Sacramento Kings

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.

Ty Lawson has some serious explaining to do ... because officials in Denver believe the Sacramento Kings star violated his probation and are gunning for a warrant, TMZ Sports has learned.

Lawson is currently on probation stemming from his 2015 drunk driving case in Denver -- but the Denver Probation Dept. has filed a complaint seeking to revoke his probation citing a potential violation.

Officials would not say what the alleged violation is ... but confirmed to TMZ Sports that a bench warrant has been requested so they can bring Lawson to court for a hearing on the matter.

We're told a judge has not signed off on the warrant at this point.

Some of the requirements of Lawson's probation -- which was scheduled to end on March 22 -- included monitored sobriety, 48 hours of community service, 52 hours of therapy and no marijuana use.

DeMarcus Cousins fought back tears as he delivered an emotional goodbye message to Sacramento last night ... just 1 day after he was traded to New Orleans.

"My love for this city will never change," Cousins said at a going-away dinner in Sacramento on Monday.

"Even though I’m gone it’ll still be the same. I’m still looking out for these kids. Every family in this city matters to me."

"Every soul in this city matters to me. Everything’s the same. I’m just not in a Kings uniform anymore, which is OK because the love is still here."

Cousins played for the Sacramento Kings for 7 seasons before being traded to the Pelicans on Sunday.

Matt Barnes turned himself in to police Wednesday to face an assault charge stemming from a NYC nightclub brawl back in December ... law enforcement confirms.

Barnes was cited for misdemeanor assault for allegedly getting violent with a woman at Avenue nightclub in the early hours of Dec. 5th. The NY Post first reported Barnes' surrender.

TMZ Sports broke the story ... Barnes claimed he was merely defending himself when all hell broke loose inside. The alleged victim claims Barnes choked her.

Barnes was at the club with his Sacramento Kings teammate, DeMarcus Cousins, that night. He was not charged with a crime.

TMZ Sports has obtained photos of the injuries Matt Barnes claims he sustained in the NYC nightclub brawl early Monday morning ... injuries he claims prove he was NOT the aggressor.

The photos were literally taken minutes after Barnes left Avenue Nightclub around 3:30 AM -- and show scratches and minor cuts to the front and back of his neck.

Barnes also took pics of his fists -- which don't appear to show any injuries. The idea is that if Barnes was swinging and connecting, he'd have swelling or bruising around his knuckles. He does not.

Barnes and his Sacramento Kings teammate, DeMarcus Cousins, are being sued by the other two people involved in the fight -- a man and a woman who claim the NBA stars went off in an unprovoked violent rage.

Barnes and Cousins claim the allegations are BS -- insisting they were attacked first and did what they had to do to protect themselves.

Sacramento Kings star Matt Barnes is wanted by NYPD for questioning after he allegedly choked a woman inside a nightclub early Monday morning -- and TMZ Sports got video of him right after the incident.

Law enforcement sources tell us cops got a 911 call to Avenue Nightclub after midnight, reporting a man assaulting 2 women and another man. We're told things got physical when Barnes allegedly choked one woman during an argument -- and when 2 other people tried to intervene ... he punched both of them.

In the video, Matt and his teammate, DeMarcus Cousins, are talking about the fight. Cousins is clearly heard saying, "I hit hit the s*** out this ni***!"

Barnes fled the scene before cops showed up. The Kings were in town to play the Knicks on Sunday. They lost.

1:02 PM PT -- Ty's agent, Happy Walters, tells us Ty asked for and received permission from the team to miss the flight.

Sacramento Kings star Ty Lawson was partying his face off with teammates at a Vegas club Thursday night before missing a team flight on Friday morning ... TMZ Sports has learned.

Lawson hit up Drai's nightclub along with Ben McLemore and Willie Cauley-Stein and boxer Adrien Broner ... and you can see in the video, they seemed to be having a great time.

Problem is ... Lawson missed the team flight to Kentucky for an exhibition game the next day and Kings' honchos are reportedly demanding an explanation.

For the record, Ben and Willie made the trip and had decent games.

The Kings had said Lawson missed the game due to "personal reasons" -- unclear if the clubbing counts.

According to ESPN's Marc Stein, Lawson also missed a team shootaround in Vegas earlier in the week.

Sacramento Kings star Ty Lawson says he's got something in common with Colin Powell and the DNC -- HE'S BEEN HACKED ... and Lawson claims the cyber thieves are now trying to extort him.

Sacramento Kings player Darren Collison just pled GUILTY in his domestic violence case -- but won't spend a minute behind bars ... if he plays his cards right.

As we previously reported, the 29-year-old point guard was arrested on May 30th after his wife said she had been assaulted at their home in Placer County. When cops arrived, they saw visible injuries on her.

Now, the 29-year-old point guard has pled guilty to 1 count of misdemeanor domestic violence, according to CSN Bay Area.

As part of the plea deal, Collison was sentenced to 20 days in jail -- but will most likely NOT actually spend time behind bars.

Instead, he will be in an "alternative sentencing program" -- which requires him to complete a certain amount of community service (pending approval from the probation dept.). If he does NOT complete the required amount, the judge could order him to serve out the 20 days in jail.

Sacramento Kings point guard Darren Collison was arrested for domestic violence over the weekend in an incident involving his wife ... TMZ Sports has learned.

The Placer County Sheriff’s Office says a woman called cops at 2 AM on May 30th to report that she was being assaulted inside the home.

When cops arrived, "deputies found that the woman had visible injuries and they arrested Darren Collison, 29, on a charge of domestic violence."

During the arrest, cops noticed Collison had 2 misdemeanor warrants stemming from an unrelated driving on a suspended license case. He was released from jail at 9 AM Monday.

The Kings have issued a statement saying they're aware of the situation -- and added, "The Sacramento Kings condemn violence of any kind. We are gathering additional information and once all facts are known we will take appropriate steps."