Are Matt Barnes and Eva Longoria dating?

This article was originally on a blog post platform and may be missing photos, graphics or links. See About archive blog posts.

Lakers forward Matt Barnes is rumored to be dating actress Eva Longoria, though both deny that they are romantically involved.

Longoria, who is recently divorced from San Antonio Spurs guard Tony Parker, picked up Barnes from the airport earlier this week, according to TMZ, prompting gossip sites around the Web to whisper.

True, driving to the airport could mean nothing more than doing a friend a favor -- but when a woman agrees to suffer through LAX traffic and its cacophonous symphony of honks for a man, people are going to go ‘hmmmm.’

Barnes announced his breakup with reality-TV star Gloria Govan in October. Could this be the birth of a new athlete-celebrity relationship? Following the Kim Kardashian-Kris Humphries divorce after 72 days of marriage, the world seems to be fiending for romance, real or imagined.

Barnes and Longoria were also spotted eating dinner together in New York a few weeks ago and partying at a nightclub in Las Vegas in October. And the two work together on Longoria’s foundation, Padres Contra El Cancer.

Longoria is reportedly dating Penelope Cruz’s younger brother, Eduardo, and after the rumors began flying, she posted this to her Who Say account: ‘First Jessica Simpson, now this. Once again, press gets it wrong, Matt Barnes and I are not dating! Why is the truth never the headline?’

ALSO:

Uninformed players should blame themselves

Story lines Lakers will miss in early December

Union disbanding seriously jeopardizes 2011-12 season

-- Melissa Rohlin