NBA

Mark Cuban says he's already begun firing and suspending Dallas Mavericks front office employees over a Sports Illustrated article that paints the company as a nightmare place for female employees.

The article came out late Tuesday and contains quotes from several current and former female employees who say they experienced sexual harassment and "predatory sexual behavior" while working with the Mavs.

Among the allegations in the article ... former Mavericks president and CEO Terdema Ussery allegedly told one female employee, "You're going to get gang-banged, aren't you?"

When the woman told Ussery she was actually going to the movies with friends he replied, "No, you're definitely getting gang-banged." Terdema has denied the allegations.

Another claim from the article ... a former Mavs website writer committed multiple acts of domestic assault, including against a female employee he was dating.

Both employees -- Ussery and the writer are no longer with the team.

Cuban has essentially said he didn't know about the alleged incidents -- claiming he would speak with his head of human resources and was assured he didn't have a problem in the Mavs organization.

When he learned of the incidents via the Sports Illustrated reporters, Cuban says he immediately took action -- hiring an independent law firm to investigate and a 3rd party company to handle harassment complaints.

Cuban says he's also fired his head of H.R.

"I want to deal with this issue," Cuban told SI ... adding, "There's a problem in the Mavericks organization and we've got to fix it."

Steph Curry's All-Star team lost to LeBron's Sunday, meaning his charity of choice received less than half the donation as Bron's ... until now.

Brotherhood Crusade was picked by Curry as the community outreach program to rep for the All-Star Game, which ended up getting $150k since Team Steph lost (LeBron's charity got $350k).

Charisse Bremond, president and CEO of the organization, tells TMZ ... Warriors exec Erika Glazer felt bad it didn't get the winning money, so she pledged to match the donation and give an extra $150k from her own pocket. We're told the check will be there by week's end.

Bremond says Glazer's donation and the Team Steph donation -- $300k total -- will go toward operating costs, bolstering a variety of programs for its kids, providing mental health services and paying its high-quality staff.

Brotherhood Crusade helps around 3,000 kids a year in South L.A. and was the unanimous choice by the stars on Team Steph to play for. Several kids from the program attended the All-Star festivities last weekend and got to meet the players.

The chick who missed her shot at Steven Adams on Twitter 3 YEARS AGO says she's pumped the NBA star finally got back to her ... and she's still VERY down to go on a date!!

Social media has been blowing up after Adams went DEEP into his Twitter history to respond to a 2015 tweet from Lauren Myers -- who asked him to be her date to her law school prom.

On Monday, February 19, 2018 ... Adams wrote back, "Absolutely."

Better late than never right?! Well, that's how Myers feels.

In fact, the 28-year-old lawyer (she's since graduated law school and passed the bar) tells TMZ Sports she's down for a basketball game, dinner, bowling ... "anything would be fun!"

Myers says she initially hit Adams up because he was a young, unknown player at the time and she thought there was a good chance she'd get a response. She never imagined hearing back now!

Charlotte Hornets rookie Malik Monk -- the 11th overall pick in the draft -- was involved in a car accident early Sunday morning ... and was cited by cops for careless driving.

According to police documents obtained by TMZ Sports, Monk was driving near the University of Arkansas around 5:46 AM when his red 2002 Lexus ran off the road and crashed into a gate.

University police responded and cited the 20-year-old for careless driving and no proof of insurance.

The car was pretty jacked up and was towed to a nearby impound lot. Monk was allowed to retrieve his personal items which included money, basketballs, shoes and jerseys.

Monk told police, "I was driving, looked down for a second then I just hit a bump. Happened fast."

No word if he was injured in the wreck. The Hornets don't play until Thursday.

Talk about a power dinner ...

Dwyane Wade and Gabrielle Union met up with Dave Chappelle and Kevin Hart at one of the fanciest restaurants in Beverly Hills ... and TMZ Sports has the video!

Of course, they were all in town for the NBA All-Star Game -- but when we asked why they all met for dinner, D-Wade joked, "Black History Month!"

Clearly, they're all good friends -- and joked around together after chowing down at Mastro's Steakhouse.

At one point, Kevin told Dwyane that he didn't have his cell phone number anymore -- and Wade joked back, "I got traded and I changed my number!"

They weren't the only superstars in the building last night -- Eddie Murphy, Chris Rock and Usher were also inside!

Spurs baller Dejounte Murray was the real winner of All-Star weekend -- ditching his NBA bros for his INSANELY HOT IG model GF ... and bae-cationing in Maui.

Yeah ... good call.

For those unacquainted, that's 21-year-old Jilly Anais -- the apple of Dejounte's eye for the past year and change.

Murray and Anais were all over each other at the Four Seasons' Wailea beach -- makin' out and ass cuppin,' splashin' around in the water ... basically doing the kinda stuff you'd expect from a man with the baddest chick on the island.

Seems like things are getting serious, too. Jilly captioned one of the pics, "Falling head over heels for you is easy" (shout-out to Chris Brown).

Lock it down, young man. Lock it down.

Dikembe Mutombo says LeBron James shouldn't "shut up and dribble" -- he should continue to take a stand to defeat social injustice ... and he's not the only one, we all should.

Mutombo is reacting to the recent comments by FOX News host Laura Ingraham -- who said she doesn't care to get political advice from "someone who gets paid $100 million a year to bounce a ball."

The comments sparked a nationwide debate on whether athletes should use their platforms to speak on these issues -- and Mutombo says the answer is a resounding YES.

"I think everyone in the U.S. has rights to express themselves. When there's a problem affecting one part of the society, it becomes the responsibility of everybody."

We then asked if LeBron should continue to weigh in on polical topics -- and Dikembe told us it should be a team effort.

Jamie Foxx made a super timely joke about Black History Month and white chicks ... which we're sure Katie Holmes is gonna love.

Jamie threw a super baller NBA All-Star basketball tournament "Chacha The Wave" Saturday at his house in Thousand Oaks, CA -- and stopped to talk to a photog about BHM and "Black Panther." That's when he declared, "No white girls 'til March 1st."

Great line from the comedian, especially considering what had happened the day before ... when he walked out of a live ESPN interview because they brought up Katie.

Maybe he was just respecting the white girls' ban.

JK. We all know he and Katie are waist deep into their relationship -- have been for years -- so, we're guessing, he's only making the joke because they're that tight.

Odell Beckham Jr. came out FIRING on his NBA bros from courtside at the All-Star game -- from James Harden to Russell Westbrook to Victor Oladipo -- and it was pretty damn hilarious.

To Dipo: "Little Foot! I seen you on 'Land Before Time' before!"

To Russ: "You like a human turtle man -- Donatello."

To Harden: "Beard man -- yeah, you ... is that thing attached to you or is it real?

To Team Steph (when they threw away the game): "YEEEEESSSSS!!!"

Odell also might've poked fun at Kyrie Irving's infamous flat-earth theory ... enlisting the help of Dave Chappelle to joke about the moon not being real.

But his best burn might've been on "Black Panther" star Chadwick Boseman (yeah, celebs weren't safe either).

Fergie has finally broken her silence on last night's botched NBA All-Star Game's National Anthem ... saying she was trying to take a risk, and it clearly didn't pay off.

The singer tells us, "I've always been honored and proud to perform the national anthem and last night I wanted to try something special for the NBA. I'm a risk taker artistically, but clearly this rendition didn't strike the intended tone. I love this country and honestly tried my best."

Fergie took a lot of heat after her slowed-down/jazzy take on "The Star-Spangled Banner" Sunday night ... and it appeared she had a lot of celebs and athletes in attendance cracking up, too.

At least one person had her back though ...

Captain LeBron won MVP at the All-Star game ... but his offspring were the ones rockin' garments fit for a King.

LeBron snapped a pic with his 3 kids after downing Team Steph -- and they were all fitted in super expensive gear from Gucci, one of his favorite designer brands.

The lineup ...

13-year-old Bronny: $1,100 Gucci logo sweater

10-year-old Bryce: $1,390 Gucci teddy bear sweater

3-year-old: Zhuri: $410 Gucci princetown slipper-shoes and $365 Gucci tiger hoodie

That's right -- a toddler was wearing more expensive clothes than you yesterday.

FYI, papa James' footwear of choice was his brand new Chapter 2 Kith x Nike LeBron 15 "Long Live the King" joints -- which retail for $285.

Beyonce showed Blue Ivy how it's done in the selfie department during the NBA All-Star Game, but to be honest doesn't look like the kid needs any advice.

Mother and daughter sat courtside Sunday evening at Staples Center along with grandma Tina Knowles, and her hubby, Richard Lawson. Looks like Jay-Z stayed home with the twins.

Even without Jay, there was no shortage of celebs -- like Dave Chappelle, Common, Cardi B, Jack Nicholson and many more ... packed the arena.

As for Blue, who's only 6, it's not her first rodeo. The kid had front row seats to last year's All-Star Game in New Orleans. Stole the show there, too.

Jeremy Lin is going to bat for J.J. Redick after he was caught on video using a Chinese slur ... saying he's 100% convinced J.J. didn't say mean to use the anti-Asian C-word in a hateful way.

Redick dropped the slur in a commercial for NBA China that was released over the weekend -- clearly saying, "I wish all of the NBA ch**k fans of China a very happy Chinese New Year."

The whole thing was puzzling -- leaving many wondering why the hell J.J. would use that word in that context.

But Jeremy -- the NBA's first full Chinese/Taiwanese-American player -- says he spoke at length with J.J. over the phone, and "I truly believe he didn’t say a racial slur and that he has a great deal of respect towards Chinese people."

Lin acknowledges the word should NEVER be used, but says all the "hateful language" J.J.'s getting from fans needs to stop since it was an accident.

Redick released a lengthy apology on social media Sunday night, saying -- "I ask your forgiveness ... I am so sorry for upsetting anyone."

"I was intending to say 'NBA Chinese fans' but it sounded weird in my mind so I changed it mid-sentence to 'NBA fans in China.' It came out the wrong way."

"That is not a word in my vocabulary but I now understand how it sounds on the video."

It ain't ALL hate for Fergie after that bizarre national anthem at the NBA All-Star Game -- with Mariah Carey dishing out some advice on how to deal with the negativity.

A glammed up Mariah was leaving Sweet Chick on Fairfax Sunday evening -- when she gave Fergie one very simple tip.

By the way, Mariah has some experience in this department ... the haters came out in force for her New Year's Eve performance a while back -- but it didn't seem to faze her.

Aside from Mariah, Takeoff from Migos and NBA star Karl-Anthony Towns also had Fergie's back.

Not everyone has been so supportive ... "Saturday Night Live" star Leslie Jones hated it -- and judging by Draymond Green's face, he wasn't a fan either.

Still haven't heard from Fergie yet -- but we'd LOVE to hear her thoughts on it.

Stay tuned ...

ESPN star Jemele Hill says the way Jamie Foxx shut down a live "SportsCenter" interview over a Katie Holmes question was bizarre ... since EVERYBODY knows they're dating!

Hill's good friend and former "The Six" co-host Michael Smith was the one asking the Katie Holmes question Friday when Foxx stopped the interview and walked off.

Hill says she and Smith both respect Foxx a lot -- but in this particular instance, "I thought he unnecessarily made Mike look bad."

"I thought it was kind of bizarre why he acted that way ... like I thought [Jamie's relationship with Katie] was pretty public and that everybody knew, but apparently everybody doesn't know."

Hill has a point -- Jamie and Holmes were sitting together last month at Clive Davis' annual pre-Grammy party -- a VERY high profile event. So, it's not like people don't know.

Fergie sang the National Anthem to kick off the 2018 NBA All-Star game, and most everyone seemed to hate it ... including Hollywood.

Tons of stars blasted Fergie for her sultry rendition of the Star-Spangled Banner Sunday night ahead of a mega showdown between Stephen Curry and LeBron James' all-star squads. Charles Barkley wanted to dive right in afterward ... but Shaq wouldn't let him.

Leslie Jones had some thoughts, too ... wondering "Why did this happen?" and even suggesting the organizers might as well have had her sing it.

Hell, even a state senator from Oklahoma got in on the hating.

Draymond Green's reaction was probably the best, though. It was live and raw, and there was no hiding how he really felt about it ... LOLOLOL. Yeah, that about sums it up.