The Basketball Section

It's May 5th, 2006. The Sacramento Kings have just been eliminated from the playoffs in the first round, falling to the top-seeded San Antonio Spurs in six games. It's the second year in a row where the Kings have been bounced in the first round, and the heartbreak of their controversial loss in the Western Conference Finals four years prior still lingers. Only Mike Bibby and coach Rick Adelman, but the additions in the last four years have proven successful enough to continue to make the playoffs, albeit with less success. The strongest addition is Ron Artest, a controversial yet talented player who won Defensive Player of the Year, was selected as an all-star, and made the All-NBA 3rd Team two seasons ago, but had missed just about the entire previous season after his involvement in the infamous Malice at the Palace. The additions, along with Artest, included other players like Brad Miller, Shareef Abdur-Rahim, Bonzi Wells, and a young Kevin Martin. There's a solid base t...

Considering how the Cleveland Cavaliers have been having a pretty rough season. considered one of the best teams in the NBA just last season, the Cavaliers aren't even a top-five team in the league right now, as they currently sit with a 30-21 record on the season and with the 3rd seed in the Eastern Conference, just half a game ahead of the 4th seed Washington Wizards. They've struggled with inconsistency over the last few months and several players (Isaiah Thomas & Jae Crowder to name a few) have been woefully under-performing. It was clear changes they need to be made, and with the trade deadline being today, they needed to be made quickly. And they did. The day before the trade deadline, the Cavaliers made four separate trades, sending away six players and a first-round pick for four new players and a second-round pick. The Cavs sent Isaiah Thomas & Channing Frye to the Los Angeles Lakers for Jordan Clarkson and Larry Nance Jr., Derrick Rose & Jae Crowder to ...