The 2017 offseason isn’t looked back at too fondly by Cleveland Cavaliers fans, but it could have been one that they remembered for all the right reasons. Former Cavaliers head coach Tyronn Lue confirmed on the Club Shay Shay podcast that the team had tried to acquire Paul George from the Indiana Pacers to form a Big 3 with LeBron James and Kyrie Irving.
Ty Lue Reveals The Cavs Tried To Trade For Paul George To Team Up With LeBron & Kyrie To Take Down Steph, Kevin Durant & Klay
"We tried to get him." pic.twitter.com/0zsSz4K3y6
— Club Shay Shay (@ClubShayShay) August 29, 2025
The Cavaliers had entered that offseason on the back of a demoralizing five-game series loss to the Golden State Warriors in the 2017 NBA Finals. They had famously beaten the Warriors in seven games in the 2016 NBA Finals, but any hopes of a repeat were dashed soon after.
The Warriors signed Kevin Durant in free agency to form a Big 4 with Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, and Draymond Green. That group would set a new NBA record by going 16-1 in the 2017 playoffs, with the only loss coming at the hands of the Cavaliers.
While getting a game off that team was quite a feat in itself, it was clear that the Cavaliers would have to upgrade the roster if they were to get back on top. George was identified as someone who could help their cause greatly after he requested a trade from the Pacers that offseason.
After much deliberation, the Cavaliers appeared to have landed George in a three-team deal that included the Denver Nuggets. George even had conversations with James, but Pacers general manager Kevin Pritchard ultimately decided against going ahead with this deal, according to ESPN.
“On the afternoon of June 30, the sides thought they had a deal. On a conference call between the teams, everyone tentatively agreed. George to the Cavs, [Kevin] Love to the Nuggets, [Gary] Harris and other pieces to the Pacers, sources said.
“Plans were put in place for a call to be arranged between George and Gilbert, an important step before the trade would become final, sources said. The front office began making other plans to complement George as free agency was about to begin.
“But then Pritchard, who had been on the conference call when the deal was tentatively agreed to, sent the message that his team was backing out, sources said. There was no deal.”
Not long after, it was revealed that the Pacers were trading George to the Oklahoma City Thunder for Victor Oladipo and Domantas Sabonis. The Cavaliers were just left wondering what might have been.
Would a team led by James, Irving, and George have been good enough to take down the Warriors? Probably not, but the Cavaliers would have made life difficult for them.
George had averaged 23.7 points, 6.6 rebounds, 3.3 assists, 1.6 steals, and 0.4 blocks per game for the Pacers in 2016-17. An elite two-way wing like him is exactly what you needed against that Warriors team, and he perhaps would have helped the Cavaliers win two or three games in a rematch.
As if losing out on George wasn’t a big enough blow, the Cavaliers then saw Irving hand in a trade request. He would be sent to the Boston Celtics later that offseason for Isaiah Thomas, Jae Crowder, Ante Zizic, and the Brooklyn Nets‘ 2018 first-round pick.
The Cavaliers had been dreaming about having this formidable Big 3, and they were suddenly left with just James. He would still manage to drag the team to the 2018 NBA Finals, but they would get swept by the Warriors. James then left for the Los Angeles Lakers in free agency, and that was that for the Cavaliers.
They entered a rebuild, but to their credit, they have become contenders again now. The Cavaliers are one of the favorites to win the East next season, and it will be interesting to see if this group can go all the way a decade after the franchise won its first title.
