[專欄] 騎士獲得J.R. Smith的回報
「我母親可能是我最大的支持者。但是當我看著她傷心，看著她度過那些糟糕的環境，感
受到她所感受的東西時，我的心都碎了」---J.R.Smith
Cavs rewarded for leap of faith with J.R. Smith
Brian Windhorst, ESPN.com
http://4fun.tw/b650
It came down to two conversations.
故事的起源是兩次談話。
One was with J.R. Smith. One was with LeBron James. Both were held
byCleveland Cavaliers general manager David Griffin in January when he was
mulling what many considered a high-risk move.
一次是和J.R. Smith另一次是和LeBron James。這兩次談話均在一月份由克利夫蘭騎士隊
GM David Griffin舉行，當時他正在仔細考慮一件許多人都認為具有高風險性的行動。
A high-stakes reward came Wednesday night when Smith had one of the finest
games of his career, hitting eight 3-pointers and scoring 28 points off the
bench as the Cavs beat the Atlanta Hawks 97-89 to take Game 1 of the Eastern
Conference finals.
高風險會帶來高回報，周三晚上的這場比賽，JR打出了他生涯最棒的比賽之一，他投進了
8記三分，以替補身分拿下28分，幫助騎士隊在東區決賽第一場中以97-89擊落了亞特蘭大
老鷹隊。
It could be said that this game alone could make the Smith transaction
worthwhile, though the Cavs claimed it as a victory awhile ago. The J.R.
Smith Experience certainly has its moments. It took Griffin awhile to agree
to buy a ticket for it.
或許可以說光是這一場比賽，騎士把JR交易過來就值得了，不過騎士隊其實不久之前才
宣布這筆交易是成功的。J.R. Smith當然也有過高光時刻，但是Griffin花了一些時間才
同意引進他。
For some time, the Cavs had been talking to the New York Knicks about trading
for Iman Shumpert. Needing defensive help on the wing, this was a player the
Cavs had been targeting since last summer. After holding off on reality for
some time, the Knicks finally reached a point that they had to shift gears on
the season. They knew season-ending surgery was coming for Carmelo Anthony,
it'd been a miserable first two months of play and Shumpert, a free
agent-to-be who was looking for a sizable contract, was out with a dislocated
shoulder anyway.
有一段時間，騎士與尼克討論的交易包裹僅是 Iman Shumpert。騎士隊當時需要一名可以
防守的側翼球員，而是騎士從去年夏天將Shumpert列為鎖定目標。經過一段時間後，最後
現實讓尼克決定在這個本季改變自己的運作方式。他們知道Carmelo Anthony將做一個整
季報銷的手術，而他們前兩個月的比賽打得非常糟糕，即將成為自由球員的Shumpert在尋
求一份合適的合約，可是他當時也因肩膀脫臼受傷了。
But the price for getting Shumpert was also taking Smith to get his contract
off the books for next season and, frankly, also in part to get him away from
the team. Pouting about his situation and the state of the failing Knicks,
Smith wasn't just not producing, he was also a pain. In reality, the Knicks
had been looking for a way to get rid of him for months.
但是尼克開出的條件是想帶走Shumpert的就要同時帶走JR，他們想讓JR的合約不佔他們下
個球賽的薪資空間中，也想讓這個毒瘤離開球隊。當時，JR也因不滿意自己所處的環境以
及持續衰落的尼克，他不僅沒有在球場上貢獻，更變成了球隊毒瘤。事實上，尼克尋找擺
脫史密斯的方法已經好幾個月了。
This gave the Cavs major pause, as it did many teams that passed on a litany
of Smith trade pitches by the Knicks. The thought of getting two
starter-quality wings nearly for free -- a few end-of-the-bench players and a
second-round pick four years in the future -- was tantalizing. But with any
supposed great deal there were queasy conditions. They didn't need to hire an
investigative firm to compile a dossier on Smith -- his history of bad
decisions, reckless behavior and wildly inconsistent play was well known to
all.
這個情形讓騎士停止了談判，而許多球隊則向尼克提出了一連串交易的要求。畢竟尼克近
乎免費的把兩名具有先發球員能力的側翼球員送出——只需要付出一些守開特力的替補和
未來四年內的二輪選秀權——這很吸引人。但是和任何大交易一樣，都存在著不穩定的因
素。他們不需要花錢請徵信公司去檢查JR的紀錄——因為JR所作出的糟糕的決定，魯莽的
行徑，以及不穩定的狂野打法早已臭名遠播了。
So Griffin went to James.
所以Griffin必須去問問James。
"Get him here and I'll take care of it," James said Wednesday night,
recalling the pivotal discussion.
「把他帶到這裡，我會照顧他。」LBJ在周三晚上回憶當時關鍵的討論是這樣說的。
To James, the character issues weren't just secondary, they didn't matter. He
saw a chance to grab the type of shooter he loves to play with, one with a
quick release and endless confidence. James has been striving to get guys
like this as teammates for a decade or so now. The Cavs needed talent at that
position and Smith was a talent and a contemporary whom James felt he could
relate.
對James來說，個性的重要性可能都排不到第二名，它們完全就是無關緊要的。他看到了
一個機會，可以引進一名自己喜歡風格的射手，一個可以快速出手並擁有無限自信的傢伙
。LBJ10年來一直在努力尋找這樣的隊友。騎士隊在這個位置上需要天賦，而史密斯是個
有天賦的傢伙，而且LBJ覺得史密斯是一個可以交流的同輩。
"I knew the man he was and I didn't really care about what everybody else
thought of him," James said. "Our front office, they have the last say. ... I
was definitely all for it."
「我知道他是什麽樣的人，而且我並不真正在乎其他人對他的看法，」LBJ說，「我們的
管理層擁有最後的決定權。毫無疑問，我對此是完全同意的。」
Griffin asked the Knicks to speak with Smith. This is somewhat unusual in the
NBA. Often players find out they've been traded on social media. The Knicks,
feeling like they may have a team on the hook, granted permission for the
type of phone call that otherwise would've been considered tampering.
Griffin要求尼克讓他跟JR談話。這在NBA中並不常見。通常球員們是在媒體上看到自己被
交易的消息。尼克發現可能有球隊上鉤了，便同意了史密斯與騎士隊在電話中對談，因為
其他的交流方式會被認為是對交易的干涉。
The conversation, sources said, was dead serious. Smith was not going to have
rope. It was a new chance, but it was only one chance. Regardless of what
James had said, this was going to be on Griffin and the Cavs' front office.
If it went south, then they'd be blamed. So much of decision-making in the
NBA involves assessing possible career damage of dangerous moves that
probably none of Griffin's peers would've second-guessed him if he passed.
不具名的黨政高層說，這次談話非常嚴肅。JR已經沒有退路了。這是一次新機會，也是唯
一的機會。不管LBJ曾說過什麽，現在輪到Griffin和騎士管理層出牌了。如果交易結果失
敗，那麽他們顯然會受到譴責。NBA中許多決定中都包含著可能損害職業生涯的危險交易
的評估，而如果Griffin放棄這筆交易，他的同事們絕不會在事後批評他。
There were few other options, though. The Cavs were working diligently on
getting a deal done for big man Timofey Mozgov and that wasn't going to leave
them many assets to make a different deal than what the Knicks were willing
to do. Coach David Blatt badly wanted Mozgov and, like James, was also on
board with getting Smith.
那時騎士沒有多少其他選擇。他們正在盡力想辦法透過交易得到長人Timofey Mozgov，所
以除了尼克這筆，他們手裡也沒有其他東西來實現另一項交易了。騎士總教練David
Blatt非常想要MOZ，而且和LBJ一樣，他也想得到Smith。
Ultimately, the Cavs figured if Smith messed up, whether it was another
failed drug test or more heavy partying or fighting, they could just release
him. With a year and $6.3 million left on his deal (a player option) their
insurance policy was to use the stretch provision on him and spread money
owed over the next few years. And they'd have Shumpert and enough left to get
Mozgov, too.
終於騎士下了決定，如果Smith搞砸了，無論是沒通過再一次藥品測試，或又一次在聚會
打架，他們就會裁掉他。Smith合約還剩一年630萬美元（附帶球員選項），騎士隊的保險
措施是通過延期付款處理他的合約，在未來幾年內付清。而這樣騎士至少還得到了
Shumpert和MOZ。
Smith made promises to Griffin, though he has made such proclamations before,
and when the call was over Griffin weighed the situation. He trusted his best
player and he trusted his coach, and eventually after discussing it with
ownership, he called the Knicks and made the deal.
Smith向Griffin承諾，雖然他以前也說過類似的話…當通話結束後，Griffin權衡了利弊
。他相信他的最好的球員跟教練，最後在和老板討論一次，他打電話給尼克達成交易。
"It's a great situation for me," Smith said. "It's more for my mom. I mean,
she's probably my biggest fan. When all those negative things are being said
and stuff like that, me personally I don't care. But to see her hurting, to
see her go through those situations, to feel the way she feels, it's a
terrible feeling for me."
「對我來說，這是個偉大的環境」Smith說，「對我母親而言更是如此。我的意思是，她
可能是我最大的支持者。但是當我看著她傷心，看著她度過那些糟糕的環境，感受到她所
感受的東西時，我的心都碎了。」
It's not clear how this story will end. Smith's history is too checkered and
his mood too volatile for anything absolute. But he has earned some capital
with doubters for now, even in the Cavs organization. When he was given yet
another suspension in these playoffs, the organization vigorously defended
him and lobbied the league to go light on the penalty. It didn't work, but it
did show they were fully behind him, Smith' toeing the line and production
over the previous months having won over the organization.
現在還不清楚這個故事的結局如何。Smith的人生有太多曲折，他的情緒太不穩定，無法
給他做出結論。但是他現在從質疑者手裡贏回了一些籌碼，而且他現在待在騎士這個大家
庭中。當他在這幾輪季後賽中再次受到禁賽時，騎士隊依然出面維護他，要求聯盟降低對
他的罰款。雖然最後沒什麽效果，但是這確實顯示出騎士隊在背後支持JR，Smith在之前
幾個月中的安分守己和球場上的貢獻讓他贏得了球隊的支持。
It hasn't been just James on Smith's side for a long time now. That's why
when he was going through his hot streak in the second half Wednesday,
thrashing the Hawks with one swish after another to silence the crowd and
build a huge lead, the entire Cavs bench was whooping and hopping around in
glee.
這段時間以來，當Smith靠山的不僅僅是James。而這也是JR在周三晚上的這場
比賽下半場打出精彩表現的原因，他用一個接著一個的三分雨讓老鷹主場觀眾們閉嘴，為
騎士取得了大幅度領先，整個騎士隊的板凳席都在興奮中歡呼。
Smith may not make eight more 3-pointers in the rest of the series. Or he
might make six more in Game 2. No one knows. He could commit another flagrant
foul and get another suspension, it wouldn't really be that surprising either.
Smith可能在接下來的系列賽中都進不了8個三分球，也可能他在下一場比賽中又能再投進
6個三分球，誰知道呢？他也許會再弄一次惡性犯規、再一次被禁賽，就算出現這種情況
也都不會讓任何人驚訝。
But the support James showed and Griffin's willingness to wade into the
uncertainly have a winning look at the moment. And seeing as this is the
Eastern Conference finals, this moment is pretty important.
但是有了James的支持，以及Griffin冒險的賭了一把在此時取得了效果。而且這是東區決
賽，這時的比賽相當得重要。
"He's been great for us, and he's been a great teammate, and he's been a
great guy to coach," Blatt said. "And no question, he's one of the reasons,
one of the main reasons, we're here."
「他對我們來說很偉大，他是一個偉大的隊友，也是一個可以受教的偉大的傢伙，」
Blatt說。「毫無疑問，他是我們取得如今成就的原因之一，一個主要的原因。」
--
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