NBA

Los Angeles Lakers superstar Metta World Peace tells TMZ ... he's not shedding any tears for his ex-coach Mike Brown ... 'cause even though he got fired, dude made out like a bandit.

MWP was leaving his birthday party at MyStudio nightclub in L.A. this weekend ... when we asked about the Lakers decision to part ways with Brown after only 5 games.

"That's a nice check man ... he got $11 million ... great career, still young ... he's gonna have more jobs and more opportunities to coach," World Peace told us.

He added, "I played for him for years in Indiana ... so Mike Brown, he's dope ... shout out to Mike Brown."

We also asked if Kobe Bryant had anything to do with Brown's termination -- but MWP was adamant he did NOT.

Lamar Odom knows what it's like to be unceremoniously dumped by the Los Angeles Lakers ... so who better to ask about the quick-trigger firing of head coach Mike Brown ... but his answers were quite strange.

Odom plays for the rival Los Angeles Clippers now, but was traded out of the blue by the Lakers last year. Our photog spotted LO last night and asked him about Brown's dismissal and whether or not Kobe Bryant and his infamous "death stare" played a role in it.

Odom answered the question with a question and the whole convo was just plain odd.

Nothing softens the sting of being fired from the Los Angeles Lakers organization like a chicken sandwich ... just ask ex-coach Mike Brown ... who hit up a Chick-fil-A right after he got the chop today.

TMZ obtained photos of Brown hanging at a Chick-fil-A restaurant in Costa Mesa, CA around 11:30 AM ... just a few hours after news broke that he was fired from the team over their dismal 1-4 start.

We're told Brown was super-nice to fans ... taking pics and shaking hands ... but he never discussed the firing.

However, it appears Brown WAS in the mood to talk ... 'cause he was in the middle of a phone convo with legendary L.A. sports reporter Jim Hill when he stopped to take the above photo.

Boston Celtics superstar Rajon Rondo crashed the boards at a Boston high school today ... guest teaching a freshman algebra class ... on his day off.

Rondo -- rolled into Ms. Oshodi's class at Burke high school this morning -- where he taught the kids how to solve for X (it's 14 ... we think).

Rajon didn't stop there ... the 26-year-old -- who attended the University of Kentucky -- also visited nearby Harbor Middle School to preach the value of a quality education.

And get this -- we're told Rondo planned the visits by himself ... without the help of any public relations personnel ... just because he wanted to.

Rajon will be back on the court tomorrow to face off with the Washington Wizards -- a team that's currently 0-2 ... and with the power of math, we are able to determine they're horrible.

Thanks math!

Shaquille O'Neal knows ... being rich and buying houses is fun ... so despite living in a GINORMOUS 70,000-square-foot mansion ... he dropped $235k on a second, regular person house 30 miles away.

Shaq -- who is reportedly worth around $250 million -- currently lives in an 11-bedroom, 13-bath PALACE outside Orlando, FL ... which includes a 20,000-square-foot basketball court and garage filled with DOZENS of sports cars!!!

But that just wasn't enough ... 'cause in July the former NBA superstar laid down $235k on a very normal 3,900-square-foot abode ... in a place called Mount Dora, FL.

It's unclear WHY the Shaq-ster bought the spare pad ... Investment? Gift? Kicks and giggles? But we do know the house is pretty nice -- for those of us not sitting on fat bank accounts.

The new pad is rockin' 5 bedrooms, 4 baths ... granite counter tops ... wet bar ... entertainment room ... and cherry cabinets. Which would all be really awesome ... if his other house wasn't WAY MORE awesome.

We reached out to Shaq's people to ask him about the new purchase ... but so far no word back.

"Basketball Wives L.A." star Gloria Govan tells TMZ ... she's convinced VH1 is giving her the chop because her husband Matt Barnes refused to participate on the show this season.

Govan says she has yet to be officially released from the show ... but says the writing is on the wall and knew it was only a matter of time when she didn't let producers film her wedding over the summer.

Govan says she believes producers are waiting to give her walking papers until AFTER the reunion show ... because they want her to show up. Govan says she hasn't decided if she'll go ... but it sounds like she's leaning towards no.

Lil Wayne surfaced in his court side seats for the Miami Heat season opener -- despite his recent health crisis -- but as TMZ reported ... he had to trade in his private jet for a luxury bus to make the return trip.

Weezy was in his usual primo seats to see the NBA champs defeat the Boston Celtics on Tuesday night.

Sources close to Wayne tell us he rode a private luxury tour bus from his mother's home in Louisiana back to Miami ... sometime on Monday.

As we told you ... Wayne is under strict orders from his doctors to stay off airplanes in the wake of two mid-air medical emergencies last week -- in which he suffered 2 seizure-like episodes.

We doubt the NBA action was doctor prescribed -- but sitting court side to see LeBron and D-Wade in action can't hurt.

It took 7 years ... and a team loaded with All-Stars ... but LeBron James finally got his NBA championship ring last night -- and he couldn't wait to show it off.

James and the rest of his Miami Heat teammates received their jewelry right before last night's season opener against the Boston Celtics ... it's pretty nasty.

Here are the stats:
-- Weighs 115 grams
-- 14 karat white and yellow gold
-- 219 DIAMONDS!!

For the record, LeBron's ring size is 13.5.

The Boston Celtics hate her son's guts ... but Ray Allen's mom tells TMZ, she still loves her boy's old teammates like they were her own children -- even though Ray ditched 'em to join the Miami Heat.

It's no secret -- Ray's old teammates Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce are extremely bitter Ray jumped ship to the Heat following last season ... after the Heat whooped the Celtics in the Eastern Conference Finals.

During a news conference last month, Garnett said he had cut Allen out of his life -- "I don't have Ray's number anymore. I'm not trying to communicate." Pierce said, "I was very surprised by Ray's decision. I thought we would finish our careers together."

For his part, Allen has said he hasn't spoken to any of his old teammates since they split.

But now that both teams are set to face off tonight in Miami, Allen's mom Flo Allen-Hopson tells TMZ, she isn't holding the same grudge, claiming, "I love the guys. They’ve been in our home. They’ve been in Ray's home. If they came to my home tomorrow, if they wanted me to cook for them, I would because they are all our sons."

Flo -- who says she's rooting for the Heat now for obvious reasons -- tells us, she plans to hug Garnett and Pierce tonight when she attends the game.

Matt Barnes has been suspended by the NBA for one game (without pay) ... after the L.A. Clippers forward pled "no contest" to interfering with the duties of a police officer.

According to the NBA, Barnes will serve out his suspension tomorrow -- when the Clippers play their season opener against the Memphis Grizzlies.

The punishment stems from an incident back in July -- when Barnes was arrested for driving on a suspended license and resisting arrest.

As we first reported, Barnes eventually pled no contest to misdemeanor interference with the duties of a police officer ... and his suspended license charge was dropped when he proved he had a valid license.

Eva Longoria has a nasty red blotch on the back of her neck -- and she's probably THRILLED about it ... 'cause it used to be a tattoo of her ex-husband's basketball jersey number.

Back in January, Longoria began laser treatments to erase 3 Tony Parker-inspired tats -- the "NINE" tattoo ... the wedding date tattoo on her wrist ... and Tony's initials (which were put on a very private, undisclosed location).

Tattoo removal doesn't happen overnight -- it takes multiple sessions, which have to be spaced out over several months.

File this under awwwkward ... Kris Humphries' recently-divorced mother is getting a brand new condo -- IN THE SAME FANCY BUILDING as her NBA player son!!!!!

Sources close to Kris tell TMZ ... following his parents' divorce, his mom moved out of her house in Minnesota -- and started crashing at Kris' pad in NJ.

But TMZ broke the story ... Kris recently moved to a swanky $8k/ month condo in NYC when the Nets moved to Brooklyn -- and now his mom is following suit.

We're told Kris is footing the bill on the rental (which is NOT on the same floor as his) -- but Mama Humphries DOES have a key to his apt ... and likes to show up unannounced sometimes.

Sources close to Kris tell TMZ ... his mom always wanted to move to the Big Apple and Kris couldn't tell her no -- but he also likes having her around.

The producers of "Basketball Wives" are probably screaming "SAVE IT FOR THE SHOW!!!" ... after it was revealed former NBA and soon-to-be reality star Stephon Marbury had an affair with his personal chef and paid her nearly A MILLION BUCKS to keep a lid on it.

Marbury -- who along with wife Latasha will appear next season on the show -- hooked up with the family's chef, Thurayyah Mitchell, five times during her employment ... this according to court docs obtained by the NY Post.

When Marbury let her go in 2006, she screamed sexual harassment, but Marbury (who felt he did nothing wrong) offered her $900,000 anyway to keep her trap shut. Marbury played for the Knicks at the time -- ironic, since the team was dealing with allegations of sexual misconduct by front office personnel.

According to the Post, Marbury shelled out nearly $600,000 to Mitchel but stopped making payments in 2010. Mitchell took Marbury before an arbitrator for the balance ... and the arbitrator ruled Marbury made Mitchell "believe that 'keeping him happy' was a requirement of keeping her job."

The arbitrator awarded Mitchell $330,000, saying Mitchell could have sued Marbury for more money or sold her story.

Dwight Howard gave his back one final test last night before he gets ready to make his Los Angeles Lakers debut ... by getting his grind on with a few girls in Sin City.

In the video, D12 can be seen dancing on a stage with a very attractive woman ... but then he calls an older woman on stage (still attractive in her own right) and gets down with her too!

Another positive sign for Kobe Bryant's marriage -- the NBA star took his estranged wife Vanessa out on a romantic lunch date today ... and they totally SPLIT A SANDWICH & SOUP COMBO MEAL!!!

The two rolled in to the PDM Bakery and Cafe in Newport Beach, CA this afternoon looking and acting very coupley -- despite the fact their divorce is still pending.

Sources tell us ... Kobe and Vanessa split the Tuscan chicken sandwich (served hot) and tortilla soup combo meal -- and washed it down with a pair of iced teas.

We're told the Bryants hung out at the restaurant for about an hour ... and couldn't have been nicer.

Vanessa filed for divorce back in December ... but it seems like they're all but reconciled these days. Not only did Vanessa support Kobe in London during the Olympics, she also attended the Lakers pre-season game last night.

Former Atlanta Hawks star Joe Johnson wasn't too attached to his GINORMOUS Georgia mansion -- TMZ has learned he listed the place for $4.7 mil after he was traded to the Brooklyn Nets.

Johnson purchased the massive 13,822 square-foot-pad back in 2005 for $3.8 mil -- the same year he signed with the Hawks. Fast forward to 2012 ... Johnson is traded to Brooklyn under a $119-million contract and it's sayonara GA.

The 7-bedroom, 9-bath crib is pretty AMAZING too ... 10-foot-high ceilings ...sleek modern decor ... movie theater ... massive game room ... infinity edge pool and spa. Plus, it sits on almost 2 acres of land.