More than nine years have passed since the Minnesota Timberwolves chose to select two (yes, two) point guards ahead of Stephen Curry in the 2009 NBA Draft. In retrospect, GM David Kahn’s decisions seem actively absurd and, even in the moment, there was a segment of the basketball world that left the draft with a sense of bewilderment when the Wolves added both Jonny Flynn and Ricky Rubio to the roster with Curry on the board.
Fast-forward to 2018 and, well, Curry is a two-time NBA MVP and three-time NBA champion. That, of course, fuels the fire of Minnesota’s questionable choices in 2009 and Curry tossed more kindling on the blaze this week. The 30-year-old guard joined The Bill Simmons Podcast on The Ringer and passed along a rumored story as to why Kahn didn’t pick Curry when he had the opportunity.
Simmons: “When you go to Minnesota, do you have a little something extra for them? Or do you not have any bitterness anymore?”
Curry: “My guy David Kahn. I don’t know where he’s at right now. I don’t know if that ever came out. There’s a story… Everyone knows how much I love golf and play it in my spare time or whatnot. I think the word on the street was that he didn’t draft me because Minnesota is cold and I wouldn’t be able to play as much golf so I’d be miserable.
Simmons: “Is that true?”
Curry: “I hope it’s true because that’s hilarious.”
In short, this is downright absurd.
It has to be noted that there was some amusement from both the host and guest on the podcast when discussing the tale but, on the other hand, it seems as if Curry could actively believe this. If true, Kahn’s reasoning would make no sense, as Curry would have been under team control for at least four years and, unless he really thought Curry’s game on the court would suffer due to a lack of time on the links, the rationale doesn’t click.
Minnesota’s draft wasn’t a complete bust, as Rubio has been a solid, starting-level point guard for nearly a decade, even if it took two years for the Spanish guard to finally arrive. As for the Flynn pick, it never looked good but the former Syracuse star suffered an ill-timed hip injury that cost him any chance of developing into the kind of player traditionally associated with a lottery investment.
Regardless, we already knew that the Wolves messed up back in 2009 and the Warriors have been benefiting from the error ever since. This might not be the “real” reason why Kahn did what he did but, if it has anything to do with it, the story just got even wilder.
