“I like tradition and I actually still miss the short shorts of the ’80s,” she said in an e-mail, “so perhaps it is better the Lakers management fully discuss the subject internally and come to a consensus.”

For years, N.B.A., M.L.B., N.F.L. and N.H.L. teams have changed their uniform styles and designs to increase merchandise sales, keep up with fashion trends or herald a new era, as the Miami Marlins just did. Patches have been added to remember a former player or manager who died. But advertising has not broken through. After Major League Baseball considered putting logos on players’ sleeves in 1999, Commissioner Bud Selig rejected the idea.

Adam Silver, the N.B.A.’s deputy commissioner, said in an e-mail: “If we add sponsor logos to jerseys, we recognize that some of our fans will think we’ve lost our minds. But the N.B.A. is a global business and logos on jerseys are well established in other sports and commonplace outside the U.S.”

At last Thursday’s presentation, jerseys for the Bulls and the Celtics displayed three variations: a jersey with the team name stripped away and replaced by a corporate name; a second with a company name beneath the uniform number; and a third with the corporation’s logo on the jersey strap. In addition to seeing the jersey-clad mannequins, owners were briefed on the finances of deals between English Premier League soccer teams and jersey sponsors. A four-year $120-million sponsorship between Manchester United and Aon includes the right to put the global financial services firm’s name on the club’s jerseys, replacing A.I.G.

Manchester United’s global popularity — about two-thirds of its fans are in Asia — appealed to Aon.

“Job applications in India have doubled and tripled because of our sponsorship, and traffic to our Web site jumps 500 percent on match days.” said David Prosperi, a spokesman for Aon. “Fifty years from now, after our sponsorship is over, kids around the world will be wearing the Man U jersey with Aon it.”