OAKLAND, Calif. – As Stephen Curry took snapshots with the NBA Most Valuable Player trophy on Monday, the man who tried to keep him from the Golden State Warriors shook the hand of the man who refused to let that happen.

"I didn't see him until Steph called him out [in his acceptance speech]," Curry's agent Jeff Austin said of former Warriors general manager Larry Riley, "and I was glad that he was here."

Said Riley: "It's been fun to sit back and watch this whole thing develop."

Curry was regarded as a top-10 NBA draft prospect after averaging 28.6 points per game his junior year at Davidson College during the 2008-09 season. The Los Angeles Clippers were set on drafting then-Oklahoma forward Blake Griffin with the top pick. Austin's hope was that his client would land with the New York Knicks with the eighth overall pick. Curry and his father, former NBA player Dell Curry, were on board with the plan as well.

Still, Austin knew the Warriors had strong interest a pick before the Knicks.

"The Knicks had eight and we thought in New York he'd be a great fit. We really wanted him to drop to eight," Austin said. "Once we got to seventh, we were like, 'C'mon man, don't pick him with [Golden State].' At the time, the Warriors were not in our mind as a preferred destination."

Austin said former Memphis Grizzlies assistant general manager Kenny Williamson, who died in 2012, had strong interest in Curry with the second overall pick. Austin, however, declined an invitation from Williamson for a workout.

The Grizzlies used the second overall pick to draft Connecticut's 7-foot-3 center Hasheem Thabeet, who ended up being a bust. Now Curry is playing against the Grizzlies in the second round of the playoffs with Game 2 on Tuesday.

Williamson "said he needed him down for a workout to convince the owner," Austin said. " 'Without a workout, I can't get him. But if he comes in and works out, I want to push him for our No. 2 pick.' We chose not to have him go to Memphis. The two big believers were Larry and Kenny."

The Oklahoma City Thunder had interest in working out Curry for the third pick, but also heard the rumors about Austin wanting him in New York, a source told Yahoo Sports. The source added that Austin declined the Thunder's workout invitation to Curry because Austin was confident the Thunder wanted then-Arizona State guard James Harden, who they ended up selecting.

Somehow, the rebuilding Sacramento Kings were able to convince Austin to let Curry work out. Sacramento owned the fourth pick and worked out Curry, Jonny Flynn, Tyreke Evans, Toney Douglas, Nick Calathes and Patty Mills on June 21, 2009. Austin said he doesn't remember why he let Curry work out for Sacramento.

The Kings, however, selected Evans. The now New Orleans Pelicans guard ended up winning the 2010 NBA Rookie of the Year award with Sacramento, but has never been an All-Star.

"Tyreke had size and a hell of a workout," ex-Kings assistant general manager Wayne Cooper told Yahoo Sports. "Curry was good, but Tyreke had the better workout that day. You can't predict the future, but at the time Tyreke was a better fit."

Former Warriors GM Larry Riley was instrumental in making sure the franchise drafted Stephen Curry. (Getty) More

Austin had no interest in Curry going to the rebuilding Minnesota Timberwolves, who owned the fifth and sixth picks, respectively, and were interested in guards. The Warriors were worried that Minnesota would select Curry. The T'wolves, however, ended up selecting Spanish guard Ricky Rubio and Syracuse guard Flynn, whose NBA career lasted three seasons.

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