[外電] Proven Path

[kerrys (台北不是我的家)]

    原文出處：
              http://www.nba.com/pistons/news/langlois_blog_070301.html

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The similarities in Chris Webber’s mid-season addition to three years ago,
when Joe Dumars pulled off the Rasheed Wallace heist at the trade deadline, are
irresistible – especially for Pistons fans whose fervent hope is that it plays
out the same way, with a parade down Woodward and another reworking of
stationery and street signs to reflect the rechristening of Four Championship
Drive to Six Championship Drive before the Five Championship Drive signs
necessitated by the Shock’s 2006 title are erected.
    C.Webber於季中的加入和三年前老喬在交易截止日前完成的溪蛙搶劫案之間的相似性
之高讓人無法視而不見 - 尤其是活塞球迷們來說，他們強烈希望結果也和當年一樣，能夠
再一次於Woodward舉辦封王慶功遊行，並且將原本文具和街道上那個四座總冠軍的標誌改
為六座，雖然那標誌在之前'06年底特律震動隊拿下WNBA冠軍盃時就應該先改為五座了。

We’ll have to get back to you on that one, but there’s another potential
similarity at play, too – the pending free agency of Webber.
    我們之後還會再回來討論這個話題，不過活塞或許還需面對另一個和當年一樣的問題
- Webber在球季結束後就會成為自由球員。

Wallace, likewise, was a pending free agent at the time of his acquisition. And
I expect the pursuit of Webber to play out pretty much as Wallace’s free
agency played out. That’s not to say I expect Webber to remain with the
Pistons. (I do, but forget that for a moment for the purposes of this
discussion. I know -- it’s all very confusing.) What I expect is that both
sides – the Pistons and Chris Webber – are perfectly content to let what
happens between now and free agency make the decision for them.
    同樣的，溪蛙加入那一季結束後他也成為自由球員。而我預期本季結束後即將變成自
由球員的Webber最終也會和溪蛙當時做一樣的決定。那不是說我期待Webber留在活塞。(我
是希望他能留下，但為了要讓這個討論繼續下去請先把它忘掉。我知道 -- 這聽起來似乎
讓人匪夷所思。)我所樂見的是雙方 - 活塞和Webber - 都很滿意地把未來交給從現在開始
到自由球員市場開放前這段時間內所發生的事情來決定。

That’s the way it worked with Wallace. The Pistons were delighted to have him,
but they were mostly delighted because it greatly enhanced their chances to win
the 2004 title. They weren’t necessarily thinking about 2005 and beyond. And
they’re thinking foremost about their 2007 title possibilities now, not about
2008 and the great thereafter.
    那也就是當時活塞對於溪蛙即將成為自由球員這件事的處理方式。活塞很高興能得到
溪蛙，但更讓他們高興的是，他的加入大大提升了球隊贏得'04年冠軍的機會。他們根本就
不需去考慮'05年或之後的事。他們現在也認為當下最重要的事是他們有多少機會贏得'07
年總冠軍，而非'08年或更久以後的事。

I remember talking to Joe Dumars a few times as the 2004 season dwindled away
and the playoffs played out about Wallace, asking what stops the Pistons were
pulling out to sway his thinking.
    我依稀記得溪蛙加入後的'04年球季末段和季後賽期間時與老喬的幾次面談，我問他有
什麼事可能會動搖了溪蛙的想法，讓他想離開活塞嗎？

None, he said.
    絕對不會有，他說。

I thought that curious, but his explanation made perfect sense. No amount of
puffery was going to matter more than the day-to-day experience of being a
Piston and coming to understand that the culture here was all about chasing
championships at the exclusion of gamesmanship.
    他果斷的回答引起了我的好奇心，但他的解釋讓我一清二楚。不管受到多少吹捧都比
不上成為一個活塞人每一天的感受以及到這來親身經驗，不搞任何小動作，一心一意只為
追求總冠軍的藍領精神。

In other words, Dumars was saying, if Rasheed Wallace has a good experience, if
we win a championship or come close, and he sees that he’s treated fairly by
fans and management, and is won over by the extreme harmony of the locker room
… well, why would he entertain leaving, money being relatively equal?
    換句話說，老喬的意思是如果溪蛙有了一段好的經驗，如果我們只差一點或真的贏得
了總冠軍，而他除了受到管理階層友善的對待及球迷熱情的愛戴，還能沉浸在球員休息室
裡的極度合諧氣氛中...嗯，為什麼他在能領到相對合理的薪水的情況下還會考慮離開呢？

And that’s exactly how it played out. After coming to stand for all that
Portland reviled about the team it derisively called the “Jail Blazers,”
Wallace was given a clean slate by fans here – and he’s still heroically
received at The Palace, three years later. His teammates unfailingly go to bat
for him. Management doesn’t nit-pick his behavior, yet draws firm lines on the
big stuff and won Wallace’s respect for it.
    而結果也確實如此。在離開了被戲稱為"監獄拓荒者"後，溪蛙擺脫了在波特蘭帶頭作
亂的惡名，在這裡重新受到球迷的擁戴 - 而直到三年後的現在，他依然在宮殿球場受到英
雄般的對待。他的隊友們義無反顧地支持他。管理階層對於他豪放的個性也不會雞蛋裡挑
骨頭，儘管仍對某些嚴重脫軌行為訂定了嚴厲的懲罰規則，但確實博得了溪蛙的尊重。

But it wasn’t just about Wallace getting a chance to evaluate the Pistons. It
was all about the Pistons getting a chance to evaluate Wallace. Dumars
obviously didn’t believe Wallace would be a toxic presence, or he wouldn’t
have pursued him so aggressively. But he knew there was a chance the
personalities wouldn’t work. He needed to evaluate the fit every bit as much
as Wallace did.
    但那不僅是因為溪蛙得到了評估活塞的機會，反而是因為活塞得到了評估溪蛙的機會
。老喬確信溪蛙不會成為球隊的不定時炸彈，而他積極的打球態度也能一直持續下去。但
他知道溪蛙過去那些不好的行為有可能不會再犯。他和溪蛙一樣都要盡力去評估彼此是不
是適合對方。

And the same process is unfolding now. It’s unfolding quite seamlessly, too.
Webber’s transition within the framework of Flip Saunders’ offense hasn’t
been the only smooth one he’s experienced. He’s also fit like a glove within
the locker room.
    同樣的過程也在持續當中，而且一樣進行地相當順利。Webber出色的傳導功力完美地
契入老桑的進攻體系之中，這並非唯一一件讓他感覺如魚得水的一件事。他在球員休息室
裡也和大伙兒打成一片，相處融洽。

After experiencing the weight of expectation and the oppression of failure in
Sacramento, followed by the dysfunction of Philadelphia, he’s delighted with
both the concept of shared responsibility and the genuine camaraderie that
exists at The Palace. And Saunders touched on perhaps the most telling aspect
of Webber’s level of comfort after this week’s win over the Bulls. When the
Pistons fell 16 points behind in the third quarter, it was Webber who took the
initiative to gather his new teammates and tell them it was a game they could
still win – would still win – if they started digging out of the hole,
together, right then.
    在沙加緬度體會過擔負眾人期待的沉重和失敗的沉悶，接著在費城又因為和球隊格格
不入而顯得抑鬱寡歡，對於在宮殿球場有人可以和他共同分攤勝敗重任以及球員間真實的
兄貴情誼，Webber感到相當滿意。而在本週活塞擊敗公牛賽後老桑所說的話或許就是
Webber在活塞有多如魚得水的最佳寫照。當活塞在第三節以16分落後時是Webber挺身而出
將他的新隊友聚集起來並告訴他們，如果能馬上回過神來，一起努力，這是一場他們還有
機會獲勝 - 而且仍能獲勝 - 的比賽。

That’s encouraging on a couple of levels. First, that Webber feels confident
enough already amid a locker room of strong and entrenched personalities to
take a leadership role, and second that he’s invested enough already to accept
the burden of leadership. There were questions about that with Webber dating
back to Michigan, when Jalen Rose was characterized as the Pied Piper of the
Fab Five.
    那在許多層面都起到了鼓舞的效用。第一，身在一個擁有許多強而有力，足以接下領
導者職務的好球員的球隊中，Webber感到很安心。第二，他也已經得到了隊友的信任，同
樣可以擔負領袖的責任。當Webber決定回到密西根時其實有許多質疑的聲音，因為密西根
五虎之一的J.Rose就是被定義為一個光說不練，只會打嘴砲的傢伙。

Webber told me recently that he feels more strongly now about his decision to
come here than when he made it. He said it hit him after his very first game –
the loss to Utah at The Palace – when he sat in the locker room and saw
teammates who immediately shared both in disappointment and the banter he
hadn’t experienced in a good long while. That’s what he wanted – teammates
who care about winning and losing but also about each other.
    Webber最近告訴我說比起他做決定時他現在覺得越來越肯定自己加盟活塞是個正確的
抉擇。他說在他身著活塞球衣的第一場比賽 - 在主場敗給猶他爵士 - 結束後就開始有這
樣的想法浮現，因為當時他坐在球員休息室裡，看見隊友很快地共同分擔輸球的失望情緒
並善意地互開玩笑(以鼓勵彼此)，這是他已經有好長一段時間不曾體會過的融洽氣氛。那
正是他所渴望擁有的 - 不僅關心球賽輸贏，也真正關心彼此感受的哥兒們。

He also said that he wanted to retire as a Piston.
    他也表示說他希望能以一個活塞球員的身分退休。

That all could change in a heartbeat, of course. Who would have guessed last
year, as February bled into March, that within a few months Ben Wallace –
portrayed as the epitome of a selfless teammate – would take his occasional
grousing to open defiance of his head coach and, by some accounts, undermine
the good karma of a team poised for a championship?
    那當然也可能在一念之間全部改變。去年，在二月底到三月期間，有誰能料想得到，
接下來幾個月的班蛙 - 一個被認為是無私的好球員典範的隊友 - 會因為不經意間發的牢
騷挑起與總教練之間的不和，以及在日積月累之下，漸漸破壞了這支球隊和諧的團隊氣氛
並間接導致活塞與總冠軍擦肩而過。

It’s tough to see where the Pistons-Webber relationship goes sideways between
now and July, but you never know. If the Pistons come up short of the NBA
Finals, maybe Joe Dumars decides there’s a better way to spend what precious
few discretionary dollars he’ll have this summer after tying up Chauncey
Billups. Or maybe the seductive power of wearing a Lakers uniform – something
Webber has openly mused about before – will lure him West.
    我們很難判斷活塞和Webber之間的關係在現在和七月時會有不會有什麼不同，但時間
未到，你就是無法知道結果是什麼。如果活塞在總冠軍系列賽表現不佳，或許在這個暑假
留下槍蜥之後，老喬會決定將所剩不多的薪資空間做更好的運用也不一定。又或者身著湖
人球衣的強烈願望 - 那是之前Webber曾經公開表態，夢寐以求想要達到的心願 - 會讓他
選擇琵琶別抱。

But neither side seems even remotely interested in reaching conclusions that
the experiences of the next few months could render meaningless. Around Five
Championship Drive, that’s a tried and proven formula.
    但雙方似乎都不急於去尋求共識，因為接下來幾個月的經歷可能讓它變得毫無意義。
底特律的籃球運動擁有五次奪冠的成功經驗，那已經是一個經過試驗而被證明可行的勝利
方程式了。

--
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