Conservative spending is now the name of the game in the NBA. With the struggling economy still years away from a full rebound, teams will have to adopt new philosophies while trying to save money.

This offseason will be a unique one, with teams looking to cut payroll for two reasons -- cap space in the famed summer of 2010 and to avoid paying luxury tax as the salary cap heads for its first decline in several years.

I expect to see a majority of teams play their cards close to their chest this summer, with big market teams cutting salary in hopes of landing someone like LeBron James, Dwyane Wade or Chris Bosh in 2010, while small market clubs shed expensive contracts in an effort to remain financially sound.

Last season I "invented" a simple formula to gauge how effectively each team is spending money. 'Cost Per Win' is so easy, a caveman can do it. Sorry, if I'm a few months late with that joke. All you have to do is take a team's active payroll, and divide it by their number of victories.

I define "active" payroll as the cost incurred to put their players out on the floor, meaning that the contracts like Jamaal Tinsley's with the Pacers don't count as a "active" cost.

Make sure you pay attention to the rising and falling -- likely the latter -- payrolls as the offseason inches closer. Look for teams to deal good players with big contracts for picks and expiring deals (see: Tyson Chandler, New Orleans) in an effort to speed up the saving process.

Here is each team's 'Cost Per Win' information for the 2008-09 season:
(Team, Rank In Terms Of Wins, Cost Per Win)

1. Portland (7) - $991K

2. Orlando (4) - $1.18M

3. L.A. Lakers (2) - $1.20M

4. Denver (5) - $1.23M

5. Houston (8) - $1.26M

6. San Antonio (6) - $1.27M

7. Cleveland (1) - $1.28M

8. Boston (3) - $1.30M

9. New Orleans (10) - $1.36M

10. Utah (11) - $1.37M

Nine of the team's ten-best teams (in terms of wins) appear in the top ten, with the Jazz slipping in due to the overspending of a certain Texas team owned by an equally famous billionaire.

Cleveland, Boston, Los Angeles and Orlando all spend rather freely, which each ranking among the top-ten in payroll. Portland ranks near the bottom in payroll, which combined with their 54 wins, puts them well ahead of the rest of the league.

11. Atlanta (12) - $1.45M

12. Miami (14) - $1.58M

13. Philadelphia (15) - $1.64M

14. Phoenix (13) - $1.65M

15. New Jersey (20) - $1.66M

16. Memphis (26) - $1.67M

17. Chicago (16) - $1.68M

18. Charlotte (19) - $1.78M

19. Detroit (17) ? $1.82M

20. Dallas (9) - $1.84M

The Mavericks appear recession proof, as they suffer the largest discrepancy in terms of rank in wins and cost per win. They can thank the contract of Jason Kidd (acquired in the Devin Harris trade with New Jersey last February) for their standing, because they won a very respective 50 games in the tough west.

Dallas has the highest active payroll, far and away ahead of the league's other 29 teams. In order for the Mavericks to jump into the top ten in cost per win, a standing a team with the ninth best winning percentage should enjoy, they would have had to win 68 games.

If Mark Cuban's bank account hasn't taken much of a hit, then more power to him, and perhaps Dallas will continue to field a well-paid, competitive club.

21. Indiana (18) - $1.88M

22. Milwaukee (21) ? $2.02M

23. Golden State (24) - $2.04M

24. Toronto (22) - $2.07M

25. New York (23) - $2.36M

26. Oklahoma City (27) - $2.40M

27. Minnesota (25) - $2.44M

28. L.A. Clippers (28) - $3.03M

29. Sacramento (30) - $3.11M

30. Washington (29) - $3.70M

As you can see, most of the league's worst teams fall near the bottom in terms of cost per win. That should be expected, which makes the Grizzles look rather economically conscious. They finished the season with the NBA's fifth-worst record, but ranked in the middle of the league in cost per victory.

I've been studying how much each team "pays" for their victories for a few seasons, and I'd say that an acceptable variance is (+/-) 3 in terms of the two rankings. Each season, a majority of the league falls into that accepted range, but a handful of teams still stand out. Here are the teams that saw sizable differentials this season:

(Cost Per Win Rank, Team, Rank In Terms Of Wins, Cost Per Win)

1. Portland (7) - $991K

7. Cleveland (1) - $1.28M

8. Boston (3) - $1.30M

15. New Jersey (20) - $1.66M

16. Memphis (26) - $1.67M

20. Dallas (9) - $1.84M

-- Portland fields a very young, talented team, which has allowed them to keep their "active" costs down while also making the playoffs for the first time with their inexperienced nucleus. The Darius Miles debacle will cost them eventually, but the players they are putting out on the floor are contributing with bargain contracts.

-- Cleveland bit the bullet and paid heavily to surround LeBron with the type of players needed to contend for a championship. They finished with the NBA's best regular season record, which leads many to believe that their open-pocket policy has paid off. We won't know for sure until the middle of June.

-- Boston suffered substantial injuries this season, namely to Kevin Garnett. If KG hadn't missed 25 games with his lingering knee injury, the Celtics would have won at least a handful more games and finished in the top two or three in terms of cost per win.

-- New Jersey had a few injuries here and there as well, which doomed them when combined with the huge contracts of Vince Carter and Bobby Simmons (considering what the later contributes). Devin Harris also missed 13 games, which is was serious loss for a team like the Nets.

-- Memphis is young like Portland, but simply aren't as good and cohesive as the Trail Blazers. One could argue, however, that they are even a tad younger than Portland. The average Blazer is 24.8 years old, while the average Grizzle is just 25.3. However, Joel Przybilla and Steve Blake (both 29) are big contributors in Portland, while no player older than 27 saw more than 14 minutes of action per game for Memphis this year.

-- Dallas is aging, which contributes to their league-high payroll. Five players make more than $9,000,000 annually, and Jason Kidd makes nearly half of what the entire Memphis roster pulls in. With Kidd's contract expiring, their cost per win number should fall significantly in 2010, even if he does re-sign with the Mavericks.

Andrew Perna is Deputy Editor of RealGM.com and co-host of RealGM?s Radio Show. Please feel free to contact him with comments or questions via e-mail: Andrew.Perna@RealGM.com