NBA

Kenny Smith isn't trying to be a hater ... but he says there's one really huge flaw with LaVar Ball's plan to launch a pre-NBA hoops league for guys who don't want to play in college.

LaVar's plan is to sign 80 players for his Junior Basketball League -- a paid league for players who graduated high school and are looking for an alternative to the NCAA. The league will pay players between $3,000 and $10,000 a month.

But Kenny says he doesn't think LaVar will be able to find 80 kids good enough to sustain the league -- pointing out the NBA already has the "G-League" for players facing that exact dilemma.

Blake Griffin was spotted perusing one of girlfriend Kendall Jenner's favorite jewelry stores in L.A., leaving one GIGANTIC question ... what's in the box??

The Clippers star was at XIV Karats in Beverly Hills Friday, which happens to be a store Kendall frequents. It's unclear exactly what Blake was checking out -- but he was seen a short time later leaving the shopping center with a bag.

Considering Griffin recently signed on for nearly $200 million to stay in Los Angeles, something tells us whatever he decides to get Kendall will be reallll nice.

Lot of toilet information to unpack in this post ...

First, Charlie Villanueva finally got his replacement toilet (courtesy of Poo-Pourri) after his crapper was stolen from his Dallas home earlier this week.

Charlie says ever since he went public about the burglary ... he's learned millions of people around the world don't have toilets and he now realizes there's a global sanitation crisis. He seems moved by the information and wants to help.

Also, we're told cops are getting closer to finding out who stole Charlie's toilet -- Dallas PD sent an investigator to the home and we're told there are real leads.

Turns out Santa Claus is real, and he's black, and he plays for the Washington Wizards -- because John Wall just got into the holiday spirit by buying Rolex watches for ALL of his teammates.

We talked with some peeps over at Govberg Jewelers in Philadelphia who tell us Wall came to them some time ago with the idea to cop Rolex President Day-Date watches for every member of the Wiz squad.

BTW -- these watches retail around $40k -- and the Wizards have 16 guys on the roster, so that's around $640k worth of yuletide.

Before you start to feel bad about the sweater you got your sibling, Wall signed a $207 million extension with the Wiz back in June, so y'all definitely aren't the same.

Get this ... Lakers player Kentavious Caldwell-Pope is serving a 25-day jail sentence -- AND playing in the NBA at the same time.

No, this is not a joke.

24-year-old KCP was sentenced to 25 days after pleading guilty to violating his probation stemming from a DUI arrest in Michigan back in March.

The NBA player was initially sentenced to 12-months probation -- and was required to submit to drug and alcohol testing. Problem is ... he didn't comply, so the judge ordered him to be locked up.

But here's the catch ... the judge allowed KCP to do a "work-release" sentence -- where he's locked up at a facility for most of the day ... but he's allowed to leave to do his job.

Lonzo Ball ain't the only Lakers rookie looking to make a dent in the sports apparel game ... his teammate, Kyle Kuzma, is also hawking his own line of shirts -- and they're selling like crazy.

Kuzma teed up some "Kuzmania" shirts on his website over the weekend -- and sold all 1,000 of 'em super quick. Now, he says he's got another batch on the way.

And get this ... they actually have a reasonable price tag at $27 a pop ... roughly half the price of a Big Baller Brand shirt.

And with Kuzma coming off a 38-point performance against the Rockets, his stock is rising in a big way.

Think LaVar's jealous??

Of course, Kuz and Lonzo are pretty tight -- Kuz even roasted Zo for his "$600" BBB hat -- but you gotta wonder if this is a little bit of a swag rivalry.

Tristan Thompson's Kardashian spawn ain't just gonna make him more famous ... it could damn well make him a better basketball player -- so says NBA vet Jim Jackson.

We got J-Jax at Cafe Gratitude in L.A. ... and he told us why knockin' up Khloe might translate to a fiercer Tristan on the hardwood.

"Having a child always settles you down a little bit," Jackson told TMZ Sports. "Maybe a kid settles him down and gives him more focus."

Seems like Jim isn't buying into the Kardashian curse -- basically saying TT should be good as long as he keeps handling business for the Cavs.

John Salley says Magic Johnson called him the day after the NBA legend's 1991 earth-shattering HIV announcement ... to ask if Isiah Thomas had been privately dissing him for contracting the disease.

Johnson and Thomas ended their decades-old feud this week with a teary-eyed reconciliation -- part of a sit-down interview between the two men.

Salley played with Zeke on the Bad Boy Pistons team of the 80's, and when we reached out to him to ask him about the hatchet burying, he gave us some insight into why things were so bad in the first place.

"I know how tough it was. The morning after Magic announced I was on the phone with him, and he asked me, 'Did Isiah say such and such?'"

The fact Johnson was so concerned with Thomas' reaction to his illness shows how fractured their relationship was -- and why it took nearly 30 years to repair things.

Salley went on to say he's glad Magic and Isiah have patched things up -- and the fact that Johnson apologized for the way he treated Zeke really makes a difference.

"I'm the biggest Magic Johnson fan ever ... and now even more."

LaVar Ball says his new amateur hoops league is gonna crush the competition ... and he's got a loud, pointed message for anyone doubting his ability to run the show.

"The (Junior Basketball Association) is a heck of a league! Gonna be one of the most exciting ever!"

"And for all you haters out there -- keep doin' what you been doin' -- NOTHING!" LaVar said in a video posted to social media.

The Big Baller Brand honcho says the JBA – a league recruiting top amateur players like his son, LaMelo -- is ahead of the curve ... and finally paying young players "what they're worth" ($3k-$10k per month, reportedly).

LaVar also seems to take a shot at FS1's Jason Whitlock ... which is kinda confusing since Whitlock basically went to bat for Ball on Wednesday.

If you found out someone you loved was doing drugs -- and you knew you could stop it -- would you grab a hammer and try to rescue that person???

That's the story behind the arrest of Tim Donaghy -- the ex-NBA ref who went to prison for betting on NBA games that he officiated.

Donaghy was arrested in Florida on Tuesday for allegedly threatening a man with a hammer ... but he told police the only reason he was even in that situation was to save his daughter.

According to the police report, Tim believed his daughter was doing drugs with a friend at a nearby home -- so he grabbed a hammer and went to get her.

While Tim was arguing with his daughter outside the home, he was confronted by another man -- the father of his daughter's friend.

The man claims Tim brandished the hammer and threatened to use it, if he came any closer.

Police were called and Tim was arrested for aggravated assault.

Donaghy's attorney tells TMZ Sports his client did NOT assault anyone -- and didn't threaten anyone -- he only had the hammer for protection. Tim insists he was just trying to be a good dad.

More trouble for Chris Bosh's mother ... Frieda Bosh has been arrested for allegedly using a disabled man in "drug distribution activities."

We broke the story ... the Texas home where Frieda lives was raided by law enforcement officials earlier this month because cops believes a drug trafficking operation was being run out of the home.

Now, officials say Frieda and another man living at the home, Johnathan Brown, were "exploiting a disabled person" ... by forcing the man to use his disibility check to pay their rent.

As we previously reported, the home is owned by Chris Bosh -- and Frieda says he's trying to evict her. They haven't spoken in years.

Officials say Brown was running the drug ring -- and Frieda "allowed this to occur as a means of obtaining free narcotics and marijuana from Brown, while also allowing narcotics and marijuana to be distributed from the offense location."

For her part, Frieda has denied wrongdoing -- and previously pointed the finger at a short-term tenant who had moved out of the home.

Enes Kanter is facing a 4-YEAR, 8-month prison sentence back in his home country, according to Turkish media reports ... and it's all over his social media war on Turkey's president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Turkey's government-run news agency says the chief public prosecutor's office in Istanbul has indicted the Knicks star for his insulting tweets about Erdogan -- a man Kanter has previously referred to as the "Hitler of our century."

Back in May, Enes was detained at a Romanian airport because his Turkish passport was canceled. Kanter was ultimately allowed to return to the U.S. ... but he became a wanted man in Turkey after Erdogan labeled him a terrorist.

Enes said he would've been dead within days if he was shipped back to Turkey and jailed.

He's now hoping to become an American citizen -- and considers himself "country-less."

Scottie Pippen is amending his stance on LeBron James ... telling TMZ Sports, "LeBron ain't better than me until he gets 6 titles."

Woooooo!!!!!!

Remember, it was just last week Scottie sent Stephen A. Smith's blood pressure through the roof when he told the ESPN star LeBron is "probably ahead of [Michael Jordan]" when you compare career numbers."

So, we had to follow up when we saw Pippen leaving Madeo with his wife Larsa ... and Scottie laid down the gauntlet!

For the record, Scottie and MJ each have 6 rings. LeBron has 3.

WHO STEALS A TOILET?!

Whoever broke into Charlie Villanueva's house, that's who ... this according to the NBA player himself.

Villanueva -- who made more than $50 million in his career -- says he came home to his Dallas pad and realized someone had been inside and stole a bunch of his stuff.

But the worst offense ... "They stole my toilet ... I'm not making this sh*t up!"

Villanueva even provided photo evidence of the jacked crapper.

"I’m still tripping, who steals a toilet? Like why a toilet."

A few hours later, Charlie added, "I’m still in shock of the things they stole ... but the one that stand out the most is a toilet...... Bro a toilet, can’t get my mind off that. A toilet..... Wow."

Must have been a nice toilet.

Kobe Bryant just got the first endorsement for the political career we're not sure he even wants yet ... U.S. Congressman Peter King says Kobe's got everything it takes to be an all-star politician.

Magic Johnson seemed to hint that Kobe's post-NBA calling was politics during a speech at the Mamba's jersey retirement ceremony, when he said Bryant had the ability to bring all people together.

We saw King -- who represents New York's 2nd district -- in D.C. and asked for an expert's opinion on the honorable Kobe Bryant from California, and here's the thing ... King seemed down with it.

BTW -- King uses all kinds of weird hoops analogies to give Kobe props, but the main takeaway is, he's on board.

From Black Mamba to black booty ...

After the Kobe Bryant jersey retirement event in L.A., some of the biggest stars in town -- from Allen Iverson to Baron Davis -- hit up the Ace of Diamonds strip club ... and turned all the way up!!!!!

FYI, A.O.D. is a Monday night ONLY strip club -- featuring some of the most famous booty shakers from around the country ... and there's always a ton of huge stars on the guestlist.

This time, a bunch of stars flocked from Staples ... including Nipsey Hussle, Dave East and Zoey Dallaz for the Dec. 18 party hosted by Miss Diddy and the Brand Group.