SAN ANTONIO: Disclaimer: If LeBron James' support of the New York Yankees upsets you, stop reading here.

In March, Nike will be releasing a special version of James' Air Zoom V shoe in New York that's dedicated to his love of the Yankees. The shoe will be in Yankees colors complete with pinstripes and likely be sold only in the New York area.

''They're hot,'' James said. ''I like them a lot.''

As with all of his signature shoes, James' consulted on the design, which includes his No. 23 on the tongue in the block lettering used for Yankee uniforms. On the underside of the tongue is James' name inserted into a popular Yankee Stadium cheer: ''Le-Bron Ja-mes, Clap! Clap! Clap! Clap! Clap!''

''Our goal is to gather insight from our athletes and apply our findings to create product that represent who they are,'' Nike spokesman KeJuan Wilkins wrote in an e-mail.

Before conspiracy theorists get going, this is usual business for Nike. The shoe giant has used special New York promotions for James for several years. They've highlighted other things that are special to James, including putting a map of Akron on the mass release Zoom LeBron V model currently being sold across the country.

Yet, there's no doubt Nike has put a special focus on the Big Apple. Two years ago, it opened a temporary museum devoted to James in the Soho section of Manhattan and regularly feature James on a four-story advertisement a block from Madison Square Garden.

Last year, Nike released a New York-themed version of James' shoe that featured graffiti and other representations of the city. Nike also has designs of his signature shoe that target the Chinese market.

In the locker room

• There were some double takes in the Cavs' locker room when Shannon Brown arrived before the game. He's shaved off his braids, a style he has had since high school. The Cavs recalled Brown from the D-League on Thursday. He got off to a rough start with the Rio Grande Valley Vipers last weekend, but played well in the D-League Showcase in Boise this week, including a 37-point game on Wednesday night. He averaged 23.7 points in the four games.

The plan was for Brown to show himself off as the Cavs look to trade him before next month's deadline.

''When you don't play for a while you get rusty. It took a few games to get into a groove,'' Brown said. ''In the end, everything will work out for me. There were a lot of eyes in the crowd.''

• Zydrunas Ilgauskas got caught on camera giving an obscene gesture while on the bench Tuesday in Memphis. He said it was given in a joking manner to teammate Donyell Marshall after the frustrated Ilgauskas left the game due to his third foul in the first half. The clip was picked up by sports commentary shows Wednesday.

''I was icing in the hotel room and watching ESPN and I saw my name (on the rundown) and I was like 'What did I do?'  Ilgauskas said. ''It was done in a joking manner with a teammate.''

Ilgauskas said he doesn't expect to be fined.

• Some invitations have been given out for competitions on All-Star Weekend, but Daniel Gibson said he has not heard yet about the rookie-sophomore game or 3-Point Shootout in New Orleans next month.