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http://grantland.com/the-triangle/good-charlotte-the-hornets-and-the-sliding-scale-of-nba-mediocrity/

Good Charlotte? The Hornets and the Sliding Scale of NBA Mediocrity
July 28, 2015    by Zach Lowe

好的夏洛特? 黃蜂隊與NBA平庸計算尺


No team knows how hard it is to draft a star with the ninth  pick better than
the Charlotte Hornets. That’s why the draft slot that produced D.J.
Augustin, Kemba Walker, Noah Vonleh, and now Frank Kaminsky became the pivot
point for two curious moves last month — one deal made, one rejected — that
have rival executives questioning whether Charlotte has any plan beyond
chasing the no. 8 seed this season.
沒有球隊比黃蜂隊更了解要用九號籤選到明星的難度。他們選過D.J.Augustin、Kemba、
Noah Vonleh，今年選了Kaminsky，這變成上個月選秀時，黃蜂令人難以理解兩筆動作
的關鍵點---一筆交易成交，另一筆遭拒---這也使對手高層質疑黃蜂今年除了想追逐季後
賽第八種子外，還有其他計畫嗎?

In the days before the draft, Charlotte peddled that no. 9 pick and Vonleh to
some of the teams ahead of it — an attempt to vault into star range. The
 Hornets  found no takers before ultimately giving up and sending Vonleh to
Portland for Nicolas Batum the day before the draft. As the drama unfolded
the next night, Boston put Charlotte on the other end of a
quantity-for-quality pitch. The Celtics offered four first-round picks for
the chance to move up from no. 16 to no. 9: that 16th pick, no. 15 (acquired
in a prearranged contingency deal with the Hawks), one unprotected future
Brooklyn pick, and a future first-rounder from either the Grizzlies or
Timberwolves, per sources familiar with the talks.1
選秀日前幾天，黃蜂向九號籤位前的一些球隊兜售他們這支選秀籤和Vonleh---嘗試想要
往上交易進入明星區。選秀日前一天，在最後放棄把Vonleh送往波特蘭交易來Batum前，
黃蜂發現這筆交易沒有買家。隔晚這場戲揭露後，青賽向另一端的黃蜂推銷要以量換質。
根據熟悉此交易談話的消息來源，青賽提供了4支首輪籤，想要藉機從No.16向上換到No.9
籤: NO.16、No.15(從事先安排和老鷹的應急交易拿到的)、一支未來籃網未受保護籤、一
支從灰熊或灰狼得到的未來一輪籤。

Some members of Charlotte’s front office liked the Boston deal, but Michael
Jordan, the team’s owner and ultimate decision-maker, preferred Kaminsky to
a pile of first-rounders outside the lottery, per several sources. That’s
justifiable, if you think your guy at no. 9 has a chance at stardom. The
talent gap between no. 9 and no. 15 is real; ask Boston how it felt to
squeeze into the playoffs, get demolished by a Cavs team in chill mode, and
watch Justise Winslow fall right where it  could have picked had it won three
fewer games.
一些黃蜂制服組高層喜歡青賽的交易，但根據數個消息來源，黃蜂老闆、最終決策者喬老
闆，比起一堆首輪樂透區以外的選秀籤更喜歡Kaminsky。這是說得過去的，認為第9順位
選秀有機會挖到明星。畢竟第9順位和第15順位的天分差距是真的; 去問問青賽感想如何
，勉強擠上季後賽、以心寒的方式被騎士擊敗，眼睜睜看著Winslow就落在，只要他們少贏
三場季賽就能選到的位置。

But Kaminsky is not a star, and the players Charlotte could have grabbed with
those four picks will almost certainly produce more combined over their
careers than Kaminsky. And the Hornets know they cannot afford to screw up
the draft. “Almost every top free agent stays with his current team,” says
Curtis Polk, the team’s vice-chairman and a longtime member of Jordan’s
inner circle. “The best way for us to build is through the draft.”
但Kaminsky不是明星，黃蜂利用這4支籤選到的球員，職業生涯加總起來幾乎肯定能比
Kaminsky帶來更多貢獻。黃蜂知道他們無法承擔搞砸這次選秀。黃蜂的副總裁、MJ身邊長
期的圈內盟友，Curtis Polk說:「幾乎每個頂尖自由球員都續留母隊，」「對我們來說最
好的建隊方式就是透過選秀。」

The team is too good, for now, to expect a pick toward the top of the
lottery; the East is so bad that teams outside the elite almost naturally
gravitate toward mediocrity. Charlotte would be toast in the West, but it’s
hard for the  Hornets  to bottom out in the East without trading away core
young players — a pointless exercise.
現階段來說，黃蜂太好了，很難得到樂透最前面順位;東區真的很糟，所以頂尖以外的球
隊自然朝平庸化走去。黃蜂如果在西區會慘不忍睹，但身處東區，如果他們不交易
走一些核心年輕球員也很難擺爛---但這是沒有意義的行為。

There are two ways to escape the netherworld of a single pick in the no. 9
range: move up or get more picks. Boston’s offer wasn’t quite
Godfather-level, but it represented a road map for a team that has cycled
through an alarming number of young big men — including one, Vonleh, that it
flipped for a veteran in Batum who can bolt after this season.
想逃離只有一支9號左右選秀籤的悲慘世界，方法有二:向上交易或拿到更多籤。青賽交易
包雖還不到乾爹等級，但這筆交易對循環累積一群令人擔憂年輕大個子的黃蜂，展示了一
張路線圖---這群大個子包含了Vonleh，被拿去交易老將Batum，Batum本季之後就能離開
黃蜂。

Team higher-ups defend taking Kaminsky over any draft-day trade package —
 even after acquiring Spencer Hawes, another shooting big man.
即使在得到另一個投射型大個子Hawes之後，球隊高層還是替選擇Kaminsky，而非選秀日的
交易包裹而辯護。

“You have two minutes to decide: ‘Do I want to do this trade?’” says
Polk, one of five men atop Charlotte’s decision tree.2 “You don’t have a
day. You don’t have hours. After all the intelligence we’d done, we were
comfortable with Frank. But now you have two minutes to decide if you make
this trade, who you’re gonna take at no. 16, or maybe no. 20, and we haven’
t been focusing on that range. In fantasy basketball, it sounds great: ‘Oh
my god, they could have gotten all those picks.’ But in the real world, I’m
not sure it makes us better.”
夏洛特高層五人決策小組之一，Polk說:「你只有兩分鐘決定:『我要做這筆交易嗎?』。
你沒有一整天的時間。也沒有好幾個鐘頭來思考。在做完所有情蒐後，選擇Frank是很舒
服的決定。但此時你只有兩分鐘能決定是否要做這筆交易，你要決定在第16順位或是第20
順位挑誰，我們沒有專心思考到這個範圍。在夢幻籃球遊戲中，這聽起來很棒。『老天，
他們本來可以拿到那些選秀籤耶。』但在真實世界，我不確定這筆交易會讓我們更進步。
」

Adds Rich Cho, the team’s GM: “If it was such a no-brainer for us, why
would another team want to do it?”
球隊總經理老邱補充說:「對我們來說這實在很簡單，為什麼有球隊想做這筆交易呢?」

Polk argues drafting extra players might have cramped Charlotte’s roster
space. “We didn’t have enough spots after picking up Spencer Hawes, Jeremy
Lamb, and Batum,” Polk says. “Even if someone wants to give me first-round
picks, what am I going to do with them?”
Polk認為選多餘的球員可能會阻礙黃蜂陣容空間。他說:「在交易來Hawes、Lamb、Batum
之後就沒有足夠位置了。」「有人真想要給我幾個一輪籤的話，我該拿它們怎麼辦?」

Some of this doesn’t quite hold up. Charlotte had 12 players on its roster
before picking Kaminsky, meaning it  could have drafted two players and still
had room to sign either Jeremy Lin or Tyler Hansbrough — both of whom are in
Charlotte on great contracts, by the way. A well-prepared front office has
enough intel on every first-round prospect to make snap decisions in the heat
of the draft. Cho and his staff have the goods to pivot.
當中有些說法不是很站得住腳。黃蜂隊在選擇Kaminsky之前有12名球員，代表本來還能再
選2名球員，並且還有空間可以去簽下林或漢堡---雖說這兩份合約都簽得非常好。準備充
分的制服組對每個一輪選秀預測會有足夠的情蒐，好讓他們可以在火燒屁股的選秀日做出
迅速的決策。老邱和他的團隊有足夠才智去運籌帷幄。

Charlotte faced almost the exact same draft-night dilemma a year earlier,
when Vonleh unexpectedly fell to no. 9 and another team bugged the Hornets
about moving up. The Hornets started that night hoping for Doug McDermott, Cho
’s pet choice, and they rejected Chicago’s offer of nos. 16 and 19 for that
ninth pick — the same deal Denver ultimately received in exchange for the
no. 11 pick, where the Bulls picked McDermott. The Hornets had interest in
Rodney Hood, sources say, and could have nabbed him with one of Chicago’s
picks.
黃蜂在一年前選秀夜也面臨類似的兩難困境，Vonleh出乎意料掉到第9順位，另一支球隊
一直煩著黃蜂討論要往上交易。當晚一開始黃蜂懷抱希望能選到McDermott，老邱的心頭
愛，他們拒絕了公牛拿第16和19號選秀籤想交易手上的9號籤---最後金塊拿到公牛包，公
牛得到金塊的第11號籤，他們拿這支籤選了McDermott。據消息來源說，黃蜂對Rodney
Hood有興趣，本來可以拿公牛的其中一支籤偷到他。

When Vonleh fell, Jordan concluded the team could not pass him up. Jordan
ordered a last-minute vote, and a majority of the draft room favored Vonleh,
sources say. Jordan was also pro-Vonleh. (Cho would not discuss the vote, or
whether he stuck with McDermott.) Taken together, Charlotte has rejected a
total of six first-round picks over two drafts to select Kaminsky and Vonleh.3
當Vonleh掉下來時，喬老闆決定球隊不能錯過他。據消息來源，喬老闆下令最後一分鐘投
票，絕大多數房間中的人都偏好Vonleh。他也是贊成Vonleh的那一派。(老邱不想談論這
次投票，或他是否堅持要選McDermott) 綜合以上，黃蜂兩次選秀拒絕了總共6支首輪籤，
選擇了Kaminsky和Vonleh.

An optimist would point out Charlotte turned Vonleh into Batum, who brings
the combination of ballhandling and 3-point shooting the Hornets desperately
need on the wing; Steve Clifford, the team’s coach, envisions Batum as a
quicker version of Hedo Turkoglu from Clifford’s days as an assistant in
Orlando. Vonleh was going to ride the bench again, meaning Charlotte may have
dealt him at the peak of his trade value. Batum is just 26; he can grow
alongside Kemba Walker, Cody Zeller, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, and Kaminsky.
樂觀者可能會說黃蜂隊將Vonleh換成了Batum，他能替黃蜂帶來側翼所急需的持球者和3分
投射能力; 教練Clifford視Batum為昔日在魔術當助教執教過、速度更快版本的火槍兵。
Vonleh會繼續坐在板凳上，意味黃蜂也許還是會在交易價值最高時處理他。Batum才26歲;
他可以和Kemba、Zeller、MKG、Kaminsky一起成長。

But Batum can be a free agent after this season, meaning the Hornets might
have sacrificed Vonleh, still just 19, for a rental.
可是本季過後，Batum就是自由球員了，這代表黃蜂可能只是為了短期租借，犧牲了
Vonleh，他才19歲而已。

“Sure, there’s risk,” Cho says. “If Nic were in his thirties, I could see
how people might be skeptical. You try to balance winning now with winning
later, and we felt trading for Nic gave us the best of both worlds.”
老邱說:「當然這是有風險，」「如果Batum已經三十幾歲了，我能預料人們會抱持懷疑眼
光。你要在當下贏球和晚點贏球兩者找到平衡，那時候我們感覺交易來Batum就是兩者間
最好的平衡點。」

Polk says other teams have gambled more to acquire talented guys on expiring
contracts. “It’s standard procedure,” Polk says. “We’ve seen it recently
with Enes Kanter, Reggie Jackson, Deron Williams, Carmelo Anthony, and Kevin
Love — all in trades that happened with those players on expiring contracts.
”
Polk說其他球隊也在得到到期約球員上做出更大賭注。他說「這是標準過程。」「近來我
們看到阿坎、RJ、小胖、甜瓜、Love---都是交易到期約球員的例子。」

But those situations are different. Anthony and Williams went to mega-markets
they wanted to play in. Love landed on a title contender. Kanter and Jackson
were restricted free agents, meaning the teams that acquired them knew they
could have them for a half-decade.
但這些交易情況是不同的。甜瓜和小胖都去了他們想去的大市場打球。Love落在爭冠球
隊。阿坎和RJ是受限制自由球員，代表得到他們的球隊明白，可以續簽他們五年。

Batum is an impending unrestricted free agent on a borderline playoff team,
diving into an unprecedented cap frenzy in which two-dozen suitors could
offer $20 million per season. Batum’s people have already made noise about
how much Batum would like to play in Toronto, a city that appeals to his
international roots, per several league sources. He is a flight risk, even
though both Cho and Chad Buchanan, the team’s assistant GM, know Batum well
from their days in Portland. “We are very comfortable given that Chad and
Rich know Nic well,” Polk says.
Batum在一支季後賽邊緣球隊，即將成為非限制自由球員，投入空前瘋狂薪資空間市場，
這當中會有24支追求球隊能夠開給他每季$20M的合約。根據幾個聯盟消息來源說，Batum
人馬已經開始製造風聲，說他想去多倫多打球，對他國際化背景來說具有吸引力的城市。
他是個潛逃風險，即便老邱和助理GM-Chad Buchanan從阿拓時期就十分熟識Batum。
Polk說:「因為Chad、老邱和Batum十分熟識，我們都覺得很放心。」

“We’ve seen over the last few years that players want to be here,” Cho
says. “Free agents want to come here.”
老邱說:「過去幾年來我們都見過球員想要來這打球，」「自由球員想要來這裡。」

The Hornets have Batum’s Bird rights, and the ability to offer him more
years and money than anyone else. Charlotte might have to choose between
losing Batum or maxing him out, and that looks like a lose-lose — even with
another cap spike likely coming in 2017-184 that will make a potential max
deal for Batum a little less painful. The Hornets should try like hell to
extend Batum now, as the Nuggets just did with Wilson Chandler and Danilo
Gallinari, but they don’t have the cap space to offer Batum a raise this
season as the carrot to coax him.
黃蜂會擁有Batum的鳥權，並有能力比其他球隊開給他更多的年數和金額。黃蜂可能必須
在失去Batum或給他頂薪之間做出抉擇，而這看來是雙輸局面---即使2017-18薪資空間會
有另一次可能大幅上漲，能讓Batum這份可能的頂薪不會這麼痛。黃蜂現在應該拚老命
說服Batum續約，就像金塊和Wilson Chandler、Gallinari續約一樣，但他們現在沒有薪
資空間提供加薪給Batum，來引誘他續約。

They may face the same choice with Al Jefferson, who can barely get through a
season on one leg. Lose both, and Charlotte will be back almost where it
started when Jordan bought the team.
他們對Big Al可能會面臨相同抉擇，他幾乎沒辦法獨撐過一季。失去他們兩人，黃蜂幾乎
就回到當初喬老闆剛買下球隊時的起點。

When Jordan scooped up the Bobcats in 2010, he inherited a capped-out roster
trapped in mediocrity. His goal, Polk recalls: get Charlotte into the East’s
top four, a process that would take “five or six years.”
2010年喬老闆接手山貓時，他承接了已用光薪資空間、卡在不上不下的陣容，。Polk回想
說:「他的目標是要把夏洛特帶入東區前四強，這可能需要5.6年的時間。」

Charlotte stripped away Tyson Chandler, Gerald Wallace, Boris Diaw (fat
version), Raymond Felton (skinny-ish version), and Stephen Jackson in a
painful two-year teardown that culminated in the Anthony Davis lottery —
 which Charlotte lost. The team was hemorrhaging money, and Jordan decided it
was time to veer off one path and lunge onto another. The  Hornets  splurged
on Al Jefferson, and emerged in 2013-14 as a feel-good playoff team behind
expert coaching and career seasons from Jefferson, Josh McRoberts, and others.
夏洛特送走了拳王、G蛙、胖版Diaw、有點骨感的肥頓、Stephen Jackson，痛苦拆解的兩
年直到AD樂透選秀結束---夏洛特輸了。球隊損失大量金錢，喬老闆決定該是改變方向，
往另一條路衝刺的時候了。黃蜂花了大筆錢在Big Al身上，藉由經驗老道教練團和Big Al
、麥蘿蔔、其他人的生涯球季表現下，黃蜂在2013-14球季崛起成為一支感覺良好的季後
賽球隊。

Charlotte had scraped out a path to relevancy in the weak East. The  Hornets
would  never entice LeBron or even Love in free agency, but perhaps they were
appealing enough to attract a B-level free agent — someone like Gordon
Hayward, their initial target, or Lance Stephenson. If that worked, the
Hornets might transform into the sort of rising 48-win team that  could
persuade the next B-level free agent. From there, you’re at 50-plus wins, a
break or two from playing in the conference finals.
在孱弱的東區，夏洛特已經挖出一條通往適切的路。 黃蜂在自由市場不可能吸引LBJ或是
Love，但他們或許對B級自由球員有足夠吸引力---像是他們一開始的目標黑娃或是舞王。
如果那招奏效，他們就能轉型成為接近48勝的球隊，說服下一個B級自由球員加入。從那
個基礎開始，就會是50幾勝的球隊，只差臨門一腳或兩腳打入東區決賽。

It wasn’t the cleanest process, but building from the middle is messy.
Stephenson’s epic one-season disaster in Charlotte revealed how fragile that
process really was. The Hornets took on Hawes’s contract just to exorcise
all traces of Stephenson, and they view Batum as Stephenson’s replacement.
But Stephenson’s contract offered the upside of having him around for three
seasons as at least one keystone to build around.
這不是最好的過程，但從平庸開始建隊卻是一團亂。舞王在夏洛特史詩級悲劇的一季說明
了這個過程有多不堪一擊。黃蜂接收Hawes的合約以求消除所有舞王的痕跡，他們視Batum
為舞王的替代品。但舞王的合約有項優點，就是他至少會留在黃蜂三年，黃蜂也有個可以
圍繞建隊的基石。

If Batum explodes in Charlotte and decides to stay, the Hornets may end up
executing the same plan on a one-year delay: keep the guy brought in from
another team, hit some midround draft picks,5 nab sub-star free agents, and
work smart trades like the deals that turned Matt Barnes into Jeremy Lamb. If
you’re going to build from the middle without a homegrown star, the only way
up is to pile together little hits — especially since Charlotte can’t
compete with Philly, Boston, or even Phoenix in putting together trade offers
for disgruntled stars. Hell, even a team that nails every step of a clearly
delineated plan from a pure value perspective, like the current Celtics, can
get stuck in the middle just as long as a team with a murkier blueprint. “
There’s no magic wand,” Cho says. “You just incrementally piece together
good players with upside.”
就算Batum在黃蜂爆發並決定留下來，黃蜂最終可能還是要執行慢了一年的相同計畫，留
下從其他球隊帶來的傢伙，拿到中間左右的選秀籤，偷搶準明星級的自由球員，搞些聰明
的交易，像是把咩棒換成了小羊。若是想要從平庸開始建隊卻沒有一個本地出身的明星，
唯一向上爬的路就是一點一滴累積安打數---特別是黃蜂既然沒辦法和七六人、青賽、甚
至是太陽相比，能替陣中不滿的明星彙整所有的交易請求。老天，就算是現在的青賽，
從單純價值的觀點，勾勒清楚的計畫並達成每一個步驟，也會和計畫混沌不明的球隊一樣
，卡在不上不下的中間地帶。老邱說:「沒有魔杖，」「就只能一直增加有潛力的好球員
。」

If Batum and Jefferson leave, Charlotte will be left to search again for that
first building-block free agent. And, holy hell, does this roster need at
least something that looks like a keystone. Polk’s mention of Deron Williams
is instructive. Trading Williams for Derrick Favors, Devin Harris, and two
first-round picks was the opening salvo in what looks now like a wildly
successful rebuilding job for the Jazz. Utah later gobbled up two extra
first-rounders from the Warriors, including the pick they used on Hood, and a
few weeks earlier had landed Rudy Gobert, the 27th pick in 2013, in a
draft-night trade with the Nuggets.
若是Batum和Big Al離開，夏洛特又將得重新尋找第一塊基石的自由球員。我的媽呀，這
陣容難道不需要有個至少看起來像是基石的東西嗎? Polk提到小胖的談話很有啟發性。拿
小胖交易Favors、小哈、兩支一輪籤值得開幕般的喝采，現在看起來爵士這筆重建交易是
非常成功的。爵士後來又從勇士拿到兩個一輪籤，其中一支籤用來選了Hood，數週更早之
前，他們在2013年選秀夜和金塊交易來的第27號籤選了狗博特。

The Hornets never drafted a Williams-level player that could kick-start a
rebuild down the road. Three straight top-five picks in the mid-2000s yielded
Emeka Okafor, Felton, and Adam Morrison. The draft haul  in this second
go-round of rebuilding has turned out better, but not well enough. Bismack
Biyombo, the no. 7 pick in 2011, is gone — even though the Hornets haven’t
used a cent of their midlevel exception this summer.6 This team could use
Biyombo’s rim protection; almost every rotation big man, save for Zeller, is
a clear minus on defense, and Biyombo signed in Toronto at a good price. The
25-year-old Walker — selected two spots later — shot below 40 percent for
the third time in four years and looks like a bottom-12 starting point guard.
Houston just re-signed Patrick Beverley, another below-average starting point
guard, and who may have just lost his job to Ty Lawson, for the equivalent of
Charlotte’s chambered midlevel.
黃蜂從來沒選出過像小胖等級的球員，可以開啟重建之路。從2004年起連續三支前五選秀
籤選了Okafor、肥頓、Adam Morrison。 第二回合重建之路，經過一連串的選秀，結果比
較好，但還是不夠好。2011年第七順位籤選了Biyombo，他已經離開了---黃蜂今夏甚至還
沒動用到他們的中產特例。這支球隊可以善用Biyombo的籃框保護能力; 幾乎每個輪值的
大個子，除了Zeller以外，防守上都是扣分，Biyombo和暴龍簽了個好價碼。25歲的Kemba
，在Biyombo後面兩個順位選中他，在這四年中第三次命中率在40%以下，看來是先發控衛
中倒數12名。休士頓剛重簽了PB，他也是水準以下的先發控衛，或許剛把先發位置輸給了
泰勞，他的價碼和黃蜂藏在小房間的中產差不多。

Zeller and Kidd-Gilchrist are solid players, but for now, they don’t project
to produce at levels at or above expectations for no. 2 and no. 4 picks;
Charlotte has been willing to discuss Zeller in trade talks with several
teams, sources say. Vonleh wasn’t ready last season, and the trouble he and
Biyombo had adjusting to the NBA has Jordan swinging back toward proven
college players. “That was our focus on Frank [Kaminsky],” Polk says. “He’
s 22. He’s mature. With a lot of the one-and-done guys, you don’t know what
you’re getting.”
Zeller和Kidd-Gilchrist都是不錯的球員，但他們到現在為止，沒有展現出符合第4順位
和第2順位預期或以上的能力; 根據消息來源說，黃蜂持續有意願和幾支球隊談論Zeller的
交易。Vonleh上季還沒有準備好，他和Biyombo有適應困難的麻煩，這使得喬老闆又擺盪回
去選擇已經證明過的大學球員。Polk說:「這是我們選擇Frank的主因。」「他已經22歲。
是成熟的球員。有很多只念了一年大學就投入選秀的球員，你不確定他們的實力在哪。」

Luck plays a huge role in the draft process, but you can’t have this many
shots in the top 10 and not come away with even one player who looks like a
plus pick. And these are Jordan’s picks in the end, even though his
confidantes insist the GOAT wants employees who will push back. “He’s not a
dictator,” Polk says. “He likes healthy debate.”
選秀過程中運氣是很重要，但你不可能有那麼多的前十順位籤，卻沒辦法帶回一個看起來
是加分的球員。最終這都是喬老闆決定的選秀籤，即使他的密友堅稱這位史上最強球員希
望他的員工會反擊。Polk說:「他不是獨裁者。」「他喜歡健康的辯論。」

“If you canvass the league,” Cho adds, “pretty much every owner has final
say.” He’s right, but there are still degrees of involvement. Few owners
are as active as Jordan in the basketball aspects of player-related debates.
老邱補充說:「如果你去調查整個聯盟，幾乎每個老闆都有最終決定權。」他說的正確，
但仍然有不同的涉入程度。很少有老闆和老喬一樣，那麼積極涉入和球員相關層面的辯論
。

Skepticism remains among rival teams about Jordan’s stewardship. There are
questions about how much college basketball he watches until a cramming
session in the week before the draft. His family increasingly dominates the
organization; his brother, Larry, is the team’s director of player
personnel, and Jordan last year hired his daughter, Jasmine, to serve as
coordinator of basketball operations. She has been in the team’s crowded war
room on draft night, along with Estee Portnoy, a marketing executive who more
than  a decade ago emerged as one of Jordan’s closest allies — and now
serves as a full-time Hornets employee.
敵隊對喬老闆的管理仍抱持懷疑。有些質疑他除了在選秀前一周囫圇吞棗的會議外，到底
看過多少大學籃球。他的家人逐漸霸佔球團位置; 他的兄弟Larry是球員人事主管，去年
他雇用了女兒Jasmine擔任籃球營運協調專員。選秀夜她也在擁擠的打仗房間內，旁邊還
有Estee Pornoy，他是行銷執行長，在十多年以前就成為喬老闆最親密盟友之一---現在
是黃蜂的全職員工。

Agents have at times sidestepped Cho to chat directly with Jordan, according
to league sources. The team has turned over almost its entire scouting and
analytics departments in the past year. (Though the  Hornets  recently hired
Mike Born, a well-regarded Cho ally from Portland, to a key scouting
position.) The relationship between Cho and Clifford has been cool since the
team dismissed Rod Higgins, a Jordan ally with whom Clifford felt he could
talk hoops, per sources familiar with the matter. Cho, Clifford, and Polk all
downplayed the idea of a rift, and the two wings of the organization worked
well together this summer to upgrade the team’s shooting across all
positions — a goal they shared. Lin especially looks like a nice fit as a
drive-and-kick player on a second unit stocked with spot-up guys.
根據聯盟消息來源，經紀人有時會跳過老邱直接找老喬談話。過去一年球隊幾乎翻轉了整
個球探和數據分析部門。(雖然黃蜂最近剛雇用了Mike Born，眾所皆知是老邱在波特蘭時
的老戰友，他接手了重要的球探位置。) 據熟悉內情的消息來源，自從球隊解雇Rod
Higgins後，老邱和Clifford的關係一直很冷淡，RH是喬老闆的盟友，Clifford覺得和他
在籃球上很聊得來。老邱、Clifford、Polk都不想談論不合的事，今夏這兩位球團羽翼合
作無間，升級了球隊每個位置的投射能力---這是他們共同的目標。尤其是切傳型的林，
看來非常適合充滿等球射手的第二陣容。

“I would say it’s a good relationship now,” Cho says. “I value his input.
We’re not always going to agree, but I wouldn’t expect to.”

老邱說:「要我來說，我們關係很好，」「我重視他的意見。我們意見當然不會老是相
同，我也不會去期待這樣。」

 “None of these relationships are going to be perfect,” Polk says. “There
are bumps in the road. We try to challenge each other.”
Polk說:「沒有任何關係是完美的，」「路上總有些顛簸。我們想要挑戰彼此。」

The Hornets will have to fight for the no. 8 seed next season, and if they
fall short, it could cost Clifford his job; he’s on an expiring contract
himself. Clifford has a sterling reputation, and even if next season ends in
a worst-case scenario, he’ll land on his feet fast.
黃蜂新球季必須為第8種子奮戰，若他們達不到目標，Clifford的工作也許不保;他本身合
約也要到了。Clifford名聲優秀，就算新賽季以最糟的情況收尾，他很快也能脫離險境。

But this franchise could use some stability. The Hornets  had cobbled
together a track toward that coveted top-four status, but when injuries and
Stephenson’s implosion derailed them, Charlotte’s front office rushed to
repair things with win-now moves that forfeited potential pieces of its
 future. Maybe it won’t matter. Maybe Vonleh will bust, Batum will live up
to a mega-contract that takes him through his prime, and Kaminsky will make
everyone forget about the Boston offer.
但這個球團能夠運用些穩定性。黃蜂曾經拼湊出一條夢想前往前四位置的軌道，但隨著
傷勢增加、舞王崩盤，使他們脫軌了，夏洛特制服組win-now的舉動急著想修正一切，卻
失去了有未來性的潛力股。也許這一切都不重要。或許Vonleh會壞掉，Batum撐得起
這份巨大合約，伴隨他的巔峰期，Kaminsky會使每個人都忘記青賽的包裹。

That’s a lot of uncertainty for a franchise that looked like it had finally
found something to hold on to.
對一個球團來說，有這麼多的不確定性，他們曾看似已找到值得堅持的事物。


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推 papa7363: 推
※ 編輯: brownhusky (220.142.88.38), 08/05/2015 11:34:58
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