Dell Curry tried to take Steph to the Knicks in the 2009 NBA Draft

Dell Curry, Steph’s father, spoke about his efforts to influence his son’s draft fate during a recent episode of the show “Heat Control with Stephen and Dell Curry” podcast.

According to Dell, he pushed for Steph to be selected by the Knicks in 8th place, the position the team held that year.

“On draft day, we were in New York and I got a call from (former Warriors coach) Don Nelson,” Dell Curry said. “He asked, ‘Dell, do you have a problem if we draft Steph at No. 7?’ I said, ‘Yes, I do.’ We want it in New York. After arguing for five or ten minutes, Nelson said, “Well, if he’s there, we’ll take him anyway.” I replied: ‘It’s your choice. You asked me for my opinion and I gave it to you.’”

Photo by Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE via Getty Images

The possibility of Stephen Curry landing with the New York Knicks in 2009 NBA Draft It’s often been considered a bit far-fetched and impossible with the Wolves and Dubs picking ahead of New York.

This new little nugget shared by Dell was unknown to date and quite interesting if only for the context it provides to the internal workings of how the preliminary selections and everything involved in them materialize.

Not just regarding the Knicks, but also with the father trying to put pressure on the Wolves, who had back-to-back picks at No. 5 and No. 6, when it came to landing his son.

“I also got a call from Minnesota, asking me about the selection of Steph,” Dell Curry said. “I told them, ‘Please don’t do it. Please do not do it. It was (former Timberwolves assistant coach) JB Bickerstaff. They said, ‘Okay, we won’t do it.'”

The Timberwolves selected Ricky Rubio at No. 5 and Jonny Flynn at No. 6. Rubio retired after the 2023-24 NBA season and returned to Spain playing for Barcelona. Flynn battled injuries throughout his career and only played 163 games in the League.

Despite Dell Curry’s efforts, and it’s fair to say for the best, the Warriors selected Steph Curry with the No. 7 pick, while the Knicks took Jordan Hill with the No. 8 pick.

Hill played in 409 NBA games, though only 24 of them with the Knicks before New York traded him to Houston in a mammoth three-team trade that brought Tracy McGrady to Manhattan.

February 18, 2010: As part of a 3-team trade, traded by the New York Knicks with Jared Jeffries and a 2012 first-round draft pick (Royce White was later selected) for the Houston Rockets; the Houston Rockets traded Tracy McGrady to the New York Knicks; the Houston Rockets traded Joey Dorsey and Carl Landry to the Kings of Sacramento; the New York Knicks traded Larry Hughes to the Sacramento Kings; the Sacramento Kings traded Hilton Armstrong and Kevin Martin to the Houston Rockets; and the Sacramento Kings traded Sergio Rodriguez to the New York Knicks. Houston had the option to trade first-round picks with New York in 2011, but did not do so.

Photo by Nick Laham/Getty Images

Reflecting on the draft, Steph Curry acknowledged then-Warriors general manager Larry Riley’s role in selecting him 15 years ago.

“Shout out to Larry Riley, who had a vision of what I could be in the league,” Steph said. “Even after those conversations, he still felt that choosing me was the right decision for him and the team.”

The Dubs won four NBA championships with a core of Curry, Klay Thompson, Draymond Green and coach Steve Kerr. The Knicks…didn’t.

New York has made the playoffs in consecutive seasons while building a strong, young core full of potential to compete in the future. The Warriors…haven’t.