Cavs' Actual Return for Kyrie Irving Revealed After Isaiah Thomas, Other Trades

The Los Angeles Lakers traded power forward Larry Nance Jr. and point guard Jordan Clarkson to the Cleveland Cavaliers on Thursday, part of an afternoon that saw Cleveland reshape its entire roster.

Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN reported the news, with the Lakers acquiring Isaiah Thomas, Channing Frye and the Cavs' own first-round pick.

The Cavs also acquired Rodney Hood and George Hill as part of a three-team deal later in the afternoon, sending out Jae Crowder and Derrick Rose to the Utah Jazz and Iman Shumpert to the Sacramento Kings.

The deals finalize Cleveland's trade of Kyrie Irving to the Boston Celtics this summer. Aside from salary flotsam—which, essentially, is all the Cavs gave up in these deals given how little Shumpert, Frye and Rose were playing—Crowder and Thomas were the only rotation pieces given up in these two deals.

To recap, the Cavs wound up getting Nance, Clarkson, Hood, Hill, Ante Zizic and the Brooklyn Nets' first-round pick in exchange for Irving, their own first and salary filler. Considering Irving's public desire to leave, that's a pretty sensational haul overall—one that sets them up with a promising young core of players around whom they can rebuild in the event LeBron James leaves this summer.

Hill is the only player in the deal who is over the age of 25. Hood is a restricted free agent this summer and might cost some money, and Clarkson is on a longer-term deal, but the Cavs got younger and more athletic Thursday in one fell swoop. 

Nance, 25, established himself as a solid young piece for the Lakers in recent seasons, averaging 8.6 points and 6.8 rebounds per game this year. While he doesn't have a polished offensive game, the high-flying, athletic power forward is a solid rebounder and defender who brings energy to the position. 

It hasn't been much of a secret that the Lakers intend on chasing superstars such as James and Paul George this summer. And with young centerpieces like Lonzo Ball, Brandon Ingram and Kyle Kuzma ostensibly untouchable, Nance was among the players the team could afford to move to free up some cash.

Getting rid of Clarkson's salary will also give the Lakers max room in either of the next two summers.