Cavaliers to pay the price for championship contention

LeBron James was always going to re-sign with the Cleveland Cavaliers for the maximum allowable salary. That was never in doubt.

The challenge for the front office was finding a way to balance their bloated books and avoid financial ruin. Cleveland had the league's highest payroll by a mile last season, and they're poised for a repeat.

Re-signing James for $31 million next season puts the payroll at roughly $105 million. That's still $8 million shy of the luxury tax, but there's still the unresolved matter of finding a suitable salary for shirtless newlywed J.R. Smith, who has James and Rich Paul in his corner.

Cleveland found themselves in the same stare-down last summer with Tristan Thompson and eventually caved by coughing up $85 million. Smith is five years older and doesn't play at a premium position, but he made more 3-pointers than all but six players in the league last season, and he's a free agent during the same summer in which Timofey Mozgov is worth $64 million.

Expect Smith to be rewarded with an eight-figure salary, and expect the Cavaliers to pay the daunting repeater tax that played a part in bringing down LeBron's last team in the Miami Heat.

Just like with the Heat, salary restrictions are starting to eat away at Cleveland's depth.

Miami amnestied Mike Miller when faced with paying the repeater tax, and that angered James. The Cavaliers had to make a similar sacrifice by letting Mozgov and point guard Matthew Dellavedova walk.

Losing Dellavedova stings because he was the perfect role player. The Aussie guard supplied swarming defense and accurate 3-point shooting, while never once complaining about his role. He also provided insurance in the event of yet another injury to Kyrie Irving.

Shedding Mozgov is less of a concern since Channing Frye replaced him in the rotation, but he was still the team's lone seven-footer and their best shot-blocker. Not having Mozgov leaves them shorthanded against low-post scorers.

Mozgov and Dellavedova will earn a combined $25 million from their new clubs next season. Factoring in the repeater tax and James' deal, those signings would have cost Cleveland $100 million in combined salary and taxes - and that's before re-signing Smith.

Cleveland, like Miami before them, had to settle for dirt-cheap ring-chasing veterans to flesh out the roster. Greybearded third-string point guard Mo Williams will be counted upon to fill Dellavedova's absence, while 38-year-old Chris Andersen fills in for Mozgov.

Andersen joins the likes of Mike Dunleavy, Richard Jefferson, and James Jones in the 35-and-older club. Altogether the Cavaliers will have eight players over the age of 30. The rest of the bench is filled with rookies who can't produce right away.

While Cleveland will call on Williams, Frye, and Iman Shumpert for substitute minutes, the championship rival Golden State Warriors will counter with the likes of Andre Iguodala, David West, and Shaun Livingston - not exactly a fair fight.

A concentration of star power can offset a lack of depth, and James is known to cure all manner of sins, but the Cavaliers are leaving themselves very little room for error. They're driving a Ferrari without insurance.

All that being said, these are simply the costs of winning a championship.

It's been this way since the introduction of the salary cap: Great teams have great players, and great players get paid accordingly; ergo, great teams are expensive. Sacrifices have to be made.

Having delivered Cleveland its first championship team in 52 years, paying the league's richest luxury tax bill must have been an afterthought for Cavaliers team owner Dan Gilbert.

Likewise, Micky Arison probably didn't fret about the Heat's expenses while he sailed South Beach wearing three rings.

Gilbert was willing to shell out $160 million in payroll and taxes for his first championship. He'll have to keep paying if he wants to keep winning.