‘First off, that’s false’ — Former Warriors GM denies Curry, Klay for CP3 report

In the wake of the blockbuster report that the Warriors, back in 2011, tried to package Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson for Chris Paul, former club GM joined Joe, Lo & Dibs to dash that claim, while leaving room for equivocation.

Asked about thinking behind such a move, laid out in Ethan Strauss’ new book, “The Victory Machine,” Riley offered the following.

“First off, that’s false.”

Per Strauss’ reporting, Bob Myers, who was the assistant GM under Riley and who was apprenticing to take over the head job during the Lacb transition, offered Curry and Thompson to the New Orleans Hornets for Paul.

The New Orleans guard scuttled the move when he told the Warriors he wouldn’t stay beyond season when his contract was up.

“That never took place,” Rlley continued. “And therefore, I think everyone learns something. When you... I had 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 newspaper, it’s not necessarily true.”

“I can tell you right now, that never happened.”Former #Warriors GM Larry Riley shoots down the Curry/Klay for CP3 trade report pic.twitter.com/E3KVrPrhL4

— 95.7 The Game (@957thegame) April 17, 2020

“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 Warriors 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 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.”