Grade the trade: Blazers deal Jerami Grant and more in recklessly stupid proposal

Grant and Thybulle to Kings, salary filler and picks to Blazers

It's easy to see the appeal of this deal from the Kings' perspective.

Sacramento let the league know in early January, per Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports, that Huerter, Mitchell and Barnes are available if the right trade presents itself. This one certainly qualifies as the right trade for the Kings.

As of Jan. 29, Sacramento is fifth in the Western Conference standings despite having only the 17th-best defensive rating. The Kings are 20th in points per game allowed and actually have a net rating of -0.7 despite a 26-18 record. A boost on defense could take the Kings from a fun playoff team to a possible contender.

Enter Thybulle, one of the best perimeter defenders in the NBA and one who's developed into a real 3-point threat. The 6-foot-5 wing shot 38.8 percent from deep in 22 games with the Blazers last season and is hitting 37.3 percent from three this year. And he's only 26 years old.

Grant, meanwhile, is one of the most underrated offensive players in the league. He's averaging 21.2 points this season and is draining more than 40 percent of his 5.3 attempted threes per game.

He's taken on the No. 1 scoring role for Portland in at least a few dozen games this year but also averaged 20.5 points on 40.1 percent shooting from deep on a higher volume last season when he was the Blazers' third option behind Damian Lillard and Anfernee Simons.

He's also athletic, 6-foot-7 with a 7-foot-3 wingspan and can guard multiple positions.

The Kings are making out in this deal, grabbing two long, versatile defenders who can shoot threes and, in Grant's case, get a bucket when called upon. Adding him and Thybulle to a Sacramento rotation in need of versatile defense is a 100 percent win for head coach Mike Brown.

So what about Portland?