New York Knicks

Kenny Smith says he's in the "courting stages" for the NY Knicks head coaching job -- and says he believes he's battling 7 other candidates.

Smith met with the Knicks last week and tells TMZ Sports it "went well" -- but he knows he's not the only fish in the sea.

"We're in the courting stages. I know they're courting other people as well."

Smith's competition is reportedly steep -- big names like Mark Jackson, Jerry Stackhouse, David Fizdale and ex-NYK coach Mike Woodson.

Smith makes his case to TMZ Sports ... saying he's got the experience and winning record the Knicks desperately need.

Back up off that ledge, Knicks fans -- Dr. Oz says Kristaps Porzingis can get 110% better from his torn ACL ... if he takes his advice.

We got doc Oz out in NYC ... and he broke down why Kristaps' season-ending injury ain't the end of the world (just the Knicks' season).

Don't get it twisted -- the celeb surgeon told TMZ Sports Porzingis is gonna have to bust his ass in rehab ... but if he follows a few of his recovery tips, Oz says he can legitimately "come back better than ever before."

Enes Kanter is facing a 4-YEAR, 8-month prison sentence back in his home country, according to Turkish media reports ... and it's all over his social media war on Turkey's president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Turkey's government-run news agency says the chief public prosecutor's office in Istanbul has indicted the Knicks star for his insulting tweets about Erdogan -- a man Kanter has previously referred to as the "Hitler of our century."

Back in May, Enes was detained at a Romanian airport because his Turkish passport was canceled. Kanter was ultimately allowed to return to the U.S. ... but he became a wanted man in Turkey after Erdogan labeled him a terrorist.

Enes said he would've been dead within days if he was shipped back to Turkey and jailed.

He's now hoping to become an American citizen -- and considers himself "country-less."

It's a beautiful sight for N.Y. Giants fans ... Odell Beckham Jr. makin' his way around the Big Apple without his walking boot!!

TMZ Sports spotted the NFL superstar heading into MSG for the Knicks vs. Lakers game Tuesday ... and although his boot was super swagged out, it's a great sign for his health to see him without it.

OBJ went down with a season-ending ankle injury in October ... but watching him sit courtside with Magic Johnson to cheer on the Knickerbockers sans boot should give fans hope.

Get well soon, OBJ!

Mystery solved ... the new hot lady who's been hanging with Kristaps Porzingis is -- surprise -- A MODEL!!!

The NY Knicks star was canoodling with the hot blonde while leaving a NY nightclub earlier this week begging a few questions -- who is she and are they a thing???

Turns out, she goes by the name Bambi -- and we're told the two are definitely dating. Not sure how serious they are ... but they look pretty good together.

She's got a impressive body of work on the modeling front ... so, yeah ... enjoy!

Think Kristaps Porzingis called it a night after his triumphant return at MSG on Wednesday?

Hell no ... KP put in OT at the club with a smokin' hot chick!!

The Knicks superstar kept it flowin' at Marquee ... cuddling up with a mystery blonde outside the venue before they bounced to the after-party.

Unclear if she's Zinger's GF -- but they look pretty cute together.

Either way, Kristaps was cool enough to make time for all the fanboys flanking him on the street ... talkin' hoops and droppin' high-5s like the true King of NY (sorry, LeBron).

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:

Did you know ... "Baby Driver" star Ansel Elgort is a DIE-HARD Knicks fan?

It's true -- and when we saw the actor out in NYC on Wednesday he sounded off about losing Carmelo Anthony.

"I'm happy for Carmelo, he didn't belong on the Knicks anymore."

Don't get it twisted, Elgort isn't throwing shade -- but says he's definitely not gonna root as hard for Melo now that he's playing for the OKC Thunder.

The smokin' hot daughter of Bucks co-owner Wes Edens is shootin' HIGH with her NBA future ... saying she's gunnin' to own the most valuable team in the league!!

Spoiler -- it's not the Bucks (sorry, dad).

“I wanna buy the Knicks one day," Mallory Edens told TMZ Sports when we saw her in L.A.

Our photog asked if she was gonna try and trade the franchises in a Kyrie-for-IT-level blockbuster ... but she wasn't having none of that.

“I don’t need to swap -- my dad can keep the Bucks.”

Ouch.

In her defense ... the Knicks are worth a lot more -- Forbes says they're valued at $3.3 BILLION!

In all seriousness, Mallory told us she wants to be a trailblazer for women in the NBA and sports in general ... and we think she can do it.

I mean, she can basically spell Giannis Antetokounmpo. Pretty impressive.

President Obama's brother-in-law has found a new gig in the Big Apple ... in the front office of the New York Knicks.

We're told Michelle Obama's brother, Craig Robinson, has been hired by N.Y. ... and will fill a "player development role" with the team.

Robinson has a connection to current Knicks Prez Steve Mills -- they played basketball together back in the early 80's at Princeton University.

C.R. -- who's also coached at Oregon State University -- has served in the Milwaukee Bucks' front office as the V.P. of player and organizational development since 2016.

7:58 AM PT -- Oakley's attorney Alex Spiro says his client "will be pursuing all civil remedies against Mr. Dolan based on this incident" ... in other words, a lawsuits comin'.

Charles Oakley ain't gonna be attending a home Knicks game anytime soon 'cause he's barred from entering Madison Square Garden ... a judge in NYC ruled today.

Oakley was in a Manhattan court Friday morning facing assault, harassment and trespassing charges stemming from his fight with MSG security back on February 8.

As part of a deal with prosecutors, Oak agreed to stay away from the arena for a year ... and keep his nose clean for 6 months.

If he does, the case will be dropped ... and the charges will be wiped from his record.

As for Oak's feud with NYK owner James Dolan ... things are as icy as ever.

What happens when you mix credit cards, erotica and Kristaps Porzingis?

Arguably the best commercial of the NBA offseason.

Feast your eyes on a Latvian ad for the Visa "X" card starring the New York Knicks phenom -- where Porzingis gets felt up by an extendo-arm from the heavens.

On its way to big daddy KP, the happy hand also gets friendly with honey, b-ball shoes and a Chow Chow ... while the sexy 80's jam "Oh Yeah" bumps in the background.

Fat Joe is calling for MORE Knicks heads to roll ... saying Jimmy Dolan needs to put head coach Jeff Hornacek in the crosshairs after pulling the trigger on Phil Jackson.

"[Hornacek's] gotta go. Phil's gotta go ... they gotta get rid of everybody down with that regime," Joe tells TMZ Sports.

FYI, Fat Joe is diehard Knicks superfan -- LOVES 'EM -- and says he truly believes the man who can save his squad is ex-Golden State Warriors coach (and Knicks player) Mark Jackson.

"I'd hire Mark Jackson as coach," Joe says ... "That's the first move. And then it's a whole revamping situation."

6:41 AM PT -- It's official ... but Knicks owner Jimmy Dolan isn't calling it a "firing" -- he's saying both sides have "mutually agreed to part company."

Yeah, right.

"After careful thought and consideration, we mutually agreed that the Knicks will be going in a different direction," Dolan said in a statement.

"Phil Jackson is one of the most celebrated and successful individuals in the history of the NBA. His legacy in the game of basketball is unmatched. We wish him the best and thank him for his service to the Knicks as both a player and an executive."

Dolan says he will not be personally involved in the search for Phil's replacement.

Phil also put out a statement saying, "The New York Knicks will always hold a special place in my heart."

"I had hoped, of course, to bring another NBA championship to the Garden. As someone who treasures winning, I am deeply disappointed that we weren’t able to do that. New York fans deserve nothing less. I wish them and the Knicks organization all the best -- today and always."

The NY Knicks are done with Phil Jackson -- the team is expected to announce he's leaving the organization as early as Wednesday morning.

71-year-old Jackson is the President of Basketball Operations for the Knicks -- and people HATE him right now ... after another terrible season and personality clashes with Carmelo Anthony and Kristaps Porzingis.

Multiple stars have called for the Knicks to fire his ass -- including Kenyon Martin and Fat Joe.

Now, it seems the Knicks are taking their advice ... with ESPN's Ramona Shelburne reporting he'll be out before the day's over.

The Zen.

Spike Lee has already weighed in ... he's happy.

Phil Jackson's too damn old to lead an NBA franchise and it's high time the Knicks kicked his geriatric ass to the curb ... so says ex-NBA baller Kenyon Martin, who just LIT UP the Zen master.

We caught up with K-Mart hangin' with BIG3 teammate Al Harrington in NYC ... and when we asked the former Knick what he thought about the state of the current team ... he went nuclear.

The takeaway?

Phil needs have his 70-something-year-old-ass reading AARP and fly fishing rather than running an NBA team.

Hey, KM's not the only famous guy blaming Phil. Right, Fat Joe?

Lamar Odom is FURIOUS at Stephen A. Smith -- and unleashed his lawyer to tear the ESPN star a new one for mocking his crack addiction on the air.

Odom's pissed at a segment from Wednesday's "First Take" -- when Smith was ripping NY Knicks president Phil Jackson for running the team into the ground and brought up the time he signed Odom.

"His very first move as executive was to sign Lamar Odom ... WHO WAS ON CRACK," Smith said on air. The clip went viral.

Now, Odom's attorney, Saam Zangeneh, has fired off a letter to ESPN saying, "Mr. Smith chose to jokingly disparage Lamar for a having a disease."

"Mr. Smith chose to shout out the fact that Lamar was sick, and to use his disease as the butt of a joke."

"To say that his conduct was outrageous and unacceptable does not scratch the surface."

"Imagine the effect this grotesque statement would have on any young athlete who is privately fighting this disease. To become the punch line of a vulgar joke."

Zangeneh continued, "We hope those at ESPN will actively voice their disdain for Mr. Smith's inappropriate statement and take the proper action to support those that are fighting this disease."

"We should hope that your network would use this situation as an opportunity to become more actively involved in this cause."

Stephen A. Smith released the following statement through ESPN:

"Because of my personal affection for Lamar Odom -- and only for that reason -- I want to return to my comments about something I've repeated quite often over the last few days: the flagrant ineptitude that I feel has been on continual display by New York Knick's President Phil Jackson.

My comments were NOT to put any more focus on Lamar Odom's much publicized drug use and addiction. He was not the target of my ire.

The sole focus of my comments were directed at the unmitigated disaster that Phil Jackson has created since he's arrived in New York. In my opinion, he simply couldn't leave soon enough.

Lamar Odom is simply one of the nicest athletes any of us have encountered, and has always been a gentlemen to everyone in NBA circles -- including me -- which is something I've repeated throughout the years.

That's why it's worth repeating: Lamar Odom was not the focus of my ire. My comments were entirely, totally, meant for Phil Jackson. Anyone who loves the NY Knicks, who've witnessed what has been transpiring over the last three years, know exactly who I was directing my comments to.

And Why!"