Well, the Dallas Mavericks and Phoenix Suns were both bounced from the playoffs last night, and it finally looks like it's time for these teams to implode. I don't think it's right, but that's the nature of the NBA and sports today. I'll run down each team and let you know what I think about who stays and who goes.

Dallas

Gone: C Erick Dampier, F Devean George, F Juwan Howard, G Eddie Jones, G Jason Kidd, G Jerry Stackhouse, G Jason Terry.

Dampier has a monstrous contract, and they'll dump him on the first team that will take him. Magloire is a cheaper option by about $10M, and he does about the same things. The rest of the aging backups that were supposed to provide depth for a championship team (George, Howard, Jones) will be gone ASAP. I'm pretty sure that Mark Cuban saw all that he needed to know about Kidd in the playoffs when he played matador defense against Chris Paul, and Stackhouse and Terry should also be gone because their tenure with the team is becoming stale.

Mainstays: F Dirk Nowitzki, F Brandon Bass, G Antoine Wright.

I'd personally get rid of Dirk if I were running this team, but he's Cuban's boy and I don't see him playing for any other team any time soon. Bass can be a solid role player that can start at PF if you put Dirk at center, or he can be an energy guy off of the bench. He's the exact same player for the Mavs as Anderson Varejao is for the Cavs. They might get rid of Wright, but I love this kid. He's a 6-7 wing player, and he can both play defense and score. If Dirk has a night off, then Wright can handle the scoring duties. It's also nice to have a guard that can post up in the lane, especially since Dirk refuses to do so.

Maybes: F Malik Allen, G Jose Juan Barera, F Josh Howard, G Tyronn Lue, C Jamaal Magloire.

Allen and Lue are the exact same type of players as Jones, Juwan Howard, and George, but they might be kept just for depth. I'm not sure if the Mavs like Barera enough to give him playing time at PG, but if they do, then he'll definitely stay. Josh Howard might also be gone, just because the second-best player on a team is always the first to go during an implosion (i.e. Shaq getting traded from the Lakers instead of Kobe). Magloire should be traded or released, but he's still a serviceable player for a good price and he's a cheaper option than is Dampier at center.

I think that Avery Johnson should also stay, but you never know with Cuban.

Phoenix

Gone: G Raja Bell, G Gordon Giricek, F Grant Hill, C Sean Marks, F Erik Piatkowski, C Brian Skinner.

Bell and Hill are both aging players that had defined roles on this team. They provided exactly what was needed, but role players are almost always elsewhere when a team blows everything up. Giricek was solid off of the bench, but his trade value is high and they might be able to get something out of him at this point. Marks is basically the 12th man: gone. Piatkowski is 37, and I expect him to retire.

Mainstays: G Leandro Barbosa, F Boris Diaw, C Amare Stoudemire.

Barbosa, Diaw, and Stoudemire are all young, energetic players, and these players will be perfect to build around. Barbosa might be ready to take over at PG for Nash, but he'll at least be on the court at SG in place of Bell. Diaw needs to score more consistently, but he got the Steve Nash disease from playing with him so much. He needs to shoot! Stoudemire is the second-best young center in this league (Dwight Howard), and he's just 25. He ain't goin' nowhere!

Maybes: F Linton Johnson, G Steve Nash, C Shaquille O'Neal, G D.J. Strawberry, F Alando Tucker.
Johnson was on a 10-day contract and is most likely gone. They might keep him as a bench-filler, though, because he is cheap. Nash and Shaq are both still solid players, but they are a combined 70 years old. If they can be traded, that's exactly what will be done. I know that Nash has been the glue to this team, but Barbosa has played under him his entire career and should be about ready to take over. If they can't get a center, then they might keep Shaq, as Amare really blossomed when he was given the chance to play off of the block. Strawberry and Tucker are young guys that provide depth, but they might be packaged with either Nash or Shaq if either of them are traded.

Coach Mike D'Antoni is gone. He got this team to the playoffs year after year, but he couldn't get them over the hump. He reminds me of a Del Harris with the Lakers. Shaq and Kobe never won a title until Harris was fired in favor of Phil Jackson. Look for them to make a big splash if they do fire D'Antoni.