Grade the Trade: How do you grade Sacramento’s swap with Memphis?

The Sacramento Kings finalized a trade sending Garrett Temple to the Memphis Grizzlies on Tuesday. In return, the Kings received Ben McLemore, Deyonta Davis, a 2021 second round pick, and cash considerations. Now that we’ve have a few hours to digest the trade, there are a few possible reasons Sacramento made this deal.

The trade sheds about $1 million from Sacramento’s cap sheet. This could be positioning for accepting large contracts in another trade, or it could be positioning the Kings to make a large offer to a restricted free agent such as Clint Capela.

McLemore and Davis are redundant pieces on the roster but James Ham says he’d be surprised if either player actually suits up for the Kings.

As for the pick, that could eventually be a nice asset. 2021 could be the first year high school players return to the NBA draft, which would boost the depth of the class and increase the value of a second round pick. Based on the ages of Marc Gasol and Mike Conley, it’s also possible the Grizzlies may be rebuilding in 2021 and the pick could be a high second round pick.

Of course, the pick could turn out to be a mid-to-late second rounder, and the Kings may not be able to pull off any notable moves with their cap space. It’s tough to evaluate a trade based on what it might lead to.

With all of that being said, how would you grade the trade?