NBA

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.

The Sacramento Kings made a tremendous mistake getting rid of DeMarcus Cousins and it's gonna take 'em a long time to recover ... so says the team's former owner Gavin Maloof.

Maloof -- who co-owned the Kings with his brothers until 2013 -- was in L.A. with his GF, Katherine, when we asked if he would have pulled the trigger to ship Boogie to New Orleans if he was still in charge.

"No. No way ... No way ... No way."

Maloof said time will tell if the team made the right call -- but points out they "didn't get much in return" for Cousins and predicts, "It's gonna take 'em a long time to rebuild."

There's more ... Maloof has moved on to owning another pro sports team -- the Las Vegas Golden Knights, the new NHL expansion team.

He's pumped about sharing the town with the Raiders but explains why moving an NBA team to Sin City would be a mistake.

Russell Westbrook had a pretty exciting Tuesday -- his wife, Nina, gave birth to their son!!!

The NBA star also revealed his kid's name -- Noah Russell Westbrook.

Interesting choice considering Russell is technically Russell Westbrook III -- and while he chose not to make his son Russell Westbrook IV ... he went with a very similar choice.

It's Russell and Nina's first kid. They were married in 2015 after being college sweethearts at UCLA, where they both played basketball.

A Washington Wizards fan socked a Boston Celtics fan in the face at the TD Garden during Game 7 -- dropping the dude into the seats ... while nearby fans cheered them on.

Unclear what started the fight, but the man in the John Wall jersey reached back and clocked the dude -- while the victim was still clutching his cell phone.

Another Celtics fan tried to jump in and help out his fallen comrade ... but the damage was already done.

We spoke with cops who say no one was arrested at TD Garden on Monday.

Meantime, we got a photo of the aftermath ... it was bloody.

Carmelo Anthony is getting some heavy duty backup in his nasty feud with Phil Jackson ... an ex-Knicks head coach who says he LOVED coaching 'Melo and says he's been "great" for the franchise.

Phil's been criticizing Anthony since he was hired as the Knicks President -- and made it clear he wants to trade Melo out of NYC as soon as possible.

We got former Knicks coach Mike Woodson -- who was fired by Phil back in '14 -- and asked what he thought of the Melo/Jackson feud ... and Mike took a side.

"I love Carmelo Anthony, that's all I'm gonna say," Woodson told us ... adding, "He was great for me."

Seems clear Woodson -- now an assistant with the Clippers -- is riding with his 'Melo, and why not? The two men were 109-79 together and made the playoffs twice, something the Knicks haven't done since.

And when we say "since" ... we mean since Phil Jackson was hired.

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.

LaVar Ball just got dunked on by Dennis Rodman ... who had a very simple, yet aggressive message for the Big Baller Brand honcho when we got him out in L.A.

"YOU SUCK!"

Why does Ball suck? According to Dennis, it's 'cause he won't get outta the way and let his superstar son, Lonzo, just play basketball, like Rodman's done for his athletic progeny.

Of course Ball's heard this before ... some have accused LaVar of being all about himself and not about his kids, which interestingly enough seems to be the one thing the Worm doesn't agree with.

"Good man, good father, great provider, love him ... just let your kids play man."

Hope the Harlem Globetrotters are watching!!!

Shaquille O'Neal channeled his inner Steph Curry during a recent game of H.O.R.S.E. with his family -- drilling a long-distance shot from OVER HIS OWN HOUSE ... and thankfully, there's video evidence.

O'Neal was out with 4 of his kids -- Me'arah, Mimi, Shaqir and Shareef (they're calling themselves the "true and humble family of Big Baller Brand") ... and they all can shoot!!

Especially Big Shaq ... who whiffed the first shot -- but came back strong with the second!

Ex-Louisville star Kevin Ware says breaking his leg at the height of his college career "sucked for me" -- and says he's 100% confident he'd be in the NBA if not for that terrible moment.

24-year-old Ware is currently playing overseas and believes he still has the talent and drive to make it to the league ... but says he knows that fateful moment changed the trajectory of his career.

The moment made international headlines -- when Ware gruesomely snapped his right leg through the skin while Louisville was playing Duke in the Elite 8 ... a game watched by millions.

Ware says he believes everything happens for a reason -- but his dream is to play with the best in world and he's asking for NBA teams to give him a shot.

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!!"

Charles Barkley is taking time to shout-out a woman whose charitable contribution made a great impact on his life ... his high school prom date.

We got Barkley in NYC and asked him who he went to prom with ... and not only did he remember, he reminisced about the woman he says showed "mercy" on a short little nobody named Charles.

The woman's name is Amy Shorter ... and TMZ Sports was actually able to track her down and ask her about the date ... which Barkley says was the only one he had during high school.

"I only have great things to say about Charles, we were just teenagers at the time ... I was just a sweet little sophomore who was thrilled to be asked to the prom by my friend, a big sweet senior."

Seems like there's still a flame there ... we're just sayin'.

Austin Rivers feels VERY strongly that the L.A. Clippers should do everything in their power to keep the core players for another season ... telling TMZ Sports they're just "a piece away" from being champs.

The rumors are swirling that Doc Rivers will break the team up -- possibly trading Blake Griffin, DeAndre Jordan or Chris Paul -- in the hopes of bringing in a fresh lookin' squad.

But Austin says it would be "idiotic" to break up the band -- "We still feel like we can be an NBA championship team."

James Harden wasn't in the mood to mope after his Rockets got beat up by the Spurs Thursday night -- he partied ALL NIGHT LONG while fans in Houston chanted at him, "MVP!"

TMZ Sports obtained footage of Harden at Set in Houston where he turned up in the VIP section while Travis Scott performed.

Kylie Jenner was in the building along with some Houston Texans players.

Harden and the Rockets had a rough night before the club -- losing to the Spurs in a 114-75 route that eliminated them from the playoffs. Harden only scored 10 points.

Paul Pierce rides with James Harden -- saying the guy is still "one of the greatest" and deserves the NBA MVP ... even after the disappointing way the Rockets ended their season.

The Truth was leaving Tao in L.A. Thursday night when he told us he'll ALWAYS support California-raised players like Harden and Russell Westbrook ... and explained why they should share the league's top individual award.

We also asked who he's rooting for in the Celtics vs. Wizards series since he played for both teams.

If the Clippers wanna win next year, they GOTTA trade Blake Griffin ... so says current NBA player (and former Clippers teammate) Jared Dudley.

Dudley isn't just a sharpshooter for the Phoenix Suns, he's a league expert -- so when we got him leaving Warwick in L.A. we asked what Lob City needs to do to avoid getting punked in the playoffs.

His answer? Trade Blake Griffin ... and Dudley explains why it's the perfect move.

By the way, Dudley played with Griffin in '13-'14 -- meaning he probably won't be invited to the team reunion dinner now ... which would never really happen because they didn't win anything.

It was Way Back Wednesday for Zach Randolph -- who rocked a Portland Trail Blazers hat to the club last night ... despite the fact he's still technically on the Memphis Grizzlies.

Randolph becomes an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season -- and there's a buzz he could head to Miami or Denver ... or maybe even strike a new deal with the Grizzlies.

So, is the Trail Blazers hat he rocked to Warwick in Hollywood on Wednesday a clue ... or a throwback?

Remember, he played with Portland from 2001 to 2007 and became a superstar there while playing with guys like Rasheed Wallace, Bonzi Wells and Damon Stoudamire ('memba the Jail Blazers?).

Or maybe he just liked the hat with his outfit.