Grading Cleveland Cavaliers trade with Boston Celtics -- Terry Pluto (video)

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- There are a variety of reasons that it's stupid to quickly grade trades and drafts.

But when it comes to the Cleveland Cavaliers deal with the Boston Celtics, two quick grades come to mind.

Boston receives an A-plus.

Kyrie Irving demanded the Cavs trade him. The Cavs could have refused, but they thought Irving would be toxic to team chemistry.

New general manager Koby Altman was in a tough spot. He had replaced David Griffin. Irving made the situation tougher for the Cavs by waiting until AFTER the draft to deliver his demand to Cavs owner Dan Gilbert.

Did the Cavs know Irving was unhappy?

Yes.

But Irving often was upset about something.

Did they know the trade demand was coming?

They were ambushed. They never thought Irving would want to leave after the Cavs had been to the last three NBA Finals.

They thought wrong.

Before the draft, former GM Griffin had turned down an offer of Paul George from Indiana for Irving. Griffin's goal was to keep Irving and add George to play with LeBron James, Irving & Co. with the Cavs.

If he had known Irving wanted out, Griffin probably would have made that deal.

But after the Cavs turned down the offer for George, the Pacers sent him to Oklahoma City.

KYRIE IN BOSTON

The deal has been an A-plus for the Celtics.

Irving is averaging the same 25 points he did with the Cavaliers last season. The guard is shooting 49 percent overall, 40 percent on 3-pointers.

The Celtics went into Wednesday night with a 30-10 record. Irving has been giving a reasonable effort on defense and working hard to fit into the system set up by coach Brad Stevens.

Irving is only 25 years old. He is under contract for two more seasons.

He wanted center stage in a big market, and he's found that in Boston.

Of course, the final grades will come in the playoffs.

Could the Cavs and Celtics face each other in the Eastern Conference Finals once again?

Don't bet against it.

THOMAS IN CLEVELAND

The Cavs received Isaiah Thomas, Jae Crowder, Ante Zizic and Brooklyn's 2018 first-round pick.

Coming off a major hip injury, Thomas made his Cavs debut Tuesday night against Portland...

Wow!

Thomas threw in 17 points in 19 minutes. He was 6-of-12 from the field, including 3-of-8 on 3-pointers.

It's a remarkable performance for a guy who had no training camp and only a few full-court scrimmages -- and he is dropped into the middle of the regular season.

The 5-foot-9 guard electrified the home crowd and energized his teammates.

In the 127-110 victory over Portland, the Cavs outscored the Blazers by 17 points in the 19 minutes played by Thomas.

He is being limited in terms of minutes on the court. My guess is the Cavs want to keep it under 20.

He is not playing back-to-back games, so he'll sit out Wednesday's game in Boston.

As I wrote earlier, the Cavs are trying to keep expectations modest for Thomas early in his return. It's unfair to expect Thomas to be the same All-Star guard who averaged 29 points a game for the Celtics last season.

But his first game showed he may not be that far away from being in top form.

What also was impressive is how Wade and Thomas blended well in their first game. Wade scored 15 points in 18 minutes -- and had eight rebounds.

If Wade and Thomas develop some chemistry, what a huge boost for the Cavs.

CROWDER IN CLEVELAND

Early in the season, Crowder has struggled at times fitting in with the Cavs.

The forward is shooting only 40 percent from the field, down from 46 percent with Boston last season.

He is shooting only 32 percent on 3-pointers, compared to 40 percent in Boston a year ago.

All of his stats are down.

In his last 10 games, Crowder has been a little better -- shooting 47 percent from the field, averaging 9.1 points.

Crowder looked very comfortable Tuesday night, back on the court with Thomas. Crowder scored 17 points in 24 minutes.

THE WAITING GAME

Two other parts of the trade can't be evaluated for a few years.

Zizic is only 20 years old. He is a 6-foot-11 center who is not going to be a factor for the Cavs this season.

The Brooklyn pick was expected to be in the top five.

But the Nets have been surprisingly mediocre, as opposed to be pretty awful. Heading into Wednesday night, the Nets were 14-23.

Of course, the Nets could fade in the second half of the season.

Adding the Brooklyn pick gives the Cavs the option of trading a first-round pick this season. They have both their own choice and the one acquired from Boston.

The bottom line?

The deal is an instant success for Boston, Irving blending in even faster and easier than I thought possible.

As for the Cavs, the first look at Thomas has to make Cavs fans smile. Crowder's recent resurgence is promising.

So the Cavs receive an Incomplete grade, which is about what you'd expect at this point in the season.

But there is real reason to feel good that the deal will work out very well for the Cavs.

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