Former Warriors GM Larry Riley refutes reported 2011 blockbuster trade attempt that included Steph Curry, Klay Thompson and Chris Paul

According to Golden State’s former GM, the Splash Brothers weren’t getting moved for Chris Paul in 2011.

In his new book “The Victory Machine,” Ethan Strauss noted the Golden State Warriors were on the verge of pulling off a blockbuster trade back in 2011. Strauss reported the Warriors attempting to move Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson to the New Orleans Hornets for Chris Paul.

Via The Victory Machine:

The Warriors attempted to trade Steph Curry and Klay Thompson for Chris Paul in 2011. It was far from the only time Curry was shopped, but in this instance, the deal was very close to completion. Myers made the offer and Hornets GM Dell Demps was receptive. The catch was Chris Paul, who wanted out of New Orleans but had no intention of playing for the woebegone Warriors. Paul told the Warriors they could do this trade, but he wouldn’t be staying when his contract was up at season’s end.

Strauss references Myers in his book as the Warriors’ front office member that made the offer. However, in 2011, he was the assistant general manager at the time. From 2009-2012, Larry Riley was listed as the Golden State Warriors general manager.

In a recent interview, the current senior advisor to the Atlanta Hawks GM denied the idea of the attempted trade. Riley joined “Joe, Lo and Dibs” on 95.7 The Game in San Francisco and refuted the reported deal.

Via 95.7 The Game:

First off, that’s false — that never took place. And therefore, I think everybody learned something. I have to tell my mother this because she grew up in the days of Walter Cronkite. When you see something on TV, or you read it in the newspapers, not necessarily true. And I never had a conversation with anybody about packaging our two guards to do something else. Steph Curry came to the Warriors, and he won himself over as a Warrior for life if he wanted to be at the second half of his rookie season. He established the fact — this is our point guard for the next 10 years. And while there was a lot of discussion about the possibilities of trading him, it was never a reality. And we never had a discussion about trading Klay Thompson and Steph Curry for anybody else. And it would be very interesting because the author of this piece without a doubt talked to somebody who gave him some information. So it would be a little bit interesting to track that, but I can tell you right now that never happened. Now, I suppose it might have happened after I left, and there could have been a discussion with Bob Myers, but you’re telling me this was 2011. And that is not the case then.

Regardless of past trade rumors, after three championships and a bevy of All-Star appearances from Curry and Thompson, the Golden State Warriors made the right decision by sticking with their young backcourt duo in 2011.

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