Los Angeles Lakers

John Salley knows exactly what Carmelo Anthony should do amidst all his basketball and woman drama -- head west and play for the Lakers!!

The 4-time NBA champ says Melo's not the type to seek advice about his split with La La, but he's optimistic things will get better for the superstar on and off the court ... and thinks L.A. is the place to start fresh.

They look pretty identical, but Rob Lowe is finally setting the record straight -- telling TMZ Sports he's NOT new Lakers GM Rob Pelinka ... but he knows what he would do if he was!

The resemblance is uncanny and people in L.A. have been talking about it ever since Pelinka got the job ... so when we saw Lowe in L.A. on Monday, we asked him if they were separated at birth.

"How do you know I'm NOT the Lakers new GM?"

Now that Shaq has a statue in front of STAPLES Center ... it's only a matter of time before Kobe Bryant gets his. But there's one BIG question -- what number will Mamba's statue wear?!

Kobe's old teammate, Derek Fisher, has an easy solution ... DOUBLE 'EM UP! One statue for #8 and another for #24.

By the way, a similar issue has been raised when it comes to which jersey the Lakers will retire. Bryant told ESPN, "[Whichever number they choose] it'll be pretty hard for someone else to wear the other one."

Jeanie Buss' high-powered attorney says her courtroom victory against her brothers was a "good old-fashioned ass whooping" ... and says Jeanie vows to "bring some glory back to Los Angeles."

As we previously reported, Jim and Johnny Buss tried to overthrow Jeanie and gain control of the team -- but Jeanie's legal team, headed by Adam Streisand, shut them down real quick.

D'Angelo Russell is the best young player in the NBA ... as in playa, playa, play on playa, 'cause the dude's got a brand new lady love, and she's absolutely surface-of-the-sun hot.

The Lakers star is dating 25-year-old Janay Bankston, an ex-volleyball player at Cal State Stanislaus ... did we mention she's beautiful?

You might remember DLo's former gf Nicki Withers was also a college volleyball player, so dude's definitely got a type.

Everyone's a comedian ... even Kareem Abdul-Jabbar!

The Lakers legend was one of the speakers at Shaq's big Lakers statue unveiling at Staples Center on Friday ... and made a reference to the fact Kobe Bryant was on hand for the event!

"Some people thought the odds of Kobe Bryant showing up today were the same as Shaq sinking a free throw."

The ceremony was great. The statue looks awesome.

Congrats Big Fella.

Here it is ... the long-awaited DUNKING SHAQ statue at Staples Center!!

The 9-foot tall, 1,200 POUND statue has been in the works for months ... it will officially be unveiled on Friday night!

A bunch of Lakers greats -- including Kobe Bryant, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Jerry West -- are expected to attend the event.

The force was not strong with the Lakers Tuesday night ... they got straight-up murdered by the Clippers -- but it all went down in front of a ton of huge stars including 'The Force Awakens' star Daisy Ridley!

The 24-year-old British actress (who played Rey in the flick) sat right on the court -- in a celeb-packed crowd that included Michael Phelps, Gucci Mane and Meghan Trainor.

The Lakers are in a tailspin, they've lost 7 of their last 8 ... and if they're tanking for a draft pick, Ice Cube says that's total B.S.

Cube is a big Lake Show fan -- so we asked about a possible silver lining to another terrible season ... a shot at Lonzo Ball in the upcoming NBA Draft.

The celebrity burglary thiefstravaganza continues ... this time, crooks struck the L.A. home of Lakers star Nick Young (again!) and made off with $500k in cash and jewelry after taking his entire safe!!!

Law enforcement sources confirm ... Young's Valley residence was hit in February when the bad guys entered through an unlocked door and pilfered the NBA star's valuables.

We're told crooks took roughly $30k in cash plus 3 gold chains, a custom ring and a locked safe containing other valuables.

Cops are on the hunt for the bad guys.

It's not the first time Young has been targeted -- thieves raided another home Nick was living in at the time back in 2014 and made off with $100k in stuff ... including Nick's beloved Yeezys.

So many stars have been burglarized in L.A. this year -- including Yasiel Puig, Alanis Morrissette, Derek Fisher and Cesar Millan -- they could start their own support group already.

The only problem with that ... who would keep an eye on their houses?

It's the question everyone wants to know -- with the nasty family power struggle going on with the Lakers ... what's Thanksgiving gonna be like at the Buss house????

That's exactly what we asked the youngest member of the Buss siblings, Jesse Buss -- who co-owns the team along with his 5 older siblings.

The good news ... despite Jim and Johnny going after Jeanie in court, Jesse says there's still love -- "We're still family at the end of the day."

As for Jeanie's decision to bring Magic Johnson on board, Jesse -- who's also the Lakers’ Asst. General Manager & Director of Scouting -- says he's pumped.

Lakers honcho Jeanie Buss came out swinging against her brothers in new court docs -- claiming Jim Buss was a failure in his role with the team and Magic Johnson must undo the "damage" he caused.

Cookie Johnson says her husband's new job with the Lakers is a "natural fit" -- saying Magic Johnson's always bled Purple & Gold ... and she's confident he can bring the team back to greatness!

"He's a Laker through and through," Cookie told us on the way out of Barneys in Beverly Hills ... "I love it."

We also asked the big question on everyone''s mind -- should Magic bring Kobe Bryant back into the fold?

"If it's a good fit, I think so ... if it's a good fit."

Byron Scott is expecting BIG things from the Lakers now that his friend, Magic Johnson, is running things -- telling TMZ Sports the Lake Show will be right back on top of the league in less than 5 years.

Scott not only coached the Lakers from 2014 to 2016 ... but he also won multiple championships with Magic during his first 10 years playing for the Lakers.

Byron and Magic are still close -- in fact, Magic wrote the foreword for his new book, 'Slam-Dunk Success.'

Which is why we also asked if Magic offered him a job with the organization -- would he take it?

Rick Fox is fired up for the new Magic Johnson era with the Lakers -- and says the only thing that could be cooler is if Kobe Bryant signed on, too!!

Fox says he was on the set of the OWN Network show, "Greenleaf," when he heard the news about his former team and says Magic is the PERFECT guy for the job.

"Success is pretty much Magic's middle name!"

MASSIVE SHAKE-UP with the L.A. Lakers ... Jeanie Buss just FIRED General Manager Mitch Kupchak and booted her brother, Jim Buss, from his role as Exec. Vice President of Basketball Operations.

Magic Johnson is the new President of Basketball Operations.

YOU HEAR THAT? MAGIC JOHNSON IS CALLING THE SHOTS!!!!

Jeanie -- the Governor of the Lakers -- explains, "Today I took a series of actions I believe will return the Lakers to the heights Dr. Jerry Buss demanded and our fans rightly expect."

"Effective immediately, Earvin Johnson will be in charge of all basketball operations and will report directly to me. Our search for a new General Manager to work with Earvin and Coach Luke Walton is well underway and we hope to announce a new General Manager in short order."