The Mavericks, Pistons, Celtics, and Lakers should all look very much the same way in 2010 as they do now, because the majority of their core players are all either signed or will be signed past 2010.
The Mavericks have $30 million committed to Jason Terry, DeSagana Diop, and Erick Dampier for 2010-11. That same summer the Mavs will have a $12 million option on Josh Howard's contract and will probably have to re-sign Dirk Nowitzki.
If Nowitzki decides not to opt out, the Mavs will owe him about $21.5 million. If he does opt out, he'll either want more money, or he'll take a slight pay cut in exchange for a longer deal.
Either way, the Mavs are currently looking at about $62 million for just Nowitzki, Howard, Diop, Terry, and Dampier in 2010-11. The salary cap for next season is about $59 million, and their salary will only increase when they re-sign Brandon Bass and possibly Jason Kidd next summer.
It's no wonder that the Mavs have been looking in the recycling bin recently to fill out their roster, with the likes of Keith McLeod, Gerald Green, and James Singleton.
The Shaquille O'Neal, Jermaine O'Neal, and Ben Wallace trades taught us that no contract should be considered untradeable. But both O'Neals, when healthy, can still be effective players. I can't imagine the Mavs would be able to trade Dampier's awful contract, unless they were willing to take back a worse contract in return.
The Wallace trade taught us that teams are willing to take back horrible contracts, as long as they don't disrupt the team's long-term strategy—which, in the case of the Cavs, involved no contracts that ran past 2010.
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