Rival executives have speculated that Jerome could be in the $12-14 million range annually. Merrill might be looking at about $6-8 million annually. When it comes to the Cavaliers’ luxury tax bill, multiply those dollar figures by six. Suddenly, Jerome’s contract could cost the team $80 million when factoring in the tax. Merrill could cost more than $40 million. Is either player worth that? How would team executives justify it to Gilbert, especially when talking about two players further down the depth chart, neither of whom averaged more than 20 minutes?