Indiana Pacers CEO Donnie Walsh doesn't apologize for his cautious approach to spending as the NBA was preparing to implement its luxury tax this past season.

"The idea that you have to overspend the luxury tax number in order to have a good team is foolish," said Walsh, whose team was near the $52.9 million threshold for the 2002-03 season. "If anything's been proven it's that going out and spending a lot of money doesn't work."

Approved in 1999 as part of the NBA's current labor agreement, the luxury tax was adopted to level the playing field. It is triggered when player salaries and benefits exceed about 61.1 percent of the league's Basketball Related Income, which hadn't happened until this year.

BRI in 2002-03 was about $2.7 billion, with salaries and benefits totaling about $1.74 billion (64.4 percent of BRI).

Fifteen of the NBA's 29 teams surpassed the threshold, meaning they'll pay a dollar-for-dollar tax that amounts to between $170 million and $180 million. The teams that were below the threshold -- including the champion San Antonio Spurs -- will receive a rebate from the league from that pool.

Additionally, by folding in assorted other league revenue streams, the 14 teams under the threshold will split about $290 million.

So, in essence, it's how you spend and not how much you spend that's most important.

Dan Rosenbaum, an economics professor at The University of North Carolina Greensboro who is widely regarded as one of the foremost authorities on the NBA's luxury tax, said Portland, New York, Dallas and Sacramento will pay the bulk. The Trail Blazers, with a payroll that exceeded $100 million but who lost in the first round of the playoffs, will give back more than $47 million.