Orlando's new arena this fall that will generate an additional $20 million in annual revenue, and the presence of owner Rich DeVos, the family's aging patriarch, will both help the Magic sustain a high payroll.

"I'm not going to lie. One thing that motivates us right now, we've got an 83-year-old owner with a lot of health history, so we're going to really push it the next few years. We want to see him with a (championship) trophy in his hands,'' Bob Vander Weide said. "For us to be in tax now is acceptable, and we won't run away from it. At least for the short term, we're going to push it.''

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