HoopsHype.com Rumors

Spike Lee reportedly offered $40,000 for four tickets next to the Indiana Pacers bench for Saturday night’s playoff game, but seat owner Stewart Reed turned down the noted New York Knicks fan. Reed, co-owner of Fuzzy Zoeller’s Vodka, mentioned the film director’s proposal while visiting Indianapolis Motor Speedway, where his business is primary sponsor on Ed Carpenter’s No. 20 car entered in the 97th Indy 500. Lee, wearing his Knicks’ John Starks jersey, ended up seated on the floor across the court from the end of the Knicks’ bench. Indianapolis Star

Indiana Pacers, New York Knicks, Spike Lee 

Scott Agness: I've confirmed that Spike Lee offered $40K for 4 courtside seats tonight next to Pacers' bench. "He's a Knicks fan, no way." @pwilson24 1st. Twitter @ScottAgness

Indiana Pacers, New York Knicks, Spike Lee 

Mike Wells: Spike Lee reportedly offered $40K for four tickets next to Pacers bench for tonight’s game, but seat owner Stewart Reed turned him down Twitter @MikeWellsNBA

Indiana Pacers, Spike Lee 

Michael Jordan got married over the weekend, with Tiger Woods, Spike Lee and Patrick Ewing among those attending the NBA Hall of Famer's wedding in Palm Beach, Fla. Jordan married 35-year-old former model Yvette Prieto on Saturday, manager Estee Portnoy told The Associated Press on Sunday. ESPN.com

Charlotte Bobcats, Michael Jordan, Spike Lee, Patrick Ewing, Tiger Woods, Yvette Prieto 

Brian Mahoney: Pierce, on Spike Lee yelling in his ear as he threw the ball in: "I've been tuning Spike Lee out for years. That's just common noise now." Twitter @briancmahoney

Boston Celtics, New York Knicks, Paul Pierce, Spike Lee 

Rosanna Scotto tried. She really tried. On Good Day New York interview with Spike Lee this morning, the Fox anchor – a Brooklyn native, not coincidentally – whipped out a goodie bag with Brooklyn Nets merchandise sent over by team CEO Brett Yormark (I don’t want to hear him say again that he doesn’t see the Knicks as a business rival). The cap was the only item that made it out of the bag, and it was adamantly rejected by Lee. “Just slip it on,” Scotto pleaded. “Just slip it on.” “Sorry, I can’t do it. I can’t do it,” Lee said. New York Daily News

Brooklyn Nets, New York Knicks, Spike Lee 

Will this man in his “Republic of Brooklyn” shirt, this filmmaker who made the borough of his childhood a living, breathing character in six movies over 26 years, now forsake his beloved New York Knicks and root for the Brooklyn Nets? Spike Lee shoots a sideways glance suggesting the reporter is guilty of early morning drug use. “I wish I had a dollar for every time people ask me that — I could finance another film,” he says. “No, no and no. Can’t do that. Can’t. “I am orange and blue, baby,” he says in reference to the colors of the Knicks. “Orange and blue.” New York Times

Brooklyn Nets, New York Knicks, Spike Lee, New York 

He waves his arms at the scene. (Caution: The difficulty for a writer bound by The New York Times’s style is that Spike Lee is gorgeously fluent in New Yorkese, including our birthright use of a certain four-letter word as verb, noun, adjective and adverb.) “The diversity of this place is great,” he says. “But if every” New Yorker “is a millionaire, then New York City is going to suck!” New York Times

Brooklyn Nets, New York Knicks, Spike Lee, New York 

“Jeremy Lin is a good player, but all the hype is because he’s Asian,” the WBC welterweight champion tweeted earlier this month. “Black players do what he does every night and don’t get the same praise.’’ Lee immediately took to Twitter to respond to Mayweather’s comments and defend Lin. “Floyd Mayweather I Hope You Watched Jeremy Hit The Gamewinning 3 Pointer With .005 Seconds Left.Our Guy Can BALL PLAIN AND SIMPLE.RECOGNIZE.” After last night’s chat, it appeared Lee and Mayweather had made peace. “Floyd Mayweather And I Had A Great Conversation Courtside,” Lee tweeted after the game. “We’re MAD COOL.ALL LOVE.2 Brotha’s.YA-DIG.’’ New York Post

New York Knicks, Spike Lee, Jeremy Lin, Floyd Mayweather 

How about a Jeremy Lin movie down the road? That idea was promoted yesterday by Knicks superfan/filmmaker Spike Lee, who wore Lin’s green high-school jersey from Palo Alto, Calif., and a Harvard Crimson jersey to games. On Access Hollywood, MSG Network’s Jill Martin asked Spike about the possibility of making one. “Woody and I can co-direct it, the first co-direct with Woody Allen and Spike Lee, ‘The Jeremy Lin Story,’ ’’ Lee told Martin last night. New York Post

New York Knicks, Spike Lee, Jeremy Lin, Showbusiness 

All right, this Jeremy Lin situation is officially out of control. Warriors coach Mark Jackson said he received a text message about Lin from Spike Lee, film director and big-time New York Knicks fan. According to Jackson, Lee “thanked” Jackson for making Lin available so that the Knicks could pick him up. “I got a text message from Spike Lee this morning,” Jackson said after Warriors’ practice on Saturday. “I had nothing to do with Jeremy Lin. I never saw him do a layup. So for the people … stop asking me. He never practiced for us so leave me out of it.” CSNBayArea.com

Golden State Warriors, New York Knicks, Mark Jackson, Spike Lee, Jeremy Lin 

During an interview at Footaction prior to the release for his new sneaker, the Spizike, Lee expressed his feelings about the NBA lockout, saying he believes the players need to stick together at this time rather than decertifying or as Knicks forward Amar’e Stoudemire has hinted at, starting their own league. “We’ll have to see if that [players creating a league] is going to happen. I think right now what they have to do is make sure they keep the players unified before people start breaking off,” Lee told the Post. New York Post

New York Knicks, Spike Lee, Lockout 

Lee has hopes that an agreement can be reached soon and talked about how the lockout is not just having a negative effect on the basketball world, but it is also hurting the businesses that surround Madison Square Garden. “It comes down to money. There’s got to be a middle ground somewhere. It’s affecting people, a lot of people. I bet Footaction doesn’t make as much money because before the game people come in here before the game. This whole area thrives on it, when you have 20,000 people in the Garden everyone makes money here,” Lee said. New York Post

New York Knicks, Spike Lee, Lockout, Madison Square Garden 

Marc Berman: Spike not wearing his "6'' Landry Fields jersey, donning suit, orange tie orange top hat. Everyone's given up on diarist Fields but Post. Twitter

New York Knicks, Spike Lee, Landry Fields 

What's your most memorable conversation with a player during a game? Spike Lee: This is really surprising, and this is all true. The only time that it's ever really gotten nasty was with Reggie Miller. But we were friends before that and we've been friends since then. When I go to the games, it's to have fun. I'm respectful. If I say a player missed a shot, that's not talking about your mother, your family; it's all good nature. The players enjoy talking to me and I enjoy talking to them. But this last time against Boston -- you know that game where they disallowed Stoudemire’s 3? -- Kevin Garnett lost it. He was cursing me out for no reason. Maybe because Stoudemire gave him 39 points, but take that vulgarity to Stoudemire. I'm not holding you and I did not even say s--- to Garnett the whole game. That really surprised me. He lost it. He was cursing at me the whole game. He needs to calm the f--- down. ESPN.com

Boston Celtics, New York Knicks, Spike Lee, Kevin Garnett 

Critics have called Miami Heat forward LeBron James a selfish, oversized child, so it only makes sense that his 26th birthday party, which drew the likes of filmmaker Spike Lee and rapper Drake, came complete with a ridiculously oversized and self-reverential birthday cake, as noted in this morning's Shootaround. Here's a look at the King-themed red, gold and white cake, which appears to be at least five layers, courtesy of James' Twitter feed. CBSSports.com

Miami Heat, LeBron James, Spike Lee, Drake 

Spike Lee On Carmelo and the Knicks' front office: "I know 'em," says Lee, of Donnie Walsh and James Dolan. "I'm not on the payroll, even though some people might suspect that." Lee's Rolodex could, in theory, help the Knicks. For instance, in wooing free agents. Not so, he says. "It hasn't happened the last ten years," he says, "so I guess I'd have to disagree with that." "I want to have Carmelo, but I don't want Donnie Walsh to have to give away everybody," adds Lee. "We'll see what happens. I'm not the G.M., I'm not going to say who should go, who should stay. I just don't think that the whole team should be gutted. Then we'd be back to square one." ESPN.com

New York Knicks, Carmelo Anthony, Spike Lee 

Spike Lee once wrote that early in his career, he was probably better known as a Knick fan, and as Mars Blackmon in those Michael Jordan commercials, than as a filmmaker. The director of "Do the Right Thing," "Malcolm X" and the chilling Hurricane Katrina documentary "When the Levees Broke" doesn't think that anymore. But he's still making NBA-themed TV commercials, including two that debut on Christmas Day, starring Dwyane Wade and Charles Barkley. Lee -- whose student thesis film included a rhyme about Converse, and who had a relationship with Nike dating to the Mars Blackmon character in his first major motion picture "She's Gotta Have It" -- says making commercials with NBA players is a natural. "I know them," he says, "they are friends. We love each other. They know that I respect them. I'm not going to have them on the set forever. They trust my work. So it's all good. It was a great experience. I'm glad I got the call." ESPN.com

Miami Heat, Dwyane Wade, Media, Charles Barkley, Spike Lee 

One of the spots, for T-Mobile, features Wade locked in a hotel bathroom. Wade makes and shares a video with his phone (something Wade says he actually is tech-savvy enough to do in real life) saying "Get me out of here." In the narrative of the ad, it's widely misconstrued as a trade demand. "I send this 'get me out of here" video and everyone says oh my god, D-Wade wants a trade. And then Charles Barkley, Spike Lee, Steve Nash, everyone's seeing this ... it's a real fun moment." It's also just a tiny bit bold -- a coveted player joking in a national campaign about a trade demand. It's something Wade thought about. "Oh yeah," says Wade. "[The Heat] had to approve the ad. They're fine. And when the commercial ends you see I was trying to get out of the bathroom. They know I'm not trying to go anywhere. Being locked in for the next six years kind of helped that." ESPN.com

Miami Heat, Dwyane Wade, Media, Charles Barkley, Spike Lee 

Before the Knicks beat Forbes' Nuggets, 129-125, Spike Lee, the denizen of all things Brooklyn, admitted to the Daily News that he had never heard of Forbes, who starred at Banneker High in Fort Greene. Maybe he should have known him since Forbes' team lost to Sebastian Telfair and Lincoln in the 2003 PSAL city championship game at the Garden. Lee famously chronicled Coney Island's Lincoln High in his film, "He Got Game." While Telfair jumped from Lincoln to the NBA, Forbes took a meandering journey to the pros, through a pair of high schools, two colleges, Italy, Israel, the NBA Development league and finally to the Denver Nuggets this season. His performance Sunday (six points), may not have drawn Lee's attention, but if the famous director ever needs a subject for a new film, he may want to draw on Forbes' inspiring story. "Gary is someone who's always had to deal with obstacles," said Wendell Saunders, who coached Forbes at Banneker. "It's never really come easy for him. He's had to stay confident and keep his head on straight." New York Daily News

Denver Nuggets, New York Knicks, Spike Lee, Sebastian Telfair, Gary Forbes