In San Antonio, where the Spurs are playing the New Jersey Nets for the championship this weekend, owner Peter Holt figures his team will make about $10 million this season.

A new arena and a long run of playoff games boosted revenue. But another key to the Spurs turning years of red ink to black may lie in the National Basketball Association's complex web of payments that includes, for the first time, a luxury tax.

In Dallas, owner Mark Cuban says that the Mavericks, measured on a cash basis, after taxes, will lose money on a season where they sold out every game in a 2-year-old arena and went deep into the playoffs before losing to the Spurs.

"We will lose however much we pay in luxury taxes, which should be about $20 million," he said.