Ever since he became majority owner of the Cleveland Cavaliers, Dan Gilbert has been very vocal about his bottomless pocket for the team. He never shied away from giving his general managers whatever resources that they felt necessary to bolster the team’s chances of winning.
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The cashflow started in 2005 and lot of eyebrows were raised over a number of player deals from that time. But on June 19, 2016, when Cleveland won its first championship in franchise history, Gilbert’s checkbook was vindicated. Or was it?
According a report from ESPN’s Marc Stein, the Cavaliers were recently informed of their luxury tax bill by the league office; and the amount was staggering.
The Cleveland Cavaliers learned of the luxury tax bill for their championship season on Saturday, when the NBA announced the salary cap for next season, league sources say, with owner Dan Gilbert soon required to send in a check for $54 million.
Per Basketball-reference.com, the Cavs’ payroll from last season was at $105,962,520, which means that the team’s penalties totalled to more than double their spending.
The total money allocated to just their starting five was $75, 977, 870. The Toronto Raptors, Dallas Mavericks, Atlanta Hawks, Indiana Pacers, and Portland Trail Blazers, all playoff teams, paid less for each of their entire rosters.
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Was it worth it? For everyone not signing the Cavaliers’ checks, the fact that their team needed to spend this much for a title does not matter at all. If anything, it further emphasizes goes the immeasurable dedication from every individual involved in the process, including the ownership.