Los Angeles Lakers

It's the question everyone wants to know -- with the nasty family power struggle going on with the Lakers ... what's Thanksgiving gonna be like at the Buss house????

That's exactly what we asked the youngest member of the Buss siblings, Jesse Buss -- who co-owns the team along with his 5 older siblings.

The good news ... despite Jim and Johnny going after Jeanie in court, Jesse says there's still love -- "We're still family at the end of the day."

As for Jeanie's decision to bring Magic Johnson on board, Jesse -- who's also the Lakers’ Asst. General Manager & Director of Scouting -- says he's pumped.

Lakers honcho Jeanie Buss came out swinging against her brothers in new court docs -- claiming Jim Buss was a failure in his role with the team and Magic Johnson must undo the "damage" he caused.

Cookie Johnson says her husband's new job with the Lakers is a "natural fit" -- saying Magic Johnson's always bled Purple & Gold ... and she's confident he can bring the team back to greatness!

"He's a Laker through and through," Cookie told us on the way out of Barneys in Beverly Hills ... "I love it."

We also asked the big question on everyone''s mind -- should Magic bring Kobe Bryant back into the fold?

"If it's a good fit, I think so ... if it's a good fit."

Byron Scott is expecting BIG things from the Lakers now that his friend, Magic Johnson, is running things -- telling TMZ Sports the Lake Show will be right back on top of the league in less than 5 years.

Scott not only coached the Lakers from 2014 to 2016 ... but he also won multiple championships with Magic during his first 10 years playing for the Lakers.

Byron and Magic are still close -- in fact, Magic wrote the foreword for his new book, 'Slam-Dunk Success.'

Which is why we also asked if Magic offered him a job with the organization -- would he take it?

Rick Fox is fired up for the new Magic Johnson era with the Lakers -- and says the only thing that could be cooler is if Kobe Bryant signed on, too!!

Fox says he was on the set of the OWN Network show, "Greenleaf," when he heard the news about his former team and says Magic is the PERFECT guy for the job.

"Success is pretty much Magic's middle name!"

MASSIVE SHAKE-UP with the L.A. Lakers ... Jeanie Buss just FIRED General Manager Mitch Kupchak and booted her brother, Jim Buss, from his role as Exec. Vice President of Basketball Operations.

Magic Johnson is the new President of Basketball Operations.

YOU HEAR THAT? MAGIC JOHNSON IS CALLING THE SHOTS!!!!

Jeanie -- the Governor of the Lakers -- explains, "Today I took a series of actions I believe will return the Lakers to the heights Dr. Jerry Buss demanded and our fans rightly expect."

"Effective immediately, Earvin Johnson will be in charge of all basketball operations and will report directly to me. Our search for a new General Manager to work with Earvin and Coach Luke Walton is well underway and we hope to announce a new General Manager in short order."

Good news for Kobe ... he'll NEVER be shunned from Staples Center like Charles Oakley was from Madison Square Garden ... that's according to Ice Cube who says a Mamba ban is simply not possible.

Magic Johnson is putting his money where his mouth is ... telling TMZ Sports he will NO LONGER stay at Trump Hotels.

The NBA legend has been a regular at Trump Hotels for years -- especially in New York. But, when we saw him out earlier Monday, he was at ANOTHER high-end NYC spot.

When we asked if he was done with Trump Hotels -- he confirmed he's making the switch.

Johnson not only voted for Hillary Clinton but has come out STRONG against Trump ever since he was elected. Just last month, he said Trump needs to stop "acting like a dictator."

Oh, and good news for Charles Oakley -- Magic says he's definitely welcome at the Lakers games, despite the fact he's been banned from MSG.

Nick Young has been ordered to pay his ex-manager more than $700,000 after doing the exact WRONG THING one should do when being sued.

Long story short ... the NBA star was sued by Andre Chevalier who claims Nick failed to pay him his 2% commission for his role in securing his fat NBA salary and lucrative endorsement deals.

Nick was served with the papers but never responded, and failed to appear in court to fight the case.

So the judge -- sick of waiting around -- entered a default judgment in favor of Andre in the amount of $722,558.

Good for that guy, right?

Of course, Nick can still try to fight the case -- but it's definitely an uphill battle.

Some good news for Derek Fisher ... he doesn't have to be ringless for long.

TMZ Sports broke the story ... Fisher's L.A. home was burglarized on Monday and the ex-NBA star claimed $300k in jewelry was stolen including his 5 NBA Championship rings he won with the Lakers.

We spoke with a Lakers rep who tells us it IS possible for Fisher to get replacement rings and the team would be happy to work with the companies that made the bling to get new ones for Derek.

It doesn't mean the Lakers would pay for the new jewelry ... but they would essentially authorize the companies to manufacture brand new keepsakes for Fish.

Hopefully he's got good homeowners insurance.

Smush Parker tells TMZ Sports he's PUMPED Lamar Odom is down to join his team for Ice Cube's 3-on-3 league ... and while he hopes Kobe Bryant comes around, he's not about to beg.

The ex-Lakers player joined the guys on the "TMZ Sports" TV show (airs Wednesday night on FS1) and told us he's still VERY serious about joining the league. His agent's even been in contact with league officials.

But, with Kobe still mum on the possible reunion with his former Lakers teammates -- Smush says he's already thinking about some of the players who could fill the 3rd spot.

D'Angelo Russell needs to stop acting like a kid and start acting like a MAN if he ever wants to reach his superstar potential ... so says his former Lakers coach, Byron Scott.

Scott appeared on "L.A. Today" on AM570 when Fred Roggin asked if he believes the 20-year-old will ever become the breakout NBA stud he was touted to be coming out of college.

"The jury is still out," Scott said ... "but he's got to grow up."

Scott says Russell has TONS of potential but strongly implied that he doesn't put in the extra work in gym that people like Kobe, LeBron and D-Wade are known for doing.

Translation -- you can't get by with raw talent at the NBA level.

Lamar Odom says he's ON BOARD to team up with Smush Parker and Kobe Bryant for Ice Cube's 3-on-3 basketball league ... telling TMZ Sports, "I'm with it!"

Of course, this whole thing started with Smush telling us he thinks he and Kobe could have been the greatest back court in Lakers history if they would have gotten along better during their playing days.

Now, Smush wants to team up with Kobe and Lamar again -- to dominate the Big3 league ... which already includes ex-NBA stars like Allen Iverson, Kenyon Martin, Rashard Lewis and more.

Smush is in. Lamar is in.

Just waiting on you, Kobe ... not like you have a job right now, right?

Ex-Laker Smush Parker wants to squash the beef with Kobe Bryant and team up to compete in Ice Cube's Big3 League!!

In case you didn't know ... Kobe made it clear during his playing days that he wasn't a fan of Smush ... and even told him not to speak to him until he "had more accolades."

TMZ Sports spoke to Smush about wanting to reunite with Mamba and old teammate Lamar Odom ... and he says their triangle offense would dominate against guys like Allen Iverson, Chauncey Billups and Mike Bibby.

When we asked if there would be any hard feelings with Kobe ... Smush says it's all water under the bridge.

Startin' to look like things are serious between Lakers guard Jordan Clarkson and model Hailey Baldwin -- the two hit up one of the hottest restaurants in L.A. together Thursday night .. in a Lambo.

The point is ... everyone in town knows Catch is a place you go to be seen -- especially when you pull up in a whip that costs more than most homes.

So, this could have been the official, "We're Going Public" night.

Clarkson and Baldwin have been spending a lot of time together lately -- and were spotted holding hands on New Year's Eve.

Nick Young's a single man again ... 'cause the Lakers star and his pop singer girlfriend, Paloma Ford, have officially broken up ... TMZ Sports has learned.

Sources close to the two tell us there was no cheating or secret baby mamas (like the Iggy Azalea situation) ... this time, the two just grew apart.

The two started dating back in September and things heated up quick. But after a few months, both sides agreed that Nick's family should take priority ... especially with his new kid.

We're told Nick and Paloma are still cool and are gonna do the whole "friends" thing. He even has a cameo in her upcoming music video ... and we're told she plans on keeping him in it.