Further complicating matters is the league's collective-bargaining agreement, which calls for increasingly stiffer luxury taxes over the next two seasons.

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To meet even the most conservative forecasts on which the car manufacturers have based their investments, super-luxury sales would have to surge to a collective 17, 000 vehicles annually, an increase of about 250%, by mid-decade.

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And with the new NBA collective bargaining agreement that calls for greater revenue sharing and higher luxury taxes for large spending teams, this silent juggernaut near the famed Riverwalk may just continue if the coaching and executive staff remain intact.

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And with a new collective bargaining agreement in place that should influence high-spending teams to think twice before incurring massive luxury tax bills, Mr. Stern presided over a final round of labor negotiations that may yield a greater degree of competitive balance to the sport that was previously lacking in historical comparison with other North American leagues.

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