TMZ Sports - Page 50

Lonzo Ball, Josh Hart, Brandon Ingram ... Magic Johnson says the move to ship them out of L.A. in order to bring in Anthony Davis is TOTALLY WORTH IT!!!

The NBA legend was leaving Staples Center on Thursday night when he praised Jeanie Buss and Rob Pelinka for putting the Davis trade together ... saying the Lakers are close to being title contenders.

"I'm very happy," Johnson told TMZ Sports ... "We gotta keep going, fill the roster out. It's gonna be good!"

Oh, and the fact Johnson is specifically dropping Rob's name is a huge deal -- considering Magic accused Pelinka of trashing him behind his back when he was still working for the Lakers.

When asked if the Lakers gave up TOO MUCH to bring in AD, Johnson replied, "Always remember, it takes a lot to get a superstar. I'm just happy he's here."

"I don't even want to get into how much, it don't matter. He's here. It's gonna be jumping at the Staples Center. We're putting ourselves in line to win championships, that's what it's all about."

We also asked Johnson if the Lakers were going to get Kawhi Leonard -- he replied, "We'll see."

The two suspects who allegedly stole half a MILLION dollars worth of stuff from Le'Veon Bell were 2 women he left naked in bed earlier in the day ... this according to the Jets star himself.

In 911 audio obtained by TMZ Sports ... Bell tells dispatch on May 25 two women stole "clothes, shoes, money and my jewelry" in a burglary at his Hollywood, Florida home.

When dispatch asks for a description of the females ... Le'Veon says he can't say what they were wearing -- because when he left them earlier in the day, they were naked in his bed!!!

Of course, according to the police report, Bell describes the two as his "girlfriends" ... so seems the NFL superstar at least had a solid start to the day ...

"When I left, [one of the women] was in the bed," Bell said on the 911 call ... "She was in the bed, not wearing clothes when I left. So, I didn't see her. You know what I'm saying."

And the other lady ... "She was in the bed too. They didn't have clothes on."

Bell says in the 911 call the women stole his watch, his jewelry and "a couple more things of value out of my house" ... and estimated everything they took was worth around $1 MILLION.

Police eventually determined the value of the jewelry Le'Veon lost was $520,000. As we previously reported, one of the items that was taken is a diamond Black Panther pendant.

Unclear if Bell has been able to get his stuff back -- or if the suspects have been caught. The Hollywood PD tells us the investigation is still ongoing and "no update yet."

After YEARS of hype ... Zion Williamson is officially an NBA player after getting drafted as the 1st overall pick by the New Orleans Pelicans in the 2019 draft.

And that should surprise literally no one.

The ex-Duke superstar has been on everyone's radar ever since he was a 5-star recruit at Spartanburg Day School in SC. Seriously, even Drake was rocking his high school jersey back in 2017!!!

It was a sure thing Williamson would end up in NOLA after the Pels won the lottery ... and now that NBA commish Adam Silver has called his name at Barclays Center in NYC, it's finally official.

But that didn't stop Zion from getting emotional in an interview after walking off the stage ... breaking down in tears with his mother, Sharonda Sampson, by his side.

“My mom sacrificed a lot for me," Zion said. "I wouldn’t be here without my mom. She did everything for me. I just want to thank her."

Z-Dub's rookie contract could be worth around $45 million over 4 seasons ... so the dude's set for a while ... but he'll be making WAY more off the court with his shoe deal and other sponsorships.

As we previously reported, Zion was wearing his Nike Kyrie 5 sneakers at a private workout in L.A. earlier this month .. so it seems like he's leaning towards the Swoosh, despite his PG 2.5 giving out on him in a game earlier this year.

Shoe legend Sonny Vaccaro -- who's responsible for Michael Jordan's rookie deal with Nike --previously told us he'd give the star $100 MILLION to ink a shoe contract. Not bad for an 18-year-old.

Conor McGregor is helping his boy Artem Lobov beat the hell outta Paulie Malignaggi... by hooking his friend up with a scouting report on how to kick the boxers ass.

Lobov and Malignaggi are fighting Saturday night at Bare Knuckle FC 6 in Florida ... and the lead up to the fight has included spitting, slapping and death threats.

They HATE each other.

Malignaggi -- a former 2 weight class world champ -- is the betting favorite, and most pick him to win the fight ... but Artem has at least 1 advantage.

The Notorious.

Remember, Paulie was Conor's sparring partner back in '17 while he prepped for his Floyd Mayweather fight ... and there was big beef between the 2 guys when Conor released footage of the men sparring.

Malignaggi said the footage was edited to make him look bad, and Conor said he knocked PM around ... but 1 thing's for sure -- the bad blood is genuine.

Fast-forward to now ... Artem tells us he consulted with his good friend and strategized on just how to pick apart Paulie.

"We broke down the whole spar, so I know everything. I know his weaknesses, and I know his strengths. I was getting ready for the best version of Paulie, even though I knew a fat mess is gonna show up."

What's Artem's message for the man who promised to put him in a body bag?

"This whole thing started from what? It all started from Paulie getting his ass whooped, and then crying like a little bitch."

It's the most swaggy time of the year ... when the top NBA prospects in the game show off their style on the biggest days of their lives ... and these guys went all out in the name of FASHION!!!

Zion Williamson is rockin' an all-white suit -- just like LeBron James did at the 2003 Draft -- for when his name is called as the first pick ... with an open collar shirt ('cause ties are overrated).

To top off the look, Zion went with a blinged-out Rolex ... which is retails in the $45,000 range, but with all the bells and whistles, it's worth a LOT more.

RJ Barrett went the pink route ... donning a custom suit with Canadian flag lining and his "Maple Mamba" nickname stitched in it as well.

And just like his Duke teammate, Barrett iced out his wrist as well .. going with a fancy Cartier watch for good measure.

Bol Bol's Spidey senses are tingling ... 'cause the 7'2" center went with a black suit and bedazzled spider web print.

Other notable suits include Darius Garland (who was styled by Fear of God's Jerry Lorenzo) ... Jaxson Hayes with the red suit and Sideshow Bob chain ... and Nickeil Alexander's snakeskin-print suit.

Ex-Texas hoops star center Jaxson Hayes got himself a sick pre-draft gift that would make Homer Simpson proud ... immortalizing his "Sideshow Jax" nickname in diamonds with a Sideshow Bob chain!!!

TMZ Sports has learned ... the projected lottery pick wanted to treat himself before the biggest day of his life ... hitting up Al the Jeweler of LaBelle Jewelry in NJ to hook him up with a chain of his Simpsons character Doppelgänger.

Al -- the go-to jeweler for huge stars like Jarvis Landry and Stefon Diggs -- tells us the one-of-a-kind piece is made of VS diamonds and rubies ... and it took 1,000 total stones to make.

No word on how much Hayes dropped for the piece ... but we're told this kinda work would run around $25k.

We're told Hayes LOVES the piece ... and there's a great chance he might even wear it when his name is called at the draft on Thursday.

Justin Verlander is giving props to Max Scherzer for coming back strong from a gnarly broken nose injury ... telling TMZ Sports, "I appreciate him working through the pain."

Of course, Mad Max took a baseball straight to the face during a bunting drill in Nationals' batting practice Tuesday ... and suffered a nasty broken nose and a black eye as a result.

But, Scherzer toughed it out and pitched for Washington just 24 hours later ... and DOMINATED -- throwing 7 innings with no earned runs and 10 strikeouts against the Phillies.

Verlander -- who played with Max for a few years in Detroit -- says he saw his ex-teammate put in the work ... and he was impressed!!!

By the way ... we also asked Verlander if he thinks he's done enough in his own career to deserve a spot in the Hall of Fame -- and he tells us he ain't so sure.

Justin Bieber wants to fight Tom Cruise in the Octagon, and we know this because of a secret phone call laying the groundwork for what could be the biggest fight in UFC history.

As you know, Justin tweeted earlier this month that he would like to take Tom on MMA style. We were initially told it was a joke and that Justin -- who never met Tom -- revered him. That's all true, but turns out there was truth behind the tweet.

We've learned last Friday, Ari Emanuel, the co-CEO of the William Morris Endeavor agency that owns UFC -- called Justin's manager, Scooter Braun, and then conferenced in Dana White. Ari said this would be an epic fight that needed to happen, and Dana chimed in that he was "100%" down with it.

We're told Scooter then made it clear ... Justin would absolutely fight if Tom wanted to do it.

And, there's more. During the call, Ari said he strongly believed the 56-year-old actor would agree to enter the Octagon and take on the 25-year-old singer.

Dana White told TMZ Sports earlier this week the fight's a no brainer ... the easiest event he's ever promoted in his career.

Nikki Bella says she's incredibly grateful the cyst doctors found on her brain is benign -- but going through the process was "super scary."

The WWE superstar first revealed her medical issue this week on "The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon" -- but she didn't really open up about the situation ... until now.

"They found a cyst on my brain, which thank god, it's benign," Nikki tells TMZ Sports ... noting, "I'm so grateful for my health."

Nikki says the diagnosis -- along with her neck injury -- will most likely keep her out of the WWE ring forever ... but she believes in miracles and hopes one day she can return to wrestling.

"You never know ... we'll see what the man upstairs has in store for me."

In the meantime, Nikki says she will monitor the tumor for the rest of her life "because you never know how it can change."

Cleveland Cavaliers owner and billionaire businessman Dan Gilbert has been released from the hospital after suffering a stroke 3 weeks ago ... his company announced on Thursday.

Gilbert had a stroke while receiving medical treatment at a Michigan hospital on May 26. He underwent a catheter-based procedure and later moved to the Intensive Care Unit for recovery.

According to Jay Farner, CEO of Quicken, Gilbert is doing much better ... and was finally able to leave the hospital on Wednesday.

"The Gilbert family is thankful for the tremendous outpouring of support they have received," Farner says.

"Yesterday, Dan Gilbert was discharged from the hospital and will now continue focusing on his recovery at an in-patient rehabilitation center."

Gilbert bought the Cavs back in 2005 ... and is worth nearly 7 BILLION dollars.

The man they call the "Serbian Michael Jordan" has essentially been BLOCKED by the International Basketball Federation from playing the BIG3 -- and Ice Cube is FURIOUS!

In fact, Cube is calling officials "chicken sh*t" for standing in the way of the player's American dream.

The man at the center of the controversy is Dusan Bulut -- AKA Mr. Bullutproof -- the top-ranked 3-on-3 basketball player in the world. He's an absolute stud. He's even got his own signature move, the Shammgod Nutmeg.

Bulut is from Serbia -- but he's currently under contract with a team in Abu Dhabi in a league that's overseen by the International Basketball Federation (FIBA).

Despite the fact Bulut WANTS to play in the BIG3 -- and was DRAFTED this year -- FIBA officials told him if he breaks his contract with the Abu Dhabi team, he'll face a 24-month ban from international competition, which would prevent him from competing for Serbia in the 2020 Olympics.

Earlier today, Bulut withdrew from the BIG3 because of the threat -- and Ice Cube ain't happy about it.

"We want him to play, but FIBA is threatening that he won't be able to be eligible for the Olympics," Cube told us ... "I think they're scared."

Cube says the league is considering its legal options -- but notes, "We want to do whatever Bulut wants to do. We want to get him in the BIG3, but we don't want to mess up his chances to be in the Olympics."

He summed it up this way ... "I think FIBA is being chicken sh*t."

Meanwhile, Cube and the BIG3 are pushing forward with the 2019 season, which kicks off June 22 at the Little Caesar's Arena in Detroit, live on CBS.

10:20 AM PT -- Trump -- who was meeting with Trudeau -- was just asked if he's planning on inviting the Raps to 1600 Penn ... and he said, "That's an interesting question. They played phenomenal basketball, I watched a little bit of it."

"We'll think about that, if they'd like to do it, we'll think about that."

So ... maybe???

Toronto Raptors head coach Nick Nurse says he's DEFINITELY looking forward to celebrating their NBA championship with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau ... but Donald Trump? That's TBD.

It's uncharted territory for Canada's NBA team, considering this is their first title in franchise history ... so, many have been wondering if the Dinos would get an invite to party at the White House.

Nurse addressed the possibility with Prime Time Sports on SportsNet 590 ... saying the team hasn't gotten a call from Trump's camp yet ... and even if they DO get an invite, he's unsure how they'll RSVP.

But, as for meeting the top guy in Canada? Nurse says plans are already in the works ...

"Definitely the Trudeau meeting, because they have been asking me about scheduling it," Nurse said. "I've heard nothing from the White House. We're Canada's team anyway, right?"

Politics aside, Nurse says he truly doesn't know if there will be a trip to 1600 Penn, "I think we're here. Let's go see Trudeau up in Ottawa ... we're Canada's team."

Remember, the Golden State Warriors -- who won the NBA title the past two years before the Raptors -- famously boycotted Trump's White House ... opting to visit with President Obama instead.

The Colorado youth baseball brawl just took a disturbing twist -- we've now obtained footage showing a very pregnant woman brandishing a bat as a weapon and telling other parents, "I don't give a f*ck!"

The new footage shows heated parents from both youth baseball teams on the field at Westgate Elementary School arguing with the 13-year-old umpire about rules involving the number of players on each team.

You can hear people from the stands screaming for the parents to back down ... saying, "He's a kid!"

As the situation grows more intense, the pregnant woman runs on the field and grabs a metal baseball bat and begins to wave it around screaming, "F*ck you b*tch. I don't give a f*ck!"

One of the male parents tries to pry the bat away from the woman -- and that's when other men on the field attack him ... throwing him down to the ground and firing off punches.

The pregnant woman is forced back into the dugout -- where the fighting continues right in front of her.

It doesn't appear she was harmed in the melee ... but wow, it's close.

Other parents continue to brawl ... including a group of women throwing haymakers at each other down the 1st baseline.

All the while, the 7-year-old players are watching the violence in shock.

As we previously reported, cops eventually arrived and handed out citations for disorderly conduct and fighting in public.

Cops are still looking for at least one of the combatants who knocked a man out with a sucker punch.

A pair of Zion Williamson's game-worn college sneakers -- no, not THAT pair -- is set to be auctioned off to the highest bidder ... and they could sell for more than $25k!!!

The ex-Duke superstar rocked a pair of size 14 Nike Kyrie 5s during his 4th-ever college game against San Diego State in the Maui Invitational on November 19, 2018.

Of course, Zion's kicks have been a HUGE talking point since his PG 2.5 exploded while playing UNC in February ... and because of that (and that he's a future NBA superstar), this pair's expected to rake in serious dough.

“Even though these are not those historic sneakers, the fact that he played in just 33 college basketball games and these are his first sneakers to be offed at auction make them a truly special item," Ken Goldin of Goldin Auctions tells us.

As for the game, the #1 ranked Blue Devils easily handled the Aztecs, 90-64, and Z-Dub had 13 points, 6 rebounds, 1 assist, 5 steals and 1 block in 18 minutes -- plus a ridiculous windmill jam.

Now, we're not comparing Zion to MJ, but Jordan's college kicks sold at auction for $33k in 2014 ... so these at 25 G's could be a steal!!

Look at Bill Belichick's face ... that's the MOST we've ever seen him smile -- and it's all because he's on a sick vacation with his beautiful girlfriend ... and still reppin' Boston, HARD!

Bill and Linda Holliday are vacationing off the coast of Greece -- where they're riding on yachts, playing on the beach and visiting some of the historic sites ... including Stadium at Olympia!

FYI, the stadium is said to be the oldest in the world -- and Linda commented, "Someone feels right at home!"

By the way, check out Bill's hat ... it says VII Rings ... the name of his boat back in the United States, which was named after all of the Super Bowl titles he's won.

The hat is clearly an older one because he changed it to "VIII Rings" after the latest Super Bowl win back in February.

Bill and Linda have been dating for years -- and some think it's just a matter of time before she gets a ring of her own!

Denver Broncos honcho John Elway is super excited about his rookie QB, Drew Lock -- but tells TMZ Sports the #1 spot DEFINITELY belongs to Joe Flacco.

We know ... it ain't exactly bombshell news -- but it's cool to hear Elway talk up his young rookie.

"He's a young guy. He's got a great future," Elway said about the 2nd-round pick out of Missouri.

Of course, there's no doubt Flacco is the starter -- the Broncos traded for him during the off-season and they'll be paying him $18.5 MILLION this year.

On his way out of Craig's in L.A., Elway -- who stopped for pics with fans and even signed autographs -- said he thinks Flacco can do what Peyton Manning did ... and become the missing the piece that leads Denver to the Super Bowl.

Elway also threw his support behind Brittany Bowlen -- who's rumored to be taking over the team in the wake of her father's passing.