However, my point was, if this was a Cleveland team doing it (and I used the Cavs because they're the only relevant franchise in the city)-- that nobody would be bitching...
I don't think anyone is pissed at you specifically Pip. The team you are a fan of won, and you have every right to be excited and happy. As fans, we are groomed to only care about winning, since we have no say in how the team goes about spending it's money and building their roster.
My perception is that the non-Yankee fans here (with the exception of James, who roots for Boston) are upset that the "system" lacks the checks and balances of other professional sports leagues, which are designed to foster more parity. We all could argue until we are blue in the face about the pros and cons of the different systems in place.
To flip your argument about the Cavs around a little bit, let's say that the NBA was designed, as you said, to let teams outbid other teams for whatever player they wanted. And lets say that the Celtics had the financial support (TV revenue, large fan-base, merchandising revenue, etc.) to afford these players while the Cavs did not. Wouldn't you, as a Cavs fan, become frustrated if you consistently saw the best players flock to the Celtics, and win championships, while the Cavs squandered in mediocrity, maybe making the playoffs once or twice every decade?
Sure, it would be swell (as in Larry Dolan's case) if the owner would man up and spend the money to bring the players here, but most owners are businessmen, and it sometimes is not feasible from a business standpoint to spend 3 times the money you are generating on just your payroll. Of course, more fans will come out if there is a better product on the field, but the maximum number of fans that an area like Cleveland can generate will be nowhere near enough to support a tremendously large payroll for the long term. Larry Dolan selling the team may also not be the answer, as the person who replaces him will just be another businessman who's primary concern is the performance of his business from a financial standpoint.
However, with all of that said, I do agree that if an owner is unwilling to embark on some deficit spending in order to build a better product, than maybe they are in the wrong business. I think that Detroit is a good/interesting example of an owner who, although he isn't in an extremely large market (albeit a little larger market than Cleveland), he is willing to have a $100 million payroll to try and put a winning product on the field. We'll see if it works for him.