Before Kevin Durant arrived in Golden State to make the Warriors truly unstoppable, the duo of Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson terrorized the NBA and led the Warriors to the greatest regular-season record in league history. According to Ethan Strauss’ new book on the Warriors, “The Victory Machine,” the Splash Bros. were very nearly relocated to New Orleans in 2011, years before they became All-Stars.

Paul was traded from New Orleans to the Los Angeles Clippers in December of 2011, days after then-commissioner David Stern nullified a deal to send Paul to the Lakers. Strauss writes that before then, the Hornets and Warriors nearly had a trade in place that would see Paul moved to Golden State in exchange for Curry and Thompson, but that Paul – who was on an expiring deal – had no interest in re-signing with the Warriors.

Via NBC Sports:

“It was far from the only time Curry was shopped, but in this instance, the deal was very close to completion. (Bob) 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. With that, the Hornets lost out on the greatest backcourt of all time.”

According to former Warriors GM Larry Riley, though, that trade was never discussed. In a radio interview, Riley denied ever having a discussion about a package deal for Curry and Thompson, but admitted that there was a “discussion about the possibilities” of trading Curry at some point.

Via 95.7 The Game:

“First off, that’s false. That never took place. And therefore, I think everyone learned 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. 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.”

Unfortunately for LeBron James, that deal never happened, and the Warriors went on to become one of the sport’s greatest dynasties.