Paul Allen spends his money well. . . mostly
The owners want us to believe that they’ve been doing terrible since the last CBA. Let’s take a look at how the ownerships have been spending their money. I’ve left off teams that changed hands since 2006, and only included teams that had the same owners since 2005-2006.
A little Allen a lot of Cuban
Table 1: NBA Teams by total salary spent from 2006-2011
| Team | WP | Record | Salary | $ Per Win |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Portland | 233.5 | (246-164) | $308,949,068 | $1,323,211 |
| Minnesota | 156.1 | (143-267) | $324,588,198 | $2,079,081 |
| Memphis | 212.1 | (203-207) | $327,918,604 | $1,545,876 |
| L.A. Clippers | 179.8 | (190-220) | $335,095,511 | $1,863,520 |
| Chicago | 267.1 | (267-143) | $340,690,237 | $1,275,531 |
| Sacramento | 189.5 | (181-229) | $342,056,690 | $1,805,241 |
| Toronto | 218.5 | (210-200) | $363,096,075 | $1,661,531 |
| Houston | 282.1 | (279-131) | $366,208,145 | $1,297,994 |
| Philadelphia | 226.9 | (222-188) | $368,293,141 | $1,622,890 |
| Milwaukee | 213.6 | (209-201) | $368,904,571 | $1,727,390 |
| Indiana | 226.1 | (217-193) | $382,254,754 | $1,690,449 |
| Utah | 280.6 | (286-124) | $389,934,574 | $1,389,870 |
| Phoenix | 309.4 | (310-100) | $390,383,177 | $1,261,776 |
| Miami | 257.8 | (259-151) | $404,442,320 | $1,568,957 |
| Denver | 291.5 | (296-114) | $406,974,315 | $1,396,051 |
| San Antonio | 337.1 | (342-68) | $412,494,658 | $1,223,532 |
| Boston | 303.7 | (291-119) | $415,706,337 | $1,368,805 |
| Cleveland | 277.2 | (291-119) | $417,559,424 | $1,506,578 |
| Orlando | 310.5 | (298-112) | $420,989,394 | $1,355,726 |
| L.A. Lakers | 320.7 | (323-87) | $447,899,384 | $1,396,564 |
| New York | 188.5 | (182-228) | $455,481,555 | $2,415,784 |
| Dallas | 316.6 | (340-70) | $481,846,051 | $1,521,963 |
- Salary data from Basketball-Reference
I was surprised to see Portland at the bottom, given all of the talk that Paul Allen just buys whatever he wants. I was certainly not surprised to see Dallas at the very top.
One key observation… in the last six years if you were willing to spend over $400 million your team won at least 250 games and a trip to the conference finals, except for New York.
Buy two Spurs for one Knick
Here’s another way of looking at the same data.
Table 2: NBA Teams by dollars per win from 2006-2011
| Team | WP | Record | Salary | $ Per Win |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| San Antonio | 337.1 | (342-68) | $412,494,658 | $1,223,532 |
| Phoenix | 309.4 | (310-100) | $390,383,177 | $1,261,776 |
| Chicago | 267.1 | (267-143) | $340,690,237 | $1,275,531 |
| Houston | 282.1 | (279-131) | $366,208,145 | $1,297,994 |
| Portland | 233.5 | (246-164) | $308,949,068 | $1,323,211 |
| Orlando | 310.5 | (298-112) | $420,989,394 | $1,355,726 |
| Boston | 303.7 | (291-119) | $415,706,337 | $1,368,805 |
| Utah | 280.6 | (286-124) | $389,934,574 | $1,389,870 |
| Denver | 291.5 | (296-114) | $406,974,315 | $1,396,051 |
| L.A. Lakers | 320.7 | (323-87) | $447,899,384 | $1,396,564 |
| Cleveland | 277.2 | (291-119) | $417,559,424 | $1,506,578 |
| Dallas | 316.6 | (340-70) | $481,846,051 | $1,521,963 |
| Memphis | 212.1 | (203-207) | $327,918,604 | $1,545,876 |
| Miami | 257.8 | (259-151) | $404,442,320 | $1,568,957 |
| Philadelphia | 226.9 | (222-188) | $368,293,141 | $1,622,890 |
| Toronto | 218.5 | (210-200) | $363,096,075 | $1,661,531 |
| Indiana | 226.1 | (217-193) | $382,254,754 | $1,690,449 |
| Milwaukee | 213.6 | (209-201) | $368,904,571 | $1,727,390 |
| Sacramento | 189.5 | (181-229) | $342,056,690 | $1,805,241 |
| L.A. Clippers | 179.8 | (190-220) | $335,095,511 | $1,863,520 |
| Minnesota | 156.1 | (143-267) | $324,588,198 | $2,079,081 |
| New York | 188.5 | (182-228) | $455,481,555 | $2,415,784 |
- Salary data from Basketball-Reference
When we look at how effectively each team spent their money things change a bit. With the exception of an unlucky Houston and Portland, all the teams that spent their money well (less than $1.5 million a win) made a conference finals. Other teams were able to spend their money less effectively and still enjoy success (Cleveland, Dallas, Memphis, Miami). Some teams spent their money terribly and enjoyed years of misery (Sacramento, the Clippers, Minnesota and New York).
-Dre
Wages of Wins Journal 
Kevin Broom
September 19, 2011
The Wizards aren’t an NBA team anymore?
Dre
September 19, 2011
Kevin,
I left off any teams that changed hands during the last 6 years (so OKC and Washington count) as the ownerships inherited teams as opposed to constructing them themselves.
fricktho
September 19, 2011
it’d still be nice to know how well team’s left off the list spent their money over the last 6 years. An asterisk or something would’ve sufficed, since even new owners are stuck with some of the same contracts.
Dre
September 20, 2011
Fricktho,
You have a very solid point and the basis of an upcoming article :)