Though it was a disappointing ending to our season, you are right there and I know what this team is capable of accomplishing with your support."

"Thank you to all the players, coaches and staff for helping us get here. Most importantly, thank you to the fans. We went through a lot, and I am grateful for my time here."

Of course, Rivers -- who is 943-681 as a head coach -- won a ring with the Boston Celtics in 2008.

"Would you look at that? It's the first time Paul George has been on fire all night!"

One angry L.A. Clippers fan was SO heated over his team's epic collapse in the 2nd-round of the playoffs ... he took a flame to his own Paul George jersey!!

It's no secret -- losing to the Denver Nuggets is NOT what the Clips had in mind this season ... with many expecting Kawhi Leonard and PG13 to lead the team to its first title.

This fan decided he'd had enough of repping George on Tuesday night ... destroying his jersey and ripping the baller in the process.

FYI -- Playoff P had just 10 points and 4 rebounds in the loss.

This isn't the first time we've seen George jerseys set ablaze ... some angry Indiana Pacers fans did the act back in 2017 when their All-Star announced he would be leaving in free agency the following season.

This reaction is CLEARLY a bit of an overreaction ... but the frustration is understandable -- after all, Kawhi and George combined for 0 points in the 4th quarter as the Clips were eliminated from the playoffs.

But hey, there's always next year!!

The NBA just hit Marcus Morris with a $35,000 fine for that hard foul on Luka Doncic during Game 6 of the playoff series between the Clippers and Mavs.

Morris and Doncic had been going after each other for the entire series -- things were chippy -- but things came to a head in the 1st quarter of Game 6 when Marcus hit Luka in the face while Doncic was going up for a layup.

A scuffle ensued. The players had to be separated. Morris was ejected from the game.

Now, to make matters worse for Morris ... he's gotta come out of pocket to the tune of $35k for "recklessly striking" Doncic, according to the NBA.

"The amount of the fine was based in part on the fact that Morris has been disciplined on several prior occasions for physical altercations on the court," the NBA said.

Later in the game, a rattled Doncic lost his cool over a foul call -- and threw the ball at the feet of one of the refs.

Doncic argued that he didn't intend to hit the ref -- just bad luck.

The NBA has fined Doncic over that incident to the tune of $15,000.

The Clippers ended up winning the game and the clinching the series, sending Doncic and the Mavs out of the NBA Bubble.

Clippers forward Montrezl Harrell apologized to Luka Doncic for calling the Mavs star a "bitch-ass white boy" ... squashing potential beef with a pregame hug and handshake Sunday.

If you missed it ... Harrell went viral Friday for his trash talk of the Dallas point guard -- when cameras caught the L.A. player mouthing the words to Luka after a big first-quarter bucket.

Of course, given the nation's current climate and battle for racial equality ... Montrezl was heavily criticized for the chatter -- with ex-NBA player Jay Williams saying straight-up, "I can only imagine if Luka Doncic had said something like that to you."

Montrezl says he took it upon himself to clear the air with Luka before Game 4 on Sunday ... and in video of their conversation, you can see there was no bad blood at all.

"Nothing but respect for Luka," Harrell said of their pregame embrace. "He understood the heat of the battle and he said it didn’t bother him only RESPECT."

For his part, Luka said he accepted Harrell's apology ... adding, "No worries."

"There’s a lot of emotions on the court, especially this is playoffs," Doncic said. "Sometimes you say things you don’t want to say. He apologized. I respect that, so no problems.”

Clippers coach Doc Rivers says he addressed everything with Harrell in house ... telling reporters over the weekend that Montrezl MUST be more careful with his words.

"I said to him, ‘Hey, I don’t think you meant anything racially by it.’ He said ‘white boy,’ but I don’t think there was anything racial intended," Rivers said. "But we are in a very heightened climate and you have to be careful."

Rapper Jack Harlow says he was NOT hanging out with Lou Williams on Thursday ... claiming he has nothing to do with the Clippers star leaving the NBA bubble.

The 33-year-old L.A. hooper reportedly left the Disney campus this week due to "excused personal reasons" ... but is expected to rejoin the team at a later date.

The whole thing seemed pretty normal -- considering several players have left the bubble for a number of reasons in the past few weeks -- until the "What's Poppin'" rapper posted an IG Story with Williams.

"A location U would never guess," Harlow captioned the pic ... tagging Williams.

Harlow quickly deleted the pic ... which led people to speculate if he accidentally got the Sixth Man of the Year in trouble.

But, Harlow tried to clear the air on Friday ... saying the pic was old and he was just missing his buddy.

"That was an old pic of me and Lou. I was just reminiscing cuz I miss him," Harlow said.

What makes things even more bizarre -- Harlow deleted that tweet minutes later.

So ... what the hell is going on?? Is Harlow trying to cover his tracks, or is it all a misunderstanding??

Either way, the Clippers have lost several guys -- including key players like Montrezl Harrell and Patrick Beverley -- with the season restart quickly approaching on July 30 ... so it'll be interesting to see how it all plays out.

Story developing ...

Forget laying low on vacation ... Kawhi Leonard strolled around Cabo IN HIS OWN JERSEY during the NBA All-Star break -- and TMZ Sports has the pics!!

The L.A. Clippers superstar was down in Mexico this week hitting the town with his GF, Kishele Shipley ... and locals tell us the Finals MVP was cool as hell.

But, most importantly, they noticed his dope tank ... which featured one of his famous slogans, "Don't be mad" -- as well as his own jersey number AND name!

Yeah, pretty baller move.

We're told Kawhi was enjoying the Mexico sun ... and he even appeared to get in a little boating while in town!!

Of course ... Kawhi is no stranger to a good time on off weeks -- remember, the NBA star hit a floaty boat on the open seas near Barbados back in June after his Raptors championship.

But, it's back to reality this weekend for the 28-year-old ... the Clips play the Kings on Saturday afternoon at Staples.

Chase Young -- one of the top prospects in the upcoming 2020 NFL Draft -- got a taste of the Hollywood life Tuesday ... hanging with some serious power players at the Clippers game.

The former Ohio State defensive end -- likely the #2 overall pick -- was sitting courtside Tuesday at Staples Center, right next to Klutch Sports founder Rich Paul, the guy who reps LeBron James.

20-year-old Young also posed for a picture with UTA talent agency CEO Jeremy Zimmer ... while sitting in spitting distance from Disney head Bob Iger and Hollywood legend Billy Crystal.

In other words ... welcome to the A-List, Chase!

As for the game, the Clippers beat the hell out of the visiting Cleveland Cavaliers ... the Cavs' second blowout loss this week!

On Monday night, the Cavs got smacked by the Lakers at Staples Center while Kim Kardashian heckled Tristan Thompson from her courtside seats.

Kim later said it was all in good fun and she didn't mean any harm.

Just 'cause Steph Curry and Draymond Green can't play together right now doesn't mean they can't date together ... the Warriors superstars teamed up for a double date night with their wife and finacee!!

The Dubs are in town to play the Clippers on Friday ... and their 2 superstars kicked off their trip with a night on the town at Matsuhisa in Beverly Hills.

Of course, Steph has been sidelined with a broken left hand since October ... but has slowly worked his way to getting back to practice with the team.

Steph and Ayesha -- who have been married since 2011 and have 3 kids together -- met up with engaged Draymond and Hazel Renee on Thursday night. Maybe they were discussing marriage advice??

While the wedding date for Green and Hazel hasn't been made public, Draymond has said they planned the big day around the Tokyo Olympics ... so the wedding bells may be coming soon.

Lou Williams' son is now the owner of the best name EVER ... the L.A. Clippers star says he's callin' his newborn baby "Syx" -- and it's all 'cause of his famous NBA awards!!

"I always said if I had a son I was going to give him a unique name," Williams said.

Lou is a 3-time winner of the Association's Sixth Man of the Year honors ... and he confirmed in a postgame interview Thursday night his boy's name is a nod to those trophies.

"Nothing was coming to me, so I just said, 'You know what, I'm going to name him Syx, spell it a little different' and we just had some fun with it."

Seems the new kid is already a great luck charm for Williams ... after the point guard missed the Clippers' game Tuesday for the birth of Syx, he came back to pile up 22 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists in L.A.'s win over the Pistons on Thursday.

As for when Lou will start training Syx to follow in Dad's footsteps ... Williams says it won't be long.

"A couple weeks," he said.

L.A. Clippers star Patrick Beverley was so fired up about crushing the Suns on Tuesday night -- he dropped an f-bomb during the post-game interview ... telling the fans, "We ain't f**kin' around!"

He's right. They were not.

The Clips DOMINATED Phoenix in a 120 to 99 victory at Staples Center ... with Bev ballin' out in the 3rd quarter with 2 big blocks on Frank Kaminsky.

"I just try to go out there and do the dirty work," Bev said ... "I'm comfortable with that."

The Clippers have won 7 of their last 10 games -- and they're currently in 2nd place in the Western Conference, behind the Lakers.

After the game, Beverley let his emotions go during a live interview with Fox Sports that appeared to be amplified throughout the arena.

"We trying to win as many games as possible," Pat continued ... "We understand it's a real competitive league but anybody we play, we try to win! That's our mindset."

It was Patrick's first game back since he suffered a head injury during a Dec. 11 game against the Toronto Raptors ... and it's obvious Beverely wanted to make a statement in his return.

"They tried to take me out with a concussion, man!! These people crazy!! But nah, it's good though. I'm back, got some rest. Big team win. Gotta ready for the Rockets next."