Los Angeles Lakers

Magic Johnson will keep LaVar Ball in line while Lonzo is tearing it up in L.A. ... so says former Lakers coach Byron Scott who tells TMZ Sports Magic is too tough to fear the Balls.

It's the million dollar question right now ... is Lonzo's basketball artistry worth having to deal with LaVar every day? Scott said yes when we talked to him, and the reason he gave us was 6'9".

"If he's there at the #2 sport you gotta draft him. Earvin 'Magic' Johnson and Jeanie Buss are very strong minded people. I think they can handle Mr. Ball and his big ego."

Here's the thing, Scott ain't exactly a fan of LaVar, who he said is "sticking his foot in his mouth" when it comes to his son's playing career, but still thinks Lonzo's the best option for the Purple & Gold.

... unless the Celtics take him first.

Shaq says the Lakers shouldn't let LaVar Ball scare them off from taking Lonzo Ball with their #2 pic ... 'cause despite the media circus that follows the Big Baller, his kid's game is "fabulous."

The Big Diesel hasn't always been the biggest fan of the Ball clan -- he publicly dissed the price of Lonzo's new shoe ... saying $495 was way too much for kids to pay.

That was then ... because O'Neal had nothing but kind words to say about Zo when we got him out in NYC, telling our guy he's not sure what the Lake Show will do with the pick, but Ball isn't a bad idea.

Magic Johnson tells TMZ Sports he's "very happy" with the L.A. Lakers locking up the #2 pick in the NBA Draft at Tuesday night's draft lottery ... but he's making it clear Lonzo Ball is NOT a lock.

Kobe Bryant is about to have a new apprentice ... Paul George.

The Indiana Pacers star appeared on "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" and said he's gearing up to train with Kobe during the off-season -- "I plan on working out with him and pick his brain a little bit."

Kobe's sessions are legendary -- George says he's already training just so he can survive Mamba's workout.

George doesn't become a free agent until after next season -- but Kimmel put the court press on him to join the Lakers ... even busting out a Magic Johnson clip to help sway the guy.

Kendall Jenner nearly had a seriously awkward moment when she and A$AP Rocky ended up at the same party as her ex, Lakers guard Jordan Clarkson -- except Jordan had the smoothest reaction.

The trio were all at the Peppermint Club in WeHo Saturday night. Remember, Jordan and Kendall were a thing just last fall ... so you could understand him not being too thrilled to see her with her new guy.

But score one for Jordan ... we got him as his car was pulled around, and asked about bumping into Kendall. His reply was basically, "I'm a playa!" And then he piled into his ride with 3 hot chicks!

Meanwhile ... Kendall and A$AP did the sneak out separately thing trying to avoid cameras. Fail.

"Lakers win! Lakers win!!"

Is Magic Johnson making a play for Lonzo Ball? Will Kobe Bryant ever join the Lakers front office? When will the Lake Show actually win a championship again?

All questions we posed for a guy who knows all about this kind of stuff ... Magic Johnson's son, Andre!

AJ was out at Porta Via restaurant in Beverly Hills when asked about the state of his father's basketball team.

John Salley knows exactly what Carmelo Anthony should do amidst all his basketball and woman drama -- head west and play for the Lakers!!

The 4-time NBA champ says Melo's not the type to seek advice about his split with La La, but he's optimistic things will get better for the superstar on and off the court ... and thinks L.A. is the place to start fresh.

They look pretty identical, but Rob Lowe is finally setting the record straight -- telling TMZ Sports he's NOT new Lakers GM Rob Pelinka ... but he knows what he would do if he was!

The resemblance is uncanny and people in L.A. have been talking about it ever since Pelinka got the job ... so when we saw Lowe in L.A. on Monday, we asked him if they were separated at birth.

"How do you know I'm NOT the Lakers new GM?"

Now that Shaq has a statue in front of STAPLES Center ... it's only a matter of time before Kobe Bryant gets his. But there's one BIG question -- what number will Mamba's statue wear?!

Kobe's old teammate, Derek Fisher, has an easy solution ... DOUBLE 'EM UP! One statue for #8 and another for #24.

By the way, a similar issue has been raised when it comes to which jersey the Lakers will retire. Bryant told ESPN, "[Whichever number they choose] it'll be pretty hard for someone else to wear the other one."

Jeanie Buss' high-powered attorney says her courtroom victory against her brothers was a "good old-fashioned ass whooping" ... and says Jeanie vows to "bring some glory back to Los Angeles."

As we previously reported, Jim and Johnny Buss tried to overthrow Jeanie and gain control of the team -- but Jeanie's legal team, headed by Adam Streisand, shut them down real quick.

D'Angelo Russell is the best young player in the NBA ... as in playa, playa, play on playa, 'cause the dude's got a brand new lady love, and she's absolutely surface-of-the-sun hot.

The Lakers star is dating 25-year-old Janay Bankston, an ex-volleyball player at Cal State Stanislaus ... did we mention she's beautiful?

You might remember DLo's former gf Nicki Withers was also a college volleyball player, so dude's definitely got a type.

Everyone's a comedian ... even Kareem Abdul-Jabbar!

The Lakers legend was one of the speakers at Shaq's big Lakers statue unveiling at Staples Center on Friday ... and made a reference to the fact Kobe Bryant was on hand for the event!

"Some people thought the odds of Kobe Bryant showing up today were the same as Shaq sinking a free throw."

The ceremony was great. The statue looks awesome.

Congrats Big Fella.

Here it is ... the long-awaited DUNKING SHAQ statue at Staples Center!!

The 9-foot tall, 1,200 POUND statue has been in the works for months ... it will officially be unveiled on Friday night!

A bunch of Lakers greats -- including Kobe Bryant, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Jerry West -- are expected to attend the event.

The force was not strong with the Lakers Tuesday night ... they got straight-up murdered by the Clippers -- but it all went down in front of a ton of huge stars including 'The Force Awakens' star Daisy Ridley!

The 24-year-old British actress (who played Rey in the flick) sat right on the court -- in a celeb-packed crowd that included Michael Phelps, Gucci Mane and Meghan Trainor.

The Lakers are in a tailspin, they've lost 7 of their last 8 ... and if they're tanking for a draft pick, Ice Cube says that's total B.S.

Cube is a big Lake Show fan -- so we asked about a possible silver lining to another terrible season ... a shot at Lonzo Ball in the upcoming NBA Draft.

The celebrity burglary thiefstravaganza continues ... this time, crooks struck the L.A. home of Lakers star Nick Young (again!) and made off with $500k in cash and jewelry after taking his entire safe!!!

Law enforcement sources confirm ... Young's Valley residence was hit in February when the bad guys entered through an unlocked door and pilfered the NBA star's valuables.

We're told crooks took roughly $30k in cash plus 3 gold chains, a custom ring and a locked safe containing other valuables.

Cops are on the hunt for the bad guys.

It's not the first time Young has been targeted -- thieves raided another home Nick was living in at the time back in 2014 and made off with $100k in stuff ... including Nick's beloved Yeezys.

So many stars have been burglarized in L.A. this year -- including Yasiel Puig, Alanis Morrissette, Derek Fisher and Cesar Millan -- they could start their own support group already.

The only problem with that ... who would keep an eye on their houses?