But James is right that he has played poorly in the jerseys. The Heat have worn the jerseys twice, and he wore one in the All-Star Game. In those three games, James combined to go 24 for 54 (44.4 percent) from the field, which is well below the 58.3 percent he has shot in a traditional jersey. Even worse, he is 0 for 14 from 3-point range in sleeves. It is possible that the best defense against the dominant James is a little fabric on his shoulders.

The good news for James is that the Heat are not scheduled to wear the jerseys again this season.

Talent Versus Anxiety

Ten-day contracts have existed in the N.B.A. since at least 1976 and have rarely garnered much notice. Teams occasionally find useful players, but for the most part they are the territory of tweeners, bench players and roster fillers.

The Nets made a splash last month when they signed Jason Collins, the N.B.A.’s first openly gay player, to one of the low-risk deals, and signed him to a second one last week. Now the Sacramento Kings have joined them in making the 10-day deal a bit more interesting, bringing in Royce White.

Drafted 16th over all by the Houston Rockets in 2012, White has an anxiety disorder that manifests in various ways, chiefly a fear of flying. A dispute about the way his care should be managed played out publicly between White and the Rockets, and he was briefly assigned to the Rio Grande Valley Vipers of the N.B.A. Development League before being traded last summer to the Philadelphia 76ers. He was expected to make the team out of training camp but was cut before the season started. He had gone from first round to free agency without playing a minute in the N.B.A.

Through it all, White communicated with fans through his Twitter account, @Highway_30, in which he has discussed mental health issues, and has maintained a Zen-like tone, ending most messages with #BeWell.