New York Knicks

Don't know who this kid is ... but ya might wanna keep an eye on him -- 'cause the youngster took Porzingis to the hole TWICE during a 1-on-1 session Wednesday ... and we've got the video!

The whole event was pretty awesome ... the NY Knicks star took the court against a bunch of kids at the Delta "Fly Like a Pro" event at the Chelsea Piers.

Porzingis dominated most of the kids (some kids hit from downtown) ... but this one kid turned some heads by shooting over the 7'3" superstar two different times!

Dennis Rodman has a big supporter ... John Salley -- who says he LIKES the idea of The Worm as an NBA coach and thinks Phil Jackson should give him a shot.

Rodman threw his hat in the ring for Knicks job earlier this week after Derek Fisher got the ax -- and even called in to the "TMZ Sports" show on FS1 to make his pitch to the team.

Salley says his former Detroit Pistons is a defensive genius -- and could definitely help a team ... and should be taken seriously!!

Question is ... will Phil take the chance?

Dennis Rodman says he's dead serious about his pursuit of the NY Knicks coaching job -- and he just called "TMZ Sports" to make his case for the job.

Derek Fisher's out ... and now Dennis Rodman wants in!

Kim Jong-un's favorite NBA Hall of Famer has officially thrown his boa into the ring to be the next head coach of the NY Knicks -- and he's even posted a message directed at Phil Jackson.

"Hey @PhilJackson11 @nyknicks, I have a pretty decent resume on the court and I can coach; and I'm available. Call me. @nba."

Fisher was fired earlier Monday and Kurt Rambis was named interim head coach.

Worm wants a shot ... think Phil will give it to him?

NY Knicks' James Dolan is having a good week ... his team is winning ... and his band just landed a huge gig ... TO OPEN FOR JEWEL!!!

Dolan -- who's worth BILLIONS -- was out in NYC this morning when he broke the big news about his band JD & The Straight Shot.

FYI -- James is the founder and frontman of the blues inspired rock band ... and told us they're going on tour with Jewel in March to promote their new album.

There's more ... we also asked him about the Knicks rising Latvian superstar Kristaps Porzingis -- and he told us the team would be open to play a game in KP's home country next season!

7:18 AM PT -- TMZ Sports spoke with Early's mother who said her son "was in good spirits."

New York Knicks guard Cleanthony Early was shot in the leg during a robbery just after leaving a Queens strip club ... and his assailants made off with a gold necklace ... and the gold caps on his teeth.

According to the NYPD, Early was leaving CityScapes Gentleman's Club early Wednesday morning in an Uber when the car was boxed in by three other vehicles. Cops say a group of men approached Early and robbed him, shooting him once in the knee for good measure.

Police say Early called 911 and was taken to a nearby hospital. He's in stable condition.

Just last week, another New York Knicks player, Derrick Williams, was the target of of thieves ... who allegedly made off with over $600,000 in jewelry.

Ya play well, ya eat well ... that seems to be the motto with the New York Knicks -- 'cause Kristaps Porzingis just got invited to dinner at Carmelo Anthony's house.

Melo's actress wife LaLa -- star of "Unforgettable" -- was out in NYC when she told us Porzingis has been playing so well, he's "earned a spot at our dinner table."

FYI -- Porzingis has been playing out of his mind this season ... racking up 9 double-doubles in 19 games ... as a 20-year-old rookie.

In fact, the Latvian sensation is so impressive, Lala says Melo has even made the effort to learn some of Kristaps' native language. Interesting, since Kristaps once told TMZ Sports he didn't think ANYONE would wanna learn Latvian!

Funny how things change ...

A 19-year-old man says he was CHOKED by Cleveland Cavs star J.R. Smith ... and claims it was all because he made fun of Smith for getting traded out of New York.

The man behind the allegation is Justin Brown -- who claims he and some friends encountered Smith at a NY pizza joint around 4 AM on Nov. 13th.

In a complaint filed with the NYPD, Brown claims Smith refused to take a picture with his group and an altercation ensued.

As Smith walked away, Brown shouted to the NBA star -- "That's why New York kicked you out, yo!"

Brown claims Smith then slammed him against a wall and choked him with his hands.

Brown filed the report 3 days after the incident.

We spoke with cops who say Brown had no visible injuries at the time he filed the report.

Tracy Morgan got one helluva of a "welcome back" moment at the Knicks game Sunday -- getting huge props from Kobe and Magic ... and the GAME BALL from the Knicks!!

If Lamar Odom thought he had a shot at rejoining the NY Knicks, he was sorely mistaken ... this according to sources in the Knicks organization.

As we previously reported, Odom's personal trainer says Odom had "recently" been in talks with the Knicks about coming back to the NBA -- and it was motivating him to get back in shape.

But our team sources tell us ... while they liked Odom as a person, especially Phil Jackson, the team never made an offer or even floated the idea of bringing him back as a player.

Odom was signed by the Knicks in 2014 but was waived a short time later ... with Jackson explaining that Odom was "unable to uphold the standards to return as an NBA player."

That said, we're told the Knicks organization is shocked and saddened by Odom's current condition -- and wish him a speedy recovery.

The top ranked prospect on Phil Jackson's board stands just 5'1" tall and has never played a lick of professional basketball -- and she goes by the name of Lady Gaga.

While other NBA execs are hammering the phones, scouring through pages of scouting reports and reviewing game tape, the Zen Master spent his Monday night at Radio City Music Hall seeing Gaga perform with Tony Bennett.

Unless Gaga and Tony did a special performance with Kristaps Porzingis, we're guessing this outing didn't help him prepare for Thursday's draft one bit.

The NY Knicks must have done something terrible to someone in a past life, 'cause they're more cursed than the John Madden cover ... so says "Inside the NBA" star Kenny Smith.

Of course, Smith's reacting to the Knicks getting the #4 pick at Tuesday night's NBA Draft lottery ... after getting beat out by Minnesota (#1), the Lakers (#2) and Philadelphia (#3).

FYI -- the way the lottery works, the teams with the worst record have the best odds to get the #1 pick ... and the Knicks had such a bad record this season, they had the SECOND best odds to get the #1 pick in the lottery. Instead, they got screwed.

You gotta check out Kenny's analysis -- it's pretty hilarious.

Carmelo Anthony's wife La La just totally one-upped the basketball star's promise of a Knicks championship ... by promising the whole world a look at two even more coveted trophies ... her boobs.

La La sat down for an interview with "The Breakfast Club" where she talked about a milestone in her exploding acting career -- an upcoming episode of the Starz show "Power" where she has her first sex scene.

That's when Charlamagne Tha God jumped in ... asking La La if the love scene would feature any 'freeing of the nipple' on her part ... to which she very gleefully answered, "Yes."

The Knicks will NOT SUCK next year ... well, at least they won't be as terrible ... so says Carmelo Anthony's wife.

We spoke with La La Anthony on the way out of FOX Studios in NYC Monday -- who told us Melo is still "100% dedicated to the team" ... and predicted a serious turnaround when they get back on the court.

Of course, it's hard to get any worse ... the Knicks finished the season this year with the 2nd worst record in the NBA -- only winning 17 games.

As for who La La wants the Knicks to select in the draft -- "I'll take anybody at this point."

Here's Rick Fox ... basically saying Phil Jackson tanked the Knicks this season -- while trying to be super politically correct at the same time.

Rick -- who we love by the way (super nice guy) -- was out in L.A. this weekend ... when we asked if the man who coached him on the Lakers intentionally shut down the Knicks to get a better draft pick.

There was some serious tap dancing ... and he doesn't specifically say "yes" -- but he talks about how Phil "made a decision to purge the team of whatever personnel was there."

Derek Fisher's wife says she was completely "blindsided" when the NBA legend served her with divorce papers last month ... and was even more shocked that he moved all of his stuff out of their home in the middle of the night ... this according to court docs obtained by TMZ Sports.

As we previously reported ... Derek filed divorce docs in L.A. on March 18th ... one month after they celebrated their 10th anniversary.

Now, Candace Fisher has filed court docs of her own -- telling a shocking tale of a husband that not only surprised her by bailing on the marriage ... but freezing her out of his life almost immediately.

According to the docs, Candace says Derek refused to answer her calls and texts for nearly two weeks ... and even blew off their kids for several days.

Candace says she finally went to their NY apartment the week of March 30th ... only to find that all of Derek's clothing, personal items and computers had already been removed from the home.

There's more ... Candace also says Derek now wants to keep their 8-year-old twin boys in NY to live and attend school -- despite the fact she says all of their family, friends and schoolmates are in L.A.