For weeks, the Cleveland Cavaliers have been linked to numerous players in trade talks, everyone from George Hill to DeAndre Jordan. So of course, when they finally made a move, it involved none of those players. 

Right in the middle of deadline day, the Cavaliers struck a deal with the Los Angeles Lakers to send Isaiah Thomas, Channing Frye and their 2018 first-round pick to LA in exchange for Jordan Clarkson and Larry Nance Jr. 

After just 15 games, Thomas' tenure in Cleveland is done, and it's time to hand out some grades.

Cleveland Cavaliers: C-

  • Jordan Clarkson
  • Larry Nance Jr.

The Cavs were in a really tough spot. Now, yes, it was largely of their own doing, but nonetheless, they were in a tough spot. On the one hand, they need to think about their future post-LeBron James, but at the same time, he's still on their roster, and they needed to get better in order to challenge for a title. 

Thus, they tried to split the difference on this trade, and largely wound up not doing much for their prospects either way. Jordan Clarkson is a solid player, and this season will likely be more helpful than Isaiah Thomas, who just does not look himself since returning from his hip injury. And Larry Nance Jr. is useful. He's not going to swing their title odds in any way, but he can help them, especially through the rest of the regular season. 

Thomas will likely be addition by subtraction, which is an unfortunate thing to say about a guy who finished third in the league in scoring last season. However, he makes their already awful defense worse, and was hurting the offense as well. Plus, he was involved in some of their off-court drama, and it was likely best to just move him and help clear the air.

Giving up their own first-round pick does hurt, but they had to include it to get the deal done, and it was going to be a late first-rounder anyway. One potential worry, however, is that they just helped the Lakers clear cap space to potentially make a run at  ... LeBron James.

Los Angeles Lakers: A

  • Isaiah Thomas
  • Channing Frye
  • Cavs' 2018 first-round pick
  • Cap space

The Lakers did superb in this deal, moving out Jordan Clarkson and Larry Nance Jr. in exchange for two expiring contracts in Isaiah Thomas and Channing Frye, neither of whom will be in Los Angeles past this season. 

All season they've been looking to create cap space for both this summer and next by making some trades, and they finally pulled it off. And even managed to secure an extra first-round pick in the process.

If the Lakers renounce Julius Randle in the summer, and stretch Luol Deng's contract, they will have $69 million in cap space, which is enough for two max contracts. Now, there's no guarantee they're able to sign two max guys, but they have a chance to do so. And of course, one of the players they've long been after is LeBron James. 

Wouldn't that be ironic, if this trade helped facilitate LeBron going to the Lakers. This summer should be quite interesting.