Sacramento Kings

Jabari Parker just told the world he'd contracted coronavirus -- and less than 3 days later, the guy doesn't appear to be in isolation ... but rather, he's playing tennis in public.

The Sacramento Kings star was spotted Saturday in Chicago's Longfellow Park, where he was rallying with a buddy on the other end of the net ... all smiles, and without a mask. Mind you, he'd just announced a few days earlier that he had test positive for COVID-19.

It's hard to say what we should make of these photos of him seemingly doing just fine in light of that. On the one hand, it's kind of a bad look -- but also, it might be perfectly understandable ... as we don't know the exact status of his recovery at the moment.

In his statement through the Kings, Jabari said he found out his diagnosis "several days ago," but didn't specify when or how long he's been quarantined in Chi-Town. You'd like to assume he's on the tail end of his 14-day isolation here, but we just don't know.

Another somewhat troubling sign -- sources tell us Jabari was recently seen out at a restaurant there in the Windy City. Again, unclear if he's all better now or still sick.

Sacramento Kings play-by-play announcer Grant Napear has stepped down from his TV role with the team ... after facing major backlash for tweeting "All Lives Matter."

Napear -- who has worked with the Kings since 1988 -- was initially placed on leave after a Twitter interaction with ex-Kings star DeMarcus Cousins, who asked his thoughts on the Black Lives Matter movement.

"All Lives Matter… Every Single One!" Napear answered ... to which Cousins replied, "Lol as expected."

Napear's comment caught the attention of fellow former King Matt Barnes, who added "Would expect nothing less from a closet racists [sic]."

Napear later apologized for his tweet, telling the Sacramento Bee, "I’m not as educated on BLM as I thought I was. I had no idea that when I said 'All Lives Matter' that it was counter to what BLM was trying to get across."

"I’m in pain," Napear continued. "I’m 60 years old and I still have a lot to learn."

But, Chris Webber -- who played for the Kings from 1998-2005 -- wasn't buying Napear's explanation, tweeting in support of the players' claims.

"Demarcus we know and have known who grant is. The team knows as well. I’ve told them many times. They’ve seen it. They know who he is."

Air Drake is about to see some real-life liftoff from the public, 'cause the Sacramento Kings are gonna be using Drizzy's jumbo jet this week for a long trip to India.

The Kings announced some last-minute flight arrangements this weekend, saying owner Vivek Ranadive -- who's Indian-American -- got in touch with Drake's camp and cut a deal to have the players and a bunch of the coaching staff fly in his $200 million Boeing 767 jet.

They'll be in the air for 20-plus hours starting Monday, and seeing how this would be among the first preseason games of the year -- the Kings face the Pacers in Mumbai Friday and Saturday -- it looks like Vivek wanted to send his team over in style. Well, he nailed it.

Sacramento Kings star Buddy Hield has launched a GoFundMe to raise money for Hurricane Dorian relief -- and the first BIG check just came from his head coach, Luke Walton.

Hield -- a native of the Bahamas -- announced his campaign on Wednesday to help relief efforts in his home country. Dorian hasn't just wreaked havoc on buildings and homes, at least 20 people have been killed so far with numbers expected to rise.

Enter Hield, who's channeling JJ Watt ... and doing his best to get money to people in need.

Not only is the Kings hooper encouraging people to donate, he's contributed $100k of his own to get the ball rolling on the campaign.

"I personally know many people who still need rescuing, and there are thousands without medical help, power, food, or other basic necessities," Hield says. "Bahamians are a strong people, but they still need our help to get them through this."

"Together, our donations can help restore hope, life, and basic human needs to these battered areas."

Walton got involved to help out his player's cause on Wednesday ... making a $10,000 donation on the campaign page.

Hield's goal is to raise $1 million ... and has raised nearly $50k so far.

Sacramento Kings head coach Luke Walton will NOT be punished by the NBA ... after the league investigated claims he sexually assaulted a female reporter.

Walton was accused of forcing himself on former L.A. Lakers reporter Kelli Tennant in a Santa Monica hotel room back in 2014.

5 years later, Tennant filed a lawsuit against the head coach ... which sparked an NBA and Kings investigation.

The Kings and the NBA released a joint statement on Friday, announcing there was insufficient evidence to support the allegations.

"On April 22, 2019, Ms. Tennant filed a civil lawsuit against Coach Walton and, on April 23, held a press conference in which she described claims of sexual assault, verbal and physical harassment, and unwanted physical contact over a three-year period. Two days later, the Kings and the NBA commenced an investigation."

"The investigatory team was led by Sue Ann Van Dermyden, from the Sacramento law firm Van Dermyden Maddux, and Elizabeth Maringer, Senior Vice President and Assistant General Counsel of the NBA."

The statement continues ..."During the investigation, more than twenty individuals were interviewed, including Coach Walton, and numerous documents and other relevant materials were reviewed."

"The investigators made repeated attempts to interview Ms. Tennant, but, through her counsel, she declined the opportunity to participate. The investigation is considered closed unless new evidence becomes available."

The civil suit is still active ... and is set to go to trial late next year.

Luke Walton -- who was never arrested or charged with a crime -- has adamantly denied any wrongdoing.

Luke Walton has lawyered up in his sexual battery case -- and now the NBA coach and his attorney are blasting his accuser as a lying "opportunist."

TMZ Sports broke the story ... sports reporter Kelli Tennant is suing the Sacramento Kings head coach claiming he sexually assaulted her back when he was an assistant with the Golden State Warriors.

Now, Walton has hired attorney Mark Baute, who issued a fiery statement slamming Tennant's allegations.

"Luke Walton retained me to defend him against these baseless allegations," Baute said.

"The accuser is an opportunist, not a victim, & her claim is not credible. We intend to prove this in a courtroom."

In the suit, Tennant says Walton tried to force himself on her in a Santa Monica hotel room -- but she was able to escape.

The Warriors say they had no knowledge of the alleged incident during Walton's employment. Same with the Lakers and the Kings.

We spoke with Shannon Sharpe about the situation -- and reiterated the importance of withholding judgment until we hear both sides.

Ben McLemore has strong words for kneeling NFL players ... telling TMZ Sports they're not only disrespecting the nation -- but their message is getting lost in the controversy too!!

The Sacramento Kings guard opened up about the issue outside of Avenue in Hollywood ... saying he believes NFL players should follow the NBA's lead -- and stop kneeling during the anthem.

"You should always represent our nation," Ben says. "That's how I feel. I think you always should."

McLemore also says NBA players are fighting social injustice the right way ... and appears set to give a lengthy explanation on why -- but the dude gets yanked into his car by some friends!!

Lil Wayne wants his bling, bling back -- claiming NBA player Frank Mason ditched his Young Money sports agency ... and refuses to give back his YM chain.

Backstory ... Mason signed to Weezy's Young Money APAA Sports Group back in April 2017 ... right before the NBA Draft (he was selected in the 2nd round by the Sacramento Kings).

As part of the deal, YM says it advanced Mason $40,000, agreed to pay his pre-draft expenses (totaling $52k) and hooked him up with an $11,000 diamond Young Money chain. Pretty standard stuff.

The catch, YM says Mason's contract stated that if he ever left the agency, he had to repay the money and give back his jewelry.

Well, in April 2018 -- toward the end of Mason's rookie season -- Mason fired Young Money "at the urging of a former YM employee" but never gave back the stuff, according to a lawsuit obtained by TMZ Sports.

Now, Young Money is asking the judge to force Mason's hand -- demanding $92k in cash plus the chain PLUS damages.

FYI, Mason's NBA contract isn't super rich -- he only made $1.3 mil last season and will make similar money for the next 2 years.

What's interesting, Mason appeared on the "TMZ Sports" TV show right after he signed with Young Money and told the guys why he was pumped to be in business with Lil Wayne.

No word on what changed after the interview ...

Rookies on Carmelo Anthony's next team -- watch out ... 'cause dude has ZERO CHILL when it comes to the hazing game, so says Iman Shumpert.

We got Iman out in NYC -- where he was in full-on pitch mode for his wifey's new album and gear -- when the topic of how he was going to initiate his new Kings teammate, Marvin Bagley III, to the NBA came up.

Iman seemed timid to the idea ... and when we pressed why -- it turns out Shump was actually the victim of a heinous Melo hazing incident back in his rookie year with the Knicks.

Iman tells us Carmelo made him build out a bowl of entirely green Skittles -- and Shumpert still seems shook by it all.

"What pack do you know of all green Skittles!?" he says.

The worst part of the whole episode?

"I don't even think he ate them."

At least one NBA star is convinced LeBron James has already made up his mind ... with Willie Cauley-Stein telling TMZ Sports the King is coming to L.A.

"He's coming HERE," the Sacramento Kings star told us outside Nightingale Plaza nightclub in L.A.

He also noted that there's no loyalty in the NBA, so anything is on the table when it comes to players and teams making moves.

By the way, Willie is DRIPPIN' in this clip -- with a Gucci bandana around his head, all sorts of diamonds around his neck and a Louis Vuitton x Supreme side bag around his chest.

Thursday's Sacramento Kings game was delayed by protesters who formed a human chain in front of Golden 1 Center in Sacramento to protest a police killing of an unarmed black man.

The Kings were set to take on the Atlanta Hawks, but the game got off to a late start as police dealt with the protest which included protesters locking arms and chanting "Black Lives Matter."

The demonstration was in response to the death of Stephon Clark, a Sacramento man shot over 20 times by police in his backyard when Sacramento police mistook his cell phone for a gun.

Protesters eventually dispersed peacefully, with no arrests made, and Kings owner Vivek Ranadivé came out to address the arena crowd after the game was played.

"We at the Kings recognize people's ability to protest peacefully and we respect that," he said. "We here at the Kings recognize that we have a big platform. It's a privilege, but it's also a responsibility. It's a responsibility that we take very seriously. And we stand here before you -- old, young, black, white, brown -- and we are all united in our commitment."

Iman Shumpert says just because his wife is down with G.O.O.D. music, it doesn't mean he is ... telling TMZ Sports he's never even gotten so much as a beat from his boss-in-law, Kanye West.

Shumpert is a pretty serious rapper himself, having released his Mixtape "Shumpman: The MD" back in 2016, and continuing to flood social media with new verses on the regular.

We got Iman at LAX, and asked him if his wife's label boss, Kanye West, has ever given Shump any help AT ALL in his rap career ... and here's a shocker, it's never happened.

Iman says he's never asked ... not outright at least ... however we did find a recent freestyle he dropped over Kanye's "Grammy Family" beat (and he killed it), so we gotta ask ...

Zach Randolph says he feels he was "wrongfully arrested" during an August 9 incident in Los Angeles -- in which cops initially said the NBA star was in possession of a TON of weed.

TMZ Sports broke the story ... Randolph was initially arrested for possession with intent to sell because of the large quantity of weed cops say he had. He eventually pled no contest to resisting arrest and the weed charge was dismissed completely.

Randolph finally broke his silence about the situation on Monday telling reporters, "I'm not speaking a lot about it but I felt that I was wrongfully arrested."

"Things that was put out there wasn't true. But I don't want to be a distraction to my team, my organization, so I'm just going to move forward and play basketball."

Randolph was sentenced to 150 hours of community service and was ordered to stay away from drug dealers. He's due back in court in December.

Sacramento Kings star Zach Randolph just struck a pretty sweet deal in his marijuana case ... and all he has to do is a TON of community service.

TMZ Sports broke the story ... Z-Bo was arrested for felony weed possession with intent to sell back in August when cops say they busted him with more than 2 pounds of pot in Nickerson Gardens.

The charges were later reduced to misdemeanor possession of more than 1 ounce of marijuana and resisting arrest ... and Randolph was facing up to 1 year in jail if convicted on both accounts.

But now, we've learned Randolph struck a deal with prosecutors to plead no contest to misdemeanor resisting arrest ... and in exchange, the pot charge was tossed completely.

Randolph was sentenced to 150 hours of community service as part of a diversion program, which means if he completes the hours and keeps his nose clean for 12 months, the resisting arrest conviction will be wiped from his record.

One more thing ... Randolph was specifically told he may not associate himself with or be around drug dealers as part of the terms of the deal.

The case is due back in court for a progress report in December. Good luck!

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.