HoopsHype.com Rumors

Nash had been considering appearing in the video for months. According to HRC vice president of communications Fred Sainz, the NBA star ultimately timed the release to support Welts and New York Rangers forward Sean Avery, who experienced a backlash among hockey fans after making a similar video. NHL player agent Todd Reynolds called Avery's support for the issue "misguided." Many anonymous commenters on message boards harshly criticized Avery for his support of the proposition, which Gov. Andrew Cuomo has advanced. Cuomo is hoping for a vote by legislators in June. A previous proposition was defeated in New York by the State Senate in 2009. This time, proponents have generated a marketing campaign that's drawn the support of celebrities such as New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg and actors Julianne Moore and Sam Waterston. ESPN.com

New York Knicks, Phoenix Suns, Steve Nash, New York, Rick Welts 

T-Mobile NBA Rookie of the Year Blake Griffin of the Los Angeles Clippers and the Washington Wizards' John Wall, the overall No. 1 selection in the 2010 NBA Draft, headline the 2010-11 T-Mobile NBA All-Rookie First Team, the NBA announced today. Griffin was the lone unanimous selection. Joining Griffin (58 points) and Wall (57 points) on the T-Mobile NBA All-Rookie First Team are New York's Landry Fields (56 points), Sacramento's DeMarcus Cousins (54 points), and San Antonio's Gary Neal (44). NBA.com

Los Angeles Clippers, New York Knicks, Sacramento Kings, San Antonio Spurs, Washington Wizards, Blake Griffin, DeMarcus Cousins, John Wall, Los Angeles, Landry Fields, Gary Neal, Marcus Cousin, New York 

Monroe, who is friendly with the Paul family and played at tiny Winston-Salem State, told The Post yesterday he believes Paul has eyes on the Knicks if he becomes a free agent in 2012, and thinks he would love playing for the orange and blue. "I'm quite sure he would relish being in the Big Apple," said Monroe, who coached the New York City team vs. L.A. in yesterday's inaugural People's Games at Union Square. "He can handle this pressure. Obviously he's one of the premier point guards in the league. To add that with what you already have, you got the real nucleus to having something special happen closer than in four years." New York Post

New York Knicks, Free Agency, New York 

Kim Kardashian is seeking a permanent address in the Big Apple. The reality star tells US Weekly that she plans on moving here by October to be closer to her beau of five months, Nets forward Kris Humphries. "It's the next normal step," Kardashian says. "LA will always be my home, but it's about time I look in New York, too." Kardashian confidantes are expecting an imminent engagement "this summer." The season finale of Kardashian's E! series, "Kourtney and Kim Take New York," aired this month. New York Post

New Jersey Nets, Kris Humphries, New York, Kim Kardashian 

The New York Knicks’ Carmelo Anthony and Oklahoma City Thunder’s Kevin Durant were named the Eastern and Western Conference Players of the Week, respectively, for games played Monday, April 4, through Sunday, April 10. Anthony led the Knicks to a 4-0 week, which included a 110-109 victory over Indiana on April 10 in which Anthony hit the game-winning shot and blocked Danny Granger’s potential game-winning shot on consecutive possessions. Anthony averaged 28.3 points and 9.5 rebounds to go along with 1.5 blocks and 1.0 steals. Anthony shot .529 (18-of-34) from three-point range, and recorded two point-rebound double-doubles. RealGM

Denver Nuggets, Indiana Pacers, New York Knicks, Oklahoma City Thunder, Kevin Durant, Carmelo Anthony, Danny Granger, New York 

Synergies aside, the EBC wasn't simply a marketing whim. Jay-Z, a lifelong basketball fan, intended to win the summer tournament. To accomplish this goal, he'd have to unseat the defending champions, rival rapper Fat Joe's Terror Squad, a team that boasted rugged NBA players Stephon Marbury and Ron Artest, both of whom had honed their skills in New York school yards. Jay-Z was unfazed. "He was like, 'I'm going to bring this team together . . . I'm only going to do it once, and obviously I plan to win,' " recalls Fab. "Then The Black Album was supposed to come out, and then he was going to retire." SI.com

New Jersey Nets, Jay-Z, Stephon Marbury, New York 

As summer settled over New York, Fab began filming and Jay-Z went to work as general manager. Previous Rucker squads were packed with street ballers, and only the best boasted one or two NBA players. Jay-Z had something different in mind. He recruited two Rucker veterans, rebound machine John "Franchise" Strickland and sweet shooter Reggie "Hi-5" Freeman, and then set about rounding out his squad with NBA players, finally accumulating a list of hard-court warriors that was almost Homeric in scope. There was power forward Kenyon Martin, the first pick of the NBA Draft three years earlier; Los Angeles swingman Lamar Odom; and Tracy McGrady, a lanky twenty-three-year-old who had averaged 32.1 points per game during the 2003--2004 season, tops in the NBA. SI.com

New Jersey Nets, Jay-Z, New York 

On the day of Team S. Carter's second game, Telfair found himself in the 40/40 Club, awaiting an audience with Jay-Z and Perez. Standing just shy of six feet and about one hundred sixty pounds soaking wet, the baby-faced teenager didn't look the part of an all-world street-ball team savior. "When I walked in, they were like, 'Aw, he's a kid, how's he going to help us?' " recalls Telfair. "I looked at Jay and I said, 'I'm from Brooklyn.' And he just started laughing. But by the end of that night, he knew what exactly I meant when I said, 'I'm from Brooklyn.'" SI.com

New Jersey Nets, Jay-Z, Sebastian Telfair, New York 

Jay-Z had guided his team to the precipice of victory after a summer of scheming, schmoozing, cross-marketing, and testing his skills as a manager. A few hours before the game, Fab met up with Jay-Z to prepare in the air-conditioned cool of the studio, as usual. "But this day it was special," remembers Fab. "Because now LeBron was going to play . . . and Shaquille O'Neal was in New York in a hotel as a secret weapon that was going to be brought into the park solo to play for us." "And while I'm up in the studio, I have my guy plugging in some lights, he was going to interview one of the players, and all the lights go out in the studio. I go, 'What happened?' Then I hear some people upstairs saying there's no lights. I'm like, 'What's going on in the building?' " SI.com

New Jersey Nets, Jay-Z, New York 

In one of New York City's largest ever retail condominium deals, the owner of Zara, the cheap-and-chic clothing retailer, bought a Fifth Avenue store for $324 million Friday. Zara will occupy a nearly 40,000-square-foot space at 666 Fifth Ave. that was formerly occupied by an NBA store. The chain's owner, the Inditex Group of Spain, owns seven other brands and recently passed Gap Inc. to become the world's largest apparel retailer by sales. marketwatch.com

Owners, New York, Zara 

Trying to rebound from the disappointment of their failed pursuit of Carmelo Anthony, the New Jersey Nets have acquired Deron Williams from the Utah Jazz in another blockbuster trade for the New York area. ESPN.com

New Jersey Nets, Utah Jazz, Trade, Deron Williams, New York 

Johnson was asked if this was the Plan B all along if the Nets couldn't land Anthony. "This is not a plan B," Johnson said. "It was just one that wasn't announced. One that nobody got -- until recently. He's not a plan B. He's a plan A also. We've been working on this for a while." ESPN.com

New Jersey Nets, Utah Jazz, Trade, Deron Williams, New York 

Al Iannazzone: King said he talked to Deron Williams and he's "excited" about coming to the Nets. Twitter

New Jersey Nets, Utah Jazz, Trade, Deron Williams, New York 

Jared Dudley: WOW!!! Just heard about Deron Williams goin to New Jersey!!! When they head to their new arena in 2yrs players will love to play in Brooklyn Twitter

New Jersey Nets, Phoenix Suns, Utah Jazz, Trade, Jared Dudley, Deron Williams, New York 

Kris Humphries: Gonna miss you guys. Twitter

New Jersey Nets, Utah Jazz, Trade, Kris Humphries, Deron Williams, New York 

Carmelo Anthony's trade to the New York Knicks late Monday had a slight trickle-down effect on the Cavs. They inquired Tuesday about forward Danilo Gallinari, a league source said. Gallinari went from the Knicks to the Denver Nuggets in the Anthony deal, but the Cavs were told he's not available. Akron Beacon Journal

Cleveland Cavaliers, Denver Nuggets, New York Knicks, Trade, Carmelo Anthony, Danilo Gallinari, New York 

What was the New York nightlife like back then? Walt Frazier: It was wild, man. We used to hang out with Namath. All the guys were very close. I used to start on the East Side, on First Avenue, at Maxwell's Plum, and end up uptown, because in Harlem they went to four, five in the morning. When I look back on it, I've seen Miles Davis, I've seen all these great jazz guys. In Harlem you'd just walk from one club to the next. There was one night during the playoffs I was out late before a game, and Reed reprimanded me, he goes, Clyde, what are you doing? Get your butt to bed. You're messing with my money. GQ.com

New York Knicks, New York, Walt Frazier 

The playwright behind the Broadway play "Lombardi" is moving from the gridiron to the basketball court. Eric Simonson is working on "Magic/Bird," a new play that will chronicle the lives of Hall of Famers Larry Bird and Magic Johnson. Producers Fran Kirmser and Tony Ponturo were encouraged by the response to "Lombardi" -- the story of legendary Green Bay Packers coach Vince Lombardi now on Broadway -- to push ahead with a second sports-themed play. "We've been fired on by the experience to keep on going and really feel that it can be a really thriving series," Kirmser said Thursday in a phone interview. The story will trace the stars' rivalry and friendship from their days as rookies in the NBA to their appearance on the Olympic Dream Team in 1992. Johnson and Bird were key parts in the storied struggle between the Boston Celtics and the Los Angeles Lakers during the 1980s. "Here are these two, amazing at their craft, inspiring to watch, and yet they couldn't be more different people," said Kirmser. "There was a fierce competitiveness between them and yet such a great love and respect." ESPN.com

Boston Celtics, Los Angeles Lakers, Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, New York 

Cool! RT @NewYorkology @HowardBeckNYT Just got press release for new play "MAGIC/BIRD" aiming for Broadway 2012 -- produced w/the NBA Twitter

Boston Celtics, Los Angeles Lakers, Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, New York 

Donnie Walsh almost never acknowledges he's got anything hot going on the trade front, but Sunday he confessed things were starting to take shape -- a big admission for the Knicks president. According to a knowledgeable source, "there are discussions'' occurring between the Knicks, Nuggets and Timberwolves regarding a three- team trade that would land Carmelo Anthony in New York by the Feb. 24 NBA trade deadline. New York Post

Denver Nuggets, Minnesota Timberwolves, New York Knicks, Trade, Carmelo Anthony, Donnie Walsh, New York