NBA

Ice Cube is offering an olive branch to Lamar Odom ... sorta ... telling the guy he can come back and try out for the BIG3 again next year -- if he can get his ass in shape. 

Remember, Cube and the BIG3 gave Odom his walking papers last week -- essentially saying he wasn't physically ready to compete with the rest of the players in the 3-on-3 basketball league. 

Odom had shot back and said he KNEW he wasn't in peak physical condition but had been working out in the gym with the hopes of being in game shape by Week 4. 

Now, Cube is sending a message back to Odom ... telling the former NBA superstar the door isn't closed on a BIG3 comeback, but he needs to prove he can hang. 

"Next year, he can come try out," Cube said at LAX ... while offering this piece of advice -- "Get in shape!"

It seems unlikely that Odom -- who's turning 40 in November -- will take Cube up on his offer but the guy has overcome worse odds ... like when he survived that drug overdose!! 

Chandler Parsons is giving TMZ Sports an oral history of his participation in the epic twerk fest with bikini models on the yacht in Ibiza ... and he's insisting there was no hooking up going on.

Suuuuuure.

"It wasn't what it looked like. Just some friends hanging out on vacay," Parsons says.

Riiiiiiiight.

"It wasn't even like that. we really just chillin', hanging out."

Mhm, okay, Chandler. Whatever you say.

The NBAer says he and Blake Griffin are just buddies with the incredibly attractive women ... and they were all just relaxing and enjoying themselves and NOT BANGING, despite both being single and super rich.

Lamar Odom says he's "extremely disappointed" after being cut from the BIG3 basketball league -- saying he first learned about the move on social media ... and not from Ice Cube. 

"As most of you have heard, the @thebig3 decided to deactivate me for the remainder of the 2019 season," 39-year-old Odom said. 

"I respect @icecube & the other league executives, however, I am extremely disappointed with the way that this has been handled."

"Besides the embarrassment, it’s disappointing to read on IG that this decision had been made, especially without sharing it with myself or my manager."

In his statement, Odom acknowledges that he wasn't in prime shape for Game #1 -- but says he was told he'd have time to get stronger ... and was hoping to showcase his talents in Game #4 this weekend in Rhode Island, where he played his college ball. 

"The Rhode Island game that is happening tomorrow was the game I have been looking forward to the most as many people know that this is where it all started for me."

Despite his issues with being cut, Odom thanked Ice Cube and the BIG3, and said he's rooting hard for the league to grow. 

He also praised Cube for being "the only black male owning a sports league in the USA, just let that one sink in for a moment."

Odom concluded, "I hope that we can use this situation as a lesson to grow, heal and become better people. I salute all of you, thank you for the love & energy."

As we previously reported, Odom was cut earlier this week -- and league sources told us it was because he simply wasn't ready to play. 

Ice Cube spoke after the move and said he still loves Odom but the league needs players who are gonna play every week. 

Here's a picture that could raise President Trump's blood pressure -- two of his biggest critics partying TOGETHER in Los Angeles!

Fresh off her World Cup celebration tour, Megan Rapinoe hit up the UNINTERRUPTED party at The Hollywood Athletic Club ... where she grabbed a bottle of champagne and kicked it with LeBron James!!

Of course, both Megan and LeBron have been targeted on Twitter by President Trump -- back in August, Trump went after James and called him dumb. Earlier this month, he told Rapinoe to stop publicly criticizing him and focus on winning. 

Well, she won ... and dug in her heels about not going to The White House. Instead, she talked about wanting to meet up with like-minded people who can help unite the country. 

It's been 2 years since Sasha Vujacic has suited up for an NBA team ... but the Lakers champ says he's looking to change that next season, telling TMZ Sports he's gunning to make a comeback!!

The Slovenian guard -- who is currently on the Scaligera Basket Verona Italian ball club -- has been playing overseas since he left the Knicks in 2017 ... but he says he wants to make another run at the Larry O'Brien trophy.

"We'll see, you never know. I'd love to be home," Vujacic says. "I just want to win another championship ... so if it's with the Lakers, God bless. If that's with the Clippers, we'll see."

Of course, Vujacic won 2 titles with the Lakers and spent one season with the Clippers ... so he's looking to suit up for one of his old teams, but wouldn't say which L.A. team is most title-ready.

You're looking at one of the most beautiful human beings on Earth ... and his girlfriend, Kate Bock.

Juuuust kidding. They're both ridiculously good looking.

NBA superstar Kevin Love and his equally gorgeous bikini model boo are vacationing in Bock's native Canada this week ... and the Cavs champ put his shredded body on display while checking out a hot spring at Pitt Lake.

Love and Bock -- an SI swimsuit and Victoria's Secret model -- have been dating for years ... and they're always posting beautiful pics from their travels together (we're not complaining at all).

The couple can easily make the case for being the most beautiful duo out right now ... AND they have an adorable pup, Vestry ... so they're truly winning on all levels.

For the first time in his career, Floyd Mayweather got PUT ON HIS BACK during a major sports event -- and the whole thing was caught on camera!!

The 42-year-old superstar was ballin' out at the $50k Charity Challenge celeb hoops game at UCLA on Monday night where Floyd was trying to play some defense on streetball legend Bone Collector. 

... but things didn't go Floyd's way -- because BC crossed Floyd over so hard, the boxer lost his footing and went tumbling to the ground. 

The crowd went crazy as Bone hit his shot -- and all Floyd could do was smile as he picked himself up. 

When asked why he would even try to cover Bone Collector, Floyd told fans and teammates he simply wanted the challenge ... gotta respect that. 

The event was all for a good cause -- raising money for Teen Cancer America. Huge stars like Rob Gronkowski, Snoop Dogg, Kyle Kuzma, Michael Blackson, Terrell Owens, Pacman Jones and Brian Quick were also in attendance. 

D'Angelo Russell went joyriding in a luxury whip before signing his massive, $117 million deal with the Warriors ... taking a crazy expensive Ferrari out for brunch ... and TMZ Sports has the vid!!

Just hours before inking his reported 4-year deal with the Dubs on Sunday, DLo hit up Toast Bakery in L.A. with his folks ... and the dude knew how to make an exit, hopping in the passenger seat of the Rari and riding off down the street.

We fired off a bunch of questions -- if he had a message for the Brooklyn Nets after dealing him to the Dubs, if he's the newest Splash Brother, if the Warriors were still the team to beat in the NBA ... but the All-Star guard let the wheels do the talking.

No word on the exact year and type of this particular Ferrari ... but given the price tag of similar models, it's gotta be worth a quarter million dollars AT LEAST.

NBA superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo is deadly serious about defending his nickname -- and now he's suing an artist for selling "Greek Freak" shirts without his permission. 

The Milwaukee Bucks stud is going scorched earth on Pennsylvania-based artist Jinder Bhogal -- who sells NBA player-inspired clothing on his website. 

In fact, Bhogal featured various items featuring Giannis' face morphed with Bucks antlers in a design titled, "Greek Freak."

At one point, Bhogal offered his clients 10% off anything in the "Greek Freak" collection. 

Problem is ... Giannis says he owns the trademark to use "Greek Freak" for commercial purposes and claims Jinder never asked for permission. 

In court docs filed Monday, Giannis says he sent Jinder a cease and desist letter but the guy never responded. So, suing the dude was his next best move. 

Giannis claims he's entitled to up to $2 MILLION for the alleged trademark infringement -- but his lawsuit seems more about protecting his image than making a Buck (get it?!). 

We've reached out to Jinder for comment -- so far, no word back. 

Kyle Kuzma had one helluva 4th of July -- chillin' on a yacht with Kendall Jenner!

The two were spotted on a pretty awesome boat off the coast of Malibu on Thursday along with some friends. At one point, they decided to take some goofy pics together. Good times!

When they got back to shore, Kuzma was spotted at a house party with Kendall. 

The whole thing begs the question ... are they dating? 

Back in February, 23-year-old Kuzma was linked to Katya Elise Henry ... a model with nearly 6 million followers on IG. Funny enough, the two were also hanging on a boat together earlier this year!

Kendall has since left the country -- she's currently hanging out in thong bikinis with her model friends in Greece. Again, good times!

Kuzma has had a crazy off-season -- he was essentially the only one of the young Lakers players who wasn't traded away in the Anthony Davis deal. 

DeSean Jackson says LeBron James is locked in and laser-focused on bringing the Lakers back to greatness ... and he knows it firsthand because he spoke with him over the weekend. 

The NFL star hit up TAO in Hollywood for Kevin Hart's 40th birthday party -- which was packed with huge stars including LeBron. 

D-Jax says the two spoke about the upcoming NBA season -- and Bron told him the 2019-20 season is gonna be a bloodbath! 

"I just holla'd at my boy, LeBron," Jackson said ... "He said 'It's on!' So, he's back to them Cleveland and them Miami days. So, ya'll better be careful. Y'all better watch out."

Of course, Bron has a pretty solid running mate this season -- with Anthony Davis joining the Lake Show. 

DeSean -- who's from L.A. -- says he knows there's a TON of hype surrounding Kawhi Leonard, Paul George and the Clippers ... but he's warning everyone not to sleep on the Purple and Gold. 

"Slow your roll on that Clippers sh*t. It's a little early, man. Chill out. We gotta see what they doing."

"It's gonna be a nice little rivalry for the city, though. Los Angeles, we got something going."

James Harden for the WIN!!!

The NBA superstar just emerged victorious in a 3-year legal battle with a photog who claims Harden broke his finger in a late-night attack back in 2016 ... in a civil case that went all the way to trial. 

Harden was sued by David Flores -- a photog who claims he was trying to get a street interview with James outside of a Hollywood lounge around 2 AM on May 13, 2016, when Harden "angrily smacked" his hand, breaking his finger in the process.

Flores initially claimed to have video of the encounter -- but allegedly admitted to manipulating the clip ... and said he no longer had the original version.

Flores sued for negligence, assault and battery ... and was looking for serious cash. Harden had denied wrongdoing from the start. 

A judge had ordered the two sides to a settlement conference to see if they could work out a deal -- but the talks apparently went nowhere and the case went before a jury. 

The good news for Harden ... the jury found that he did not intend to cause any harm to Flores and did not act negligently. 

Translation -- full win for Harden ... and Flores gets ZERO.

Draymond Green ain't worried about all that offseason drama with the Golden State Warriors -- he's chillin' out off the coast of Italy with his fiancee ... in a CRAZY huge yacht!!!

The 29-year-old NBA star is sailing in Sardinia, Italy with Hazel Renee -- whom he proposed to with a $300,000 ring back in January! 

Now that the offseason is in full swing, Draymond and Hazel are finally getting some R&R on a yacht called Ruya ... a 135-foot ship with 5 cabins, living room, hot tub and an on-board gym!

The cost to rent Ruya is about $200,000 per week -- but Draymond can clearly afford it ... he's about to enter the final year of his 5-year, $82-MILLION contract!

Green is expected to sign a MASSIVE deal when he becomes a free agent after next season -- so money ain't a thing for this guy. 

The NY Knicks did NOT take an L in free agency ... so says new signee Bobby Portis, who tells TMZ Sports his new squad now has enough firepower to compete with the Nets!!!

Of course, a lot of NBA pundits disagree ... slammin' James Dolan and the Knicks' front office for failing to sign guys like Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving earlier this month.

But, Portis -- who just inked a 2-year, $31 MILLION deal with the Knicks -- fired back at his team's haters, telling us NY's free agency haul is more than enough to make a good squad!!

"I know everybody is going to have something to say about every situation, but I feel like we got a good core and we're going to shock a lot of people."

FYI, after missing out on Durant, Kyrie and all the other big fish in the free agency ... the Knicks ended up with a haul of Portis, Julius Randle and Taj Gibson -- along with a few others.

So, is that team (plus top draft pick RJ Barrett) good enough to take down the crosstown rival Nets -- who DID end up with K.D. and Kyrie??

"Oh, yeah," Portis says ... "For sure. For sure."

Paul George took a victory lap after news broke that he's joining forces with Kawhi Leonard for the Los Angeles Clippers next year ... and landed with an even luckier hand in Vegas. 

The now-former Thunder and future Clippers star was spotted Saturday playing a game of Baccarat in Sin City, where he apparently won a hand ... evident in his enthused fist-pumping. 

PG-13 had every reason to smile here, even beyond the Vegas winnings. Dude has a legit shot at a title next with the Klaw in his home state, and he looks like he couldn't be happier.

In case you missed the big story from Friday night, George reportedly pushed OKC for a trade ... and the Clippers finally got a commitment from him after offering up a ton of picks in return. It was the final domino needed to sign Kawhi -- he had everyone in suspense by being the last big free agent to not sign somewhere, and now he's finally got his costar.

The NBA is about as even as it's been in years -- meaning no more super teams like the Warriors or the Heat -- and the Clips have just as much of a chance to win it all in 2020 as anyone else.

Jimmy Butler did a lot to put the Philadelphia 76ers in contention for a title last year -- and as a parting gift ... the team thanked him by misspelling his name.

Someone in the graphics department screwed up big time in the 'Thank You' tweet sent out Saturday by the team's official page -- spelling Butler as Buter. Weirdly enough, they tagged him correctly by writing, "Thank you @JimmyButler!" 

Hey, at least they got the "Jimmy" right. Props?

The erroneous tweet was up for about 40 minutes before somebody noticed and took it down. Jimmy doesn't appear to have responded to it either.

We'd like to give Philly the benefit of the doubt and assume this is just a classic mistake -- BUT, it could also be seen as a slight ... if you're into that narrative. 

Jimmy, of course, is no longer with the 76ers ... having signed a new contract with the Miami Heat in a 4-team, sign-and-trade deal. He was a free agent, and could've re-upped for another run with the Process, but opted to take his talents to Miami Beach instead.