[外絮] 六度分離之離別：Jeremy Lin - 第四章

[akainorei (赤いの靈)]

翻譯by akainorei
（原譯者著作權宣告：本譯文不接受任何形式的轉錄）

Chapter 4: The Poison Pill
第四章: 毒藥合約

The old "poison pill" trick, offering a contract with an oddity that one
franchise could accommodate more easily than another -- in this case, a
salary that gets very high in its final year -- had long been allowed under
the NBA rules that govern restricted free agency, but it had never been as
effective as in the case of Jeremy Lin.

毒藥合約這個老把戲呢, 基本上就是提供一個很詭異的合約讓其中一個團隊比任何其他團
隊還要容易去吃下這個合約 -- 在Jeremy 這個例子中,就是最後一年的薪水拉到非常高
 -- 其實在NBA長年管理的RFA制度下是被許可的.

但是以往的例子中從來沒有像Jeremy 這個例子一樣超級有效

No matter how loaded the offer sheet that a team presented to a free agent,
the player's original team has long had the right to match (though before
2005, there were more limitations in this regard) and almost always did. The
thinking was that even if you didn't want the player for that much money, you
had two choices: You could suck it up and pay the player the big salary and
associated fees, or you could eventually find another team that would and get
something back in a trade. Rudy Gay, Paul Millsap, Josh Smith -- in recent
years teams made noises about recruiting all of them that way, but none moved.

不過其他球隊如何在自由球員的報價單上加多少錢進去, 球員的原團隊一直有權利跟進 (
雖然在2005年前, 是有更多限制的), 而且原團隊通常一定會跟進. 跟進的想法很簡單,
就算你不想付給這球員那麼多薪水, 你有兩個選擇:
你可以自認倒楣吞下去, 付球員一大筆的薪水跟相關費用, 或者, 跟另外一個球隊交易然
後拿點東西回來. Rudy Gay, Paul Millsap, Josh Smith -- 在這些年中一堆球隊希望用
這類交易把他們換進來, 但沒有成功過

With the NBA's new collective bargaining agreement, however, Houston realized
it was time to revisit that logic. The more punitive luxury tax might make a
"poison pill" something another team would choke on. The medicine was old,
but the effect new -- and it took the Knicks, and even the people who
designed the new CBA, by surprise.

但是當NBA推出了新版CBA, 哈, 休士頓發覺該換個腦袋了 (換個邏輯). 累進制更有懲罰
性效果的豪華稅讓毒藥合約變成會讓其他隊真正噎死的毒藥. 老藥可是副作用可是全新的
 -- 結果就是讓尼克隊跟設計新版CBA的人嚇了一大跳

"The rate goes up for every $5 million, so the tax due to Lin would have
depended on how much salary the Knicks would have had without Lin," ESPN cap
expert Larry Coon said. "For example, if they are right at the tax line
without Lin, then his $15 million will cost them $28.75 million in tax. If
they're $10 million over the tax line before Lin, then his salary will cost
them an extra $47.5 million in tax."

“豪華稅的稅率每五百萬就會跳一級, 所以尼克在沒有林的情況下薪資總額多少就會決訂
跟進林合約的豪華稅額”, 根據ESPN的NBA稅率專家Larry Coon 說, “例如, 尼克在跟進
林之前的薪資總額正好在邊緣線的話 (就是說, 差點要被課), 那林的1500萬合約將會給
尼克高達2875萬的豪華稅. 如果, 在跟進林之前尼克就已經超過薪資上限一千萬的話, 跟
進林的合約將會要尼克多付額外4750萬的豪華稅 (總額: 7625萬)

That's a lot of money, even for one of the richest teams in sports.

Jeremy Lin was the apple of the Big Apple's eye -- a major draw who delighted
fans and inspired global interest in the Knicks with major bottom-line
implications. He was, until last weekend, seen as a lock to return to New
York at any cost.

這很多錢 (多到Dolan 會吐血吧…)儘管尼克是體育界少數的好野人中的好野人

林是大蘋果(NY)眼中的蘋果 – 一個在低迷的尼克中讓球迷爽翻跟引起全世界注意的大樂
透. 在上禮拜之前, 普遍認為林是尼克會不計任何代價”銬”起來帶回家的

Then the Rockets agreed to give Lin a huge pay bump in the third year of his
three-year offer, which, if the Knicks matched, would trigger a huge tax bill
for New York.

然後火箭同意給林一個在最後一年薪水三級跳的三年大約, 如果尼克跟了, 紐約就準備付
超高額的豪華稅

This deal was diabolical for the Knicks in another regard, too: Lin would
have been almost untradable if the Knicks had signed him.

除了豪華稅的猛毒, 這合約其實還要更毒辣 (用D3的角度來講, 就是明明就融炎了還給你
放祕法….). 如果跟了, 尼克根本沒有辦法交易林


The rules have long said that such players (restricted free agents whose
original teams match another team's offer sheet) can't be traded in the first
year of the deal without their consent. In the second year, Lin's contract
would have been essentially a two-year, $20 million deal -- a much less
attractive contract than three years and $25 million. What's more, the trade
partners would have been teams willing to offer a player worth about $5
million, to match the Year 2 salary, but also be able to pay $15 million
(plus, in some cases, luxury taxes) the next year. Not a lot of teams fit the
bill.

規則很早就寫明像林這類球員 (受限制自由球員的原團隊跟進其他球隊的報價, 假設尼克
跟進的話) 是無法在第一年不經過球員的同意而作交易, 在第二年, 林的合約就會變成兩
年兩千萬的合約 – 跟三年兩千五百萬的合約來比的話是不太有吸引力的. 再者, 交
易的另外一隊必須有能力付出第二年的五百萬跟第三年的一千五百萬 (對某些隊伍來說,
再加個豪華稅). 沒多少隊伍做得到

So, what about trading him in the third year to avoid the tax? A couple of
problems there, too. For one thing, that season Lin would be paid like an
All-Star, which most teams wouldn't want unless he were playing like one, and
even then he'd be an impending free agent. On top of that, the Knicks
couldn't take a similar salary back without incurring the same tax bill. The
only solution would be to trade him for almost nothing to a team well below
the cap, like the Bobcats or Kings, but that's tough to pull off.

所以, 那乾脆再第三年交易林來逃稅呢? 還是有一些問題咧. 第一個問題就是, 第三年林
是拿全明星的薪水, 所以除非他真的繳出全明星的成績單要不然沒有球隊會想吃下這合約
. 就算他有全明星的身手好了, 那是到期約捏 (跟Howard一樣, 我明年就是要去自由市場
試水溫咧?). 還有還有, 交易要等值約, 那尼克還不是要繳稅. 所以唯一的辦法就是交易
給一個薪資總額非常低的球隊 (山貓, 國王) 然後不換任何球員回來 (就換籤吧我想).
但是這….超級難

In a league where the essence of trading is matching salaries, Lin's salary
was nearly unmatchable for New York. That won't be as true for the Rockets,
however. In another CBA wrinkle, for trade purposes, Lin's salary, on the
Rockets or any other team, is averaged over the contract. If the Rockets want
to trade Lin, his annual salary counts as $8.4 million at any time, making
him that much less of a risk.

在聯盟中交易的精神就是等值合約. 所以林的薪水, 對尼克來說根本無法跟進. 但對火箭
卻不同了, 在新版的CBA中, 為了交易, 對火箭跟其他球隊來說, 林的每年薪資是合約總
額的平均, 也就是說, 火箭哪一年要交易他, 林每年的薪資都是840萬美金, 對球團來說
風險就小多了

To Knicks fans, both the huge tax bill and the trade restrictions feel
unfair. The two teams appeared to have the least level playing field
imaginable in pursuing Lin.

對尼克球迷來說, 超大豪華稅跟交易限制根本是不公平的. 在追求林的過程中, 兩隊完全
是處於不公平的競爭 (直翻的話, 就是你可以想像到的最籌碼不平衡的競爭)

But the Knicks could have prevented this: They could have saved their use of
the amnesty clause they employed to release Chauncey Billups last year.
Cutting Amare Stoudemire instead, perhaps in 2013 or 2014, would have gone a
long way toward getting the Knicks out of the CBA bind that ties their hands
in dealing with Lin and all other free agents.

但是尼克其實可以避免此事發生的: 他們去年可以不特赦Billups 改在2013/2014特赦
 Amare (阿罵: 中槍). 這樣就可以避免讓尼克在林或其他自由球員的交易中, 因為新版
CBA的限制而顯得毫無反擊之力

Then there's the reality that the league designed the CBA to discourage rich
teams like the Knicks from holding on to all their good players.

然後還有就是聯盟針對有錢球團(像尼克) 而設計的CBA讓好野人無法拿到一手好牌 (一堆
好球員)

One of the league's major goals in negotiating this rule was to encourage the
transfer of talent from free-spending teams. If the new CBA does not begin to
separate good players from rich teams, it has failed to achieve one of the
league's key goals of the lockout.

聯盟在談判中擬出這分新版CBA其中一個目標就是鼓勵球員從花錢不手軟的球團中轉到其
他球團. 如果新版CBA 沒有把好球員跟有錢球團分開, 那對當初不惜一切甚至把球季關起
來的的聯盟來說, 此版CBA是失敗的

Painful though it may be, Lin's journey to the Rockets is precisely what that
looks like, perhaps to be followed by Omer Asik's similar departure from
Chicago.

所以說雖然挺痛的, 但是林去火箭的旅程恰恰是聯盟所希望的, 下一個大概就是要從芝加
哥離開的Asik

Sources who were in the room negotiating the collective bargaining agreement
say many cap tricks were addressed -- other owners even quizzed Dallas
Mavericks owner Mark Cuban at one point about his CBA knowledge, hoping to
learn some of his methods -- but the words "poison pill," sources say, were
never spoken.

當初也有在小房間參與討論設計新版CBA的人說, 很多薪資上限的手法都有被拿出來討論
過 – 甚至有些球團老闆考小牛隊的老闆Cuban 的CBA知識並希望能從中學點東西 (是怎
樣? Cuban 很會用CBA來佔便宜嗎?) – 但是 “毒藥合約”這字眼從來沒說拿出來說過

So as used by the Rockets, it came as a surprise.

所以當火箭用了, 就讓大家嚇一跳了

But sources from both the league and the players' association agree this is
precisely the kind of effect the new luxury tax penalties were designed to
have.

但從聯盟以及球員工會方面得知, 這就是他們當初設計新版豪華稅希望看到的結果

The Rockets, meanwhile, were early to realize that this "poison pill"
opportunity, while hardly new, would be newly effective. Rockets GM Daryl
Morey drove a Mack truck through this loophole -- and came out of it with
Jeremy Lin.


火箭呢, 他們很早就發現用毒藥的機會, 雖然不是新藥, 但作用可是全新的呢.

最後一句話性暗示太嚴重了就不翻了, 反正就火箭梭了, 撿回Jeremy Lin


--
※ 發信站: 批踢踢實業坊(ptt.cc)
◆ From: 180.176.97.111
→ akainorei:翻到一半, 先Po上半段, 我會慢慢大寫E貼上來
推 attdave:頭推!
推 bluesunflowe:未看先推~~謝謝辛苦翻譯
推 WongKarWai:辛苦了
→ qfyjke54:推 辛苦了
推 yun0215:感謝翻譯!!!加油!!!!
推 sarahls:感謝翻譯~~辛苦了~
→ ab32110:推推推 林板有你們真好
※ 編輯: akainorei       來自: 180.176.97.111       (07/20 21:42)
※ 編輯: akainorei       來自: 180.176.97.111       (07/20 21:43)
推 lemonn:感謝翻譯~~
※ 編輯: akainorei       來自: 180.176.97.111       (07/20 21:50)
推 puppetsgame:這是第一張「表面上」被毒死的 back-loaded contract
推 PTT0000:感謝翻譯！XD
→ puppetsgame:而且是 Arenas 條款「不小心做出來」的副產品
→ puppetsgame:有興趣的人，可以到 NBAGM 版看一下討論 :P
推 rayven:想起不久前才有無知鄉民說就算忍痛簽下來也可以馬上交易掉
→ ab32110:我知道他是不能馬上交易 但當時一直覺得他會被拿去換CP3
→ yun0215:我覺得最妙的是Arenas 條款原本是想讓母隊不會失去他們
→ yun0215:的年輕球員...結果這次反而因為Arenas 條款而失去XDDDD
推 eyeshieldZI:              感謝 LIN板有你們 = )
推 magamanzero:第三年交易很好做吧 不是有球隊把球員拿去換空氣嗎(茶
推 puppetsgame:很難，要換空氣，該球隊要有 15M 的薪資空間
→ rayven:一般是不會撐破的，問題是這隻牛蛙才剛把肚皮膨到極限
→ puppetsgame:而這是幾乎不可能的：因為有薪資下限
→ puppetsgame:如果是正常球員交易，15M out 也約略要是 15M in
→ magamanzero:如果以清薪資的考量來交易 尼克就算獲得球員也是低薪
→ puppetsgame:省不到稅，所以 Larry Coon 建議過 stretch provision
→ rayven:第3年是最難處理的，除非肯幫吃一部份薪資…NBA允許這套嗎
→ yun0215:可以吃薪資...送現金...不過每季最多3M
→ puppetsgame:現金在交易案裡面的價值為零。
推 ab32110:就那個把他裁掉來延長的可能吧 不過裁掉錢應該還是要付給
→ puppetsgame:而且如樓上所說，一年最多 3M。
→ ab32110:林吧 然後林被裁了後也可以在去找別的球隊簽 尼克等於放掉
→ ab32110:他沒換到東西還得付他那簽萬年薪
推 magamanzero:樓上說得是最差的狀況 但是也只要千萬鎂 比起豪華稅..
※ 編輯: akainorei       來自: 180.176.97.111       (07/20 22:04)
→ magamanzero:尼克老闆說付不起 真的是誇張...
→ ab32110:藉口啦 LF不都說他付的起了嗎XDDDDDDDDDD
推 yun0215:LF:走人了就可以放話了LOL
→ Mentha:這篇看起來火箭的GM還滿敢出手的 這毒藥合約前提自己也要吃
→ Mentha:得下去 而在這麼短的時間就決定利用這條款出手..
→ ab32110:所以說火箭真的就是梭哈下去 尼克沒想到他們的放話沒用吧
→ yun0215:對火箭來說一點也不毒阿...平均8M掛帳上...很OK的
推 magamanzero:對火箭來說這不毒阿 它薪資還在下限邊緣
→ Mentha:恩...所以純粹是尼克的新資結構...
→ magamanzero:其實拿馬不理的案例來看 就算是沒作用的球員 老闆爽
→ magamanzero:豪華稅還不是照常付...
推 qfyjke54:因為老闆不爽(蓋章)
推 sean47:老闆不爽
→ ab32110:畢竟其他人都被他成功嚇退了
推 rayven:魔術數字出來了 XD 8-8-8 vs 5-5-15
→ qfyjke54:版上當時也沒人相信尼克會不跟吧XD
※ 編輯: akainorei       來自: 180.176.97.111       (07/20 22:14)
→ yun0215:板上當時一直很緊張尼克會跟...XDDDD
→ ab32110:別說我們 莫雷也非常驚訝啊 他那就是縮下去賭隊了
→ rayven:還沒弄清楚新版豪華稅制前我是認為NYN一定會跟的
推 PTT0000:不，就算知道新版豪華稅的可怕，我也認為NYK可能會跟的，
→ PTT0000:因為在第三年到以前，有很多方法去調整薪資結構
※ 編輯: akainorei       來自: 180.176.97.111       (07/20 22:22)
※ 編輯: akainorei       來自: 180.176.97.111       (07/20 22:23)
推 Mentha:翻譯辛苦了!
推 ab32110:因為杜蘭是個無法捉摸的人 他太謎了....常做些不合李的事
→ Mentha:杜蘭是那種你要我這麼坐我偏不要的那種人嗎? XD
→ yun0215:我覺得他只是單純腦殘被騙= =
推 bluesunflowe:看完只能佩服莫雷~~~
推 qfyjke54:我覺得他還帶著一點覺得被耍賭氣不跟
推 ab32110:他這10幾年來感覺就是不停的重複被騙啊!!!!!!
推 slapt:推 莫雷很精的 接下來看他怎麼把魔獸盤來吧
推 ab32110:沒有魔獸也沒關係 內限補一下吧
推 wuling1001:辛苦了 感謝翻譯
→ Gief:有啥好不跟的,還有三年,你沒時間注意一下團隊薪資嗎?
→ Gief:多幾百萬就從交兩千多萬的稅變成交七千萬,但也可以反過來說,
推 putare:交易案還蠻好看的..有話題有內幕,將來會不會拍成電影阿  XD
→ Gief:清個五百萬的空間就可以從交七千萬省到交兩千萬,尼克這種隊,
→ Gief:兩千萬算啥?而且也只有那一年而已,又不是要你年年繳這麼多
推 wsxujmyhn:翻譯辛苦推
推 fairy0413:感謝翻譯~~
→ gaudiron:真好看耶...這系列的文章好精采喔
推 kathyfour:明明就融炎了還給你放祕法 XD
推 GF:推 熱心翻譯 辛苦你們了
推 dadadeng:推翻譯喔~
推 spittz:謝謝，啾咪版真好QQ
推 magamanzero:Gief 真是切中要點
→ yun0215:清5M...就算交稅的比例算到4.25也只會少20M吧...= =
推 kiho5678:推
推 Number41:這約好毒，熱水實在是有夠燙的。
推 essendo:感謝翻譯~~
推 Evelyn9056:感謝翻譯^^
推 hidekiss:感謝翻譯~~!!!
推 hopegirlada:一定要謝謝的啦^^
推 leroialice:感謝翻譯!!
→ koubayo:感謝翻譯
推 esunchaser:感謝翻譯!
推 tsming:試水溫試到被人用熱水澆頭XDDDD
→ rutenac:感謝翻譯! 推.!
推 jt:豪華稅真的是很重 但就像媒體和LF說的 尼克是付得起的
推 dalepp:感謝辛苦翻譯