2010-2011 Finish: 40-42
What went well

Although the Sacramento Kings reached the playoffs, they were the team to watch. But with a 40-42 record, why were they so feared? In one of the most exciting seasons for trades in Sacto, the Kings rose above the competition and put together one fierce team.

As we all know, Kings GM Forrest really likes to trade on draft day only, spending the rest of the season smoking cigars and watching old Lone Ranger films in his climate controlled over. But this year, his advisers got through to him and he made some big moves throughout the season.

The deals started small. First, Bill Walker went to the Kings for sharpshooter Anthony Morrow. Then Marquis Daniels went to the Nuggets for Sasha Vujacic. The Kings also scored in free agency, luring Stephen Jackson away from champs Memphis, inking Linas Kleiza and Raymond Felton, as well as well as veterans Louis Amundson and Juwan Howard.

The Kings started off the season losing. But GM Forrest woke up and made some moves. First, he sent S-Jax and Ben Gordon to the Thunder for all-star guard Chris Paul and Jarron Collins. A few weeks later, they took on Peja Stojakovic for the struggling Felton, as well as 23 GM points from the mercurial Thunder GM. But the coup d'etat was yet to come.

Smelling blood in the water, the Kings traded Peja and Robin Lopez to the Bulls for Kendrick Perkins and Jason Richardson. They started winning. They made the playoffs, grasping onto the 7th seed. Then they captured lightning (and Thunder) in a bottle, beating the heavily favored Thunder behind J-Rich and Kevin Love.

What went worse

Things didn't go as well in the second round for the Kings as the Nuggets made short work of them. Denver beat the Kings in six games, but the Kings made their mark. No more draft day trade punching back.

Looking to the future

The Kings kicked off the new season by moving Perkins and J-Rich to the Toronto Raptors for Andrew Bynum. This is a huge risk as Bynum just cannot seem to stay healthy. By moving J-Rich, the team has lost some serious fire power and in Perkins a solid center (but one who also has health issues of his own).

It is hard to predict what GM Forrest will do as he often plays his team out of position. Will he start Tyreke Evans at the point, or move him to shooting guard and give Paul a chance to lead the team. Bynum and Paul eat up a lot of cap. What's going to happen next season when Love gets paid too? The Kings have some interesting pieces but only 9 guys on the club with only $4 million under the cap. The team seems almost there, but not quite yet.