<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">According to Larry Coon in his 'Salary Cap FAQ,' six teams were forced to pay the luxury tax for the 2005-2006 season. The tax level was set at $61.7 million and listed below are the clubs that went over and the amount which is owed. New York Knicks : $37.2 million Dallas Mavericks : $17.3 million Orlando Magic : $7.8 million Indiana Pacers : $4.7 million Memphis Grizzlies : $3.7 million San Antonio Spurs : $.9 million The tax level for the 2006-2007 season, according to a NBA Press Release, will be $65.42 million. Coon helped round out the luxury tax picture with the following comments: "I don't expect any non-taxpaying teams to become taxpayers, and most of the teams who paid tax this year have enough flexibility to get under the tax level for next year, except New York and probably Dallas. It seems most teams are making a pretty conscientious effort to stay under the tax level, so I can easily see just those two teams paying tax next year." When asked if any of the clubs on the list were surprsing, Coon replied, "The new CBA took out a lot of the uncertainty that could have led to surprises, by setting the tax level in advance of the season. Teams no longer need to project where they think the tax level will fall -- they now know exactly where they need to be. In addition, last year's amnesty provision allowed teams to cut expensive players and reduce their tax profile. As a result, there were no real surprises this year." The one-time amnesty clause helped both the Knicks and Mavericks. "The Mavs would have owed another $15.9 million; the Knicks another $6.6 million, but without the amnesty provision they might not have make the same decisions about the rest of their rosters, so you can't exactly say that they saved that much." said Coon.</div> Source
