HoopsHype.com Rumors

“The Mindy Project” — it’s not just that show on after “New Girl.” It stars that girl from “The Office.” Yea, Mindy Kaling, that’s her. This week’s episode featured NBA players Amar’e Stoudemire, Baron Davis and Danny Granger hanging out in a club. You need to really skip ahead to the 3:00 mark to get to the good stuff, like the guys talking about romantic comedies and the like. You know, exactly what you want to know about Baron Davis. NBCSports.com

Indiana Pacers, New York Knicks, Amare Stoudemire, Danny Granger, Baron Davis, Showbusiness 

While there is nothing uncommon about athletes and celebrities showing up in car commercials, it is somewhat surprising when the endorser actually matches up with the product he or she is endorsing. Houston Rockets' point guard Jeremy Lin and the Volvo XC60 can both be labeled smart, underrated and overlooked, which makes them a great pair for Volvo's latest ad campaign, "The Unexpected Ones." Autoblog

Houston Rockets, Jeremy Lin, Showbusiness 

Daniel Gibson's reality show "Family First" starts next Tuesday on BET. The wedding is the first episode, Gibson said. Sulia

Cleveland Cavaliers, Daniel Gibson, Showbusiness 

Darnell Mayberry: Presti on Kevin Durant's movie Thunderstruck: "I had seen previous screenings, and I think he's a tremendous basketball player." Twitter @DarnellMayberry

Oklahoma City Thunder, Kevin Durant, Showbusiness 

Lately, (Penny Marshall) has been working on a documentary about the basketball player Dennis Rodman, some of which she has been shooting via Skype. That came up because a) Ms. Marshall is a big sports fan. ("You can yell and scream at a game and no one's taking you away in a white coat.") And b) "I have a little radar to the insane," she said. "They seek me out. Dennis and his agent asked if I would do a documentary." Wall Street Journal

Dennis Rodman, Showbusiness 

Kevin Durant's feature-length movie, ‘Thunderstruck,' will be released on DVD on Dec. 4 online and in stores across the country. The movie, which was released in select theaters Aug. 24, features Durant playing himself and mysteriously switching talent levels with an uncoordinated high school kid. Oklahoman

Oklahoma City Thunder, Kevin Durant, Showbusiness 

Hopefully they get VH1 in China ... 'cause ex-NBA'er Stephon Marbury's super hot wife has been tapped to be on the next season of "Basketball Wives." Sources close to the production tell us ... Tasha Marbury is in final talks to join the show -- a much needed cast replacement after Royce, Jennifer and Kesha were all axed. We're told producers approached Tasha for two main reasons ... she's actually a basketball wife (she and Stephon married in 2002) ... and secondly she's already friends with some of the other "wives." TMZ.com

Stephon Marbury, Showbusiness 

Kobe Bryant has jokingly suggested an exchange deal between LA Lakers and Barcelona involving himself and Lionel Messi. The NBA superstar travelled to Europe this week to shoot a commercial for Turkish Airlines together with the Argentina international, and he would be happy to trade places with the 25-year-old for a week. "It would be fun if I spent one week with Barcelona and Messi played one week with the Lakers," Bryant told reporters. "What the commercial will be like? Probably Messi will play football and I will play basketball..." Goal.com

Los Angeles Lakers, Kobe Bryant, FC Barcelona, Spain, Lionel Messi, Showbusiness 

Mete Aktas: Turkish Airlines CEO Hamdi Topçu has announced that they have renewed their sponsorship deal with Kobe Bryant for 2 more years. Twitter

Los Angeles Lakers, Kobe Bryant, Showbusiness 

With or without the ball in his hands, Chris Paul is a man of style. The Los Angeles Clippers' point guard is on the October cover of GQ magazine and talks to writer Steven Marsh about his height, his family, trash talking and the joy of being on the cover of a non-sports magazine. It is also revealed that Paul's son will now only do the "Blake Face" for pay. USA Today

Los Angeles Clippers, Chris Paul, Showbusiness 

Lakers point guard Steve Nash is doing his best to carry the colors for his new team. Tuesday night he appeared on The Tonight Show and when Jay Leno asked about the team's top competition for the upcoming season Nash mentioned the defending champion Miami Heat. He then took a shot at Leno and his hero worship of Dwyane Wade. USA Today

Los Angeles Lakers, Miami Heat, Dwyane Wade, Steve Nash, Showbusiness 

As a man of many voices, it doesn't take long for Lakers center Dwight Howard to start imitating people. He already nailed Kobe Bryant in mid-August during his introductory press conference. Howard plans to mimic Pau Gasol and Metta World Peace, too. But Howard isn't limiting his voice talents to poking fun at teammates. He's carrying his gift into the cartoon world in an episode of Disney XD's "Kick Buttowski: Suburban Daredevil" that will air at 11 a.m. Saturday. In the episode Howard will provides the voice for daredevil Rock Callahan, who is Kick Buttowski's idol. For unknown reasons, Callahan plays the fictional Buttowski in a movie. To add to the weirdness, Buttowski battles a villain named The Dark One voiced by "Around the Horn's" Tony Reali. Los Angeles Times

Los Angeles Lakers, Dwight Howard, Showbusiness 

Who’ll be the coolest dude on “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno” Tuesday: Justin Timberlake or Steve Nash? The Lakers’ new point guard will join Timberlake as a guest on the talk show — still the industry leader in late-night comedy for now despite declining revenues that led Leno to cut his salary in half to about $15 million per year, according to The Wall Street Journal. Orange County Register

Los Angeles Lakers, Steve Nash, Justin Timberlake, Showbusiness 

Shaquille O'Neal has a new kind of movie project: theater owner. Basketball star O'Neal grew up in Newark. He now co-owns and operates the CityPlex 12 theater near the city's downtown. O'Neal and Newark Mayor Cory Booker formally opened the rehabbed, expanded theater Friday afternoon. It includes an auditorium with a 47-foot-wide screen. It partially reopened in May after being closed for renovations. Sacramento Bee

Shaquille O'Neal, Showbusiness 

But the 30-year-old made it clear that she had no intention of showcasing her family's antics with the world, during an interview with Giuliana Rancic’s lifestyle site, FabFitFun.com. Said Vanessa when questioned on the prospect of a reality TV show, ''Absolutely 100% no. Kobe and I were approached to do a reality show after Nick and Jessica started Newlyweds, then they wanted my friend La-La and I to do one, years ago. ''I really enjoy my privacy and I love being my goofy and sarcastic self with family and friends. I certainly don’t want to enable people to think they have a significant opinion on what goes on in my life,'' she added. TaleTela

Los Angeles Lakers, Kobe Bryant, Vanessa Bryant, Showbusiness 

Tony Parker: Recently my agent offered me a role in a big American TV series: "How I met your mother". But I had to be in the U.S. next week. It was impossible. Le Parisien

San Antonio Spurs, Tony Parker, Showbusiness 

Marc Stein: ESPN sources say prospective Grizz owner Robert Pera has recruited Memphis' own Justin Timberlake (@jtimberlake) as minority owner. Twitter

Memphis Grizzlies, Showbusiness, Robert Pera 

Derrick Rose is back to dishing it out again. Except this time, he's giving an assist to a well-known, Chicago-based pizza establishment. Deep dish pizza company Giordano's will announce on Thursday that the Chicago Bulls point guard has become an equity partner in the restaurant franchise. "The pizza business is a cash flow machine; we just have to make it grow," said Richard Levy, managing partner of Victory Park Capital Advisors, which bought the stalwart Chicago brand last year. ESPN.com

Chicago Bulls, Derrick Rose, Showbusiness 

So Giordano's, which is looking to branch out from the Chicagoland area, will lean on Rose to give it a boost as it moves outside of its comfort base. The brand, famous for its two layers of dough surrounding its stuffed pie, has 43 restaurants, only three of which are outside the state of Illinois. ESPN.com

Chicago Bulls, Derrick Rose, Showbusiness 

Now, Lin's first Volvo commercial for the China market has finally been released. While Volvo is trying to appeal to well-heeled Chinese consumers about their aspirations versus the status quo, it's less than Linspiring. brandchannel

Houston Rockets, Jeremy Lin, Showbusiness