Chicago Bulls

Ex-NBA star Ben Gordon can breathe a LITTLE easier ... because he will NOT be charged with a felony stemming from his November robbery arrest in Los Angeles.

TMZ Sports broke the story ... 34-year-old Gordon was accused of flashing a knife and roughing up a manager at his old apartment complex in an effort to get his 4-figure security deposit back. (FYI, Gordon reportedly made $84 mil during his NBA career).

Gordon fled from the scene and then returned AFTER cops had arrived -- they arrested him on the spot. He was booked for felony robbery.

Now, we've learned the L.A. County District Attorney has rejected the felony case -- and kicked it over to the L.A. City Attorney to consider filing misdemeanor charges instead.

Barack Obama just gave Michael Jordan the royal seal ... telling Prince Harry that he'd take His Airness over King James as the GOAT, without hesitation.

Obama sat down with Harry in a rare interview that aired Wednesday on BBC Radio 4 ... talking about everything from his presidency to Donald Trump.

But, when it came to the Prince's round of rapid-fire questions ... Harry immediately got Barack -- a HUGE NBA fan -- to close the book on the MJ vs. Bron debate.

"Jordan. Although I love LeBron, I'm a Chicago guy," Obama said.

Of course, Barack's pick ain't too surprising given his Bulls allegiance ... even though him and MJ haven't always seen eye-to-eye on everything.

American Airlines has issued an apology to two professional basketball players -- including ex-Chicago Bulls player Marquis Teague -- after they were kicked off a plane by a flight attendant who accused them of stealing blankets.

Teague -- the Bulls 1st round pick in the 2012 NBA Draft -- boarded a flight in Dallas on Sunday with his Memphis Hustle teammate Trahson Burrell. Both players are black.

As they headed back to their coach seats, two 1st class passengers handed the players their blankets. Problem is ... a flight attendant accused the men of stealing the blankets and kicked them off the plane.

American Airlines says the flight attendant involved is also black.

Chicago Bulls player Nikola Mirotic says he's ready to bury the hatchet with teammate Bobby Portis ... saying he's accepted Portis' apology for punching him during a practice last month.

Mirotic -- who had been sidelined since Oct. 17 with 2 broken bones in his face -- returned to practice on Wednesday ... and told reporters he's ready to move past the incident.

“We are teammates. We’re fighting for this team. We’re going to do what we need to do to make it work," Mirotic said.

“Bobby and me, and the team, we’re doing what we’re supposed to do and being professional.”

Ex-NBA player Ben Gordon was arrested in L.A. Monday afternoon -- after allegedly roughing up a guy at an apartment building ... and leaving with several thousand dollars of his money, TMZ Sports has learned.

Law enforcement sources tell us ... the 34-year-old went to the apartment complex where he used to live in an effort to get his security deposit back. We're told there was a dispute about the money and Gordon allegedly put hands on the guy and threatened him.

We're told the man gave Gordon at least some of the money back -- mostly because he was scared -- and Gordon left. The man called police moments later.

But get this ... after cops arrived to the building, Ben RETURNED to demand the REST of his security deposit (a couple thousand dollars). Instead, cops arrested him on the spot for felony robbery.

He was hauled to a nearby station where he was booked and later released on $50,000 bail.

Gordon has had all sorts of trouble with police lately -- he was placed on a psychiatric hold in NYC after allegedly locking himself in his gym with a woman, while brandishing a blade.

He was also arrested in L.A. back in June for pulling fire alarms at his apartment complex.

Want the ultimate proof that heated rivals can become total bros??

Michael Jordan not only attended Patrick Ewing's head coaching debut for Georgetown on Sunday ... he got invited into his locker room for a post-game photo op!!

Pretty dope shot -- M.J. huddled up with the G-Town ballers up front ... while all 7 feet of Coach Ewing kept as low of a profile as humanly possible so his guys could fanboy out.

Classy move from Pat -- who went toe-to-toe with His Airness for years way back when the Bulls and Knicks were the beasts of the East ... and before that in college:

Bobby Portis is paying the price for his brutal punch on Bulls teammate Nikola Mirotic ... as the team has slapped him with an 8-game ban.

Portis laid out Mirotic at practice on Tuesday ... sending him to the hospital with a fractured jaw and a concussion.

Nikola was discharged from the hospital later that day, but will likely need surgery -- forcing him to sit out at least 4 weeks.

The incident went down after the Bulls forwards got into it with trash-talk and shoving. Multiple reports claim Mirotic was the aggressor -- repeatedly charging at Bobby before being put down.

Which is probably why Portis only got 8 games. Could've been a lot worse.

4:18PM PT -- The Bulls released a statement addressing the incident.

"Chicago Bulls forwards Bobby Portis and Nikola Mirotic had a physical altercation during today's practice. As a result of the incident, Mirotic suffered a concussion and maxillary fractures. Surgery is likely required. Mirotic is out indefinitely."

Bulls forward Bobby Portis socked teammate Nikola Mirotic and broke his face and gave him a concussion at practice today.

Portis and Mirotic reportedly got into a shoving match ... that ended with Bobby cheap-shotting Nikola ... The Vertical reported.

Mirotic was taken to the hospital with multiple broken bones in his face. He was also evaluated for a concussion. The report says N.M. has since been released from the hospital.

Mirotic was expected to begin the season as the team's starting PF, ahead of Portis.

NBA star Zach LaVine has high ambitions in Chicago ... but can the high-flyin' dunk master jump over the Jumpman and pass Michael Jordan as the best Bulls dunker of all time??

That's exactly what we asked LaVine -- who was just recently traded from Minnesota to the Windy City -- and while the 2-time dunk contest champ has some serious hops, he doesn't think he'd ever match His Airness' classic moves.

It's a pretty humble response from LaVine, who's only 22 years old and has already put on a dunking clinic in just 3 years in the league ... but we get it. It's M.J. we're talking about.

We also asked about getting traded away from the T-Wolves ... and it's nothing but love for his old squad.

John Salley vehemently refuses to even entertain the idea that the '17 Golden State Warriors have passed the '96 Chicago Bulls as the greatest team ever.

Salley -- who played with Michael Jordan on the legendary '96 Bulls team -- was leaving Craig's in WeHo when we had to ask straight-up: could Steph Curry and Kevin Durant have beaten M.J. and Scottie Pippen?

Salley: "Are you kidding me!?"

He breaks down the matchup -- player by player -- and scoffs at the idea that Steph would shoot the Bulls outta the arena.

Rajon Rondo rocked a short sleeve suit jacket to the Bulls game Friday night ... and we gotta say -- kinda swag!!!

Ronda is currently nursing an injured thumb and has a cast on his right hand that might prevent him from fitting his arm into a regular full sleeve.

So, he made an adjustment and went short-sleeved ... and totally pulled it off!

Michael Jordan is mourning the death of his former Chicago Bulls General Manager, Jerry Krause ... offering his "heartfelt condolences" to Jerry's family and friends.

Jordan won all 6 of his NBA titles while playing under Krause -- and, while they butted heads at times, MJ is honoring his memory now.

Jordan issued a statement to TMZ Sports through his rep saying, "Jerry was a key figure in the Chicago Bulls dynasty of the 1990s and meant so much to the Bulls, the White Sox and the entire city of Chicago."

"My heartfelt condolences go out to his wife, Thelma, his family and friends."

Ex-Chicago Bulls General Manager Jerry Krause -- who built the Bulls dynasty of the '90s -- has died, a family member confirmed. He was 77.

The Chicago Tribune says Krause passed away Tuesday afternoon.

Krause was the 2-time NBA Executive of the Year and signed two pretty decent rookie prospects, Scottie Pippen and Horace Grant.

But it wasn't all roses for Krause ... he famously locked horns with Pippen, Michael Jordan and Phil Jackson during his time in Chicago.

In fact the beef between Jordan and Krause was so real that MJ even took some parting shots at Krause during his now legendary Hall of Fame induction speech.

"Jerry is not here. I don't know who invited him, I didn't. He said organizations win championships, I said I didn't see organizations playing with the flu in Utah, I didn't see him playing with the bad ankle."

The Chicago Bulls were so pumped after beating the Golden State Warriors Thursday night, some of 'em hit the club with Chance the Rapper to celebrate ... including the old guy on the squad!

Dwyane Wade (he's 35 now) joined Jimmy Butler at Studio Paris in Chicago where Chance performed that night.

In the video, you can see all the guys hanging in the VIP section where they got served up with champagne and cake.

Guess if you can't beat 'em, eat with 'em ... at least that's how Bulls guard Jimmy Butler must feel ... 'cause he grabbed dinner with DeAndre Jordan just moments after DJ's Clippers handled the Bulls.

Clippers beat the Bulls 102-95 Saturday night ... but that didn't stop the DJ and JB from dining out at Catch -- which is apparently the only restaurant in Los Angeles -- after the final whistle blew.

Our camera got the two men leaving ... and when we asked Jordan if the loser of the game had to pay he smiled and said "I had a good meal" (free food tastes better).

Bonus bombshell revelations? Jordan says his character of Mrs. Hooper in the State Farm ads is DONE FOR GOOD ... which is a major drag, like a BIGGEST drag, the BIGGEST drag we've ever seen.

Shocker ... ex-Bulls star Dennis Rodman is pulling for the Chicago Cubs to win the World Series.

And with his ex-teammate, Scottie Pippen, going through a pretty nasty divorce, we asked if he had any advice for his fellow NBA legend.