[外電] 雷霆—誕生在美國中部的籃球童話 part2

看板Thunder (奧克拉荷馬市雷霆)作者loserkobe (喪家犬科比)時間13年前 (2013/01/22 23:18)推噓1(1推 0噓 0→)

留言1則, 1人參與討論串1/1

One of the miracles of the modern Thunder — and there are several — is how quickly they’ve made people forget the stain of their origin. The re-branding of the franchise has been quick and efficient: the team is now widely perceived as principled, well run and — above all — thoroughly Oklahoman. ESPN recently named it the No. 1 sports franchise in America. This fall, it seemed like a step toward closure when the Seattle City Council approved a plan to build a new basketball arena there. Simmons announced, just a few weeks ago, that he was officially retiring the phrase Zombie Sonics. In almost no time at all, the Oklahoma City Thunder had achieved escape velocity. Much of the credit for this turnaround goes to Sam Presti, the Thunder’s general manager. Presti took over the team the year before they left Seattle. He was 29, the youngest G.M. in league history. His first move was to draft Kevin Durant, which anyone would have done. His second, less obvious decision was to strip the roster of all the veterans and big contracts that would have prevented him from rebuilding from scratch. When the team moved from Seattle to Oklahoma City, Presti found himself in charge of not only the worst team in the league but also one of the worst in the history of professional basketball. The Oklahoma City Thunder won 3 games out of their first 32. This record, 3-29, is now a kind of touchstone in the organization — almost everyone I talked to invoked it at some point, and many of them even exaggerated it to 3-30. Most G.M.’s would have panicked, but that isn’t Presti’s way: he moved patiently, methodically. He overhauled not only the roster of the team but also the culture of the organization. This involved rethinking everything, no matter how small, from meeting times to media policy to the decorations on the practice-facility walls. Everyone soon became familiar with the Presti buzzwords: process, system, patience, sustainability. He made a habit of promoting people within the organization so that, from top to bottom, the Thunder became very young and tightly knit. He stressed community outreach to an unusual degree. He devoted extra resources to the development of the young Thunder players and, on the marketing side, refused to call attention to any single player apart from his teammates, even Durant, who was quickly becoming an international superstar. Meanwhile, Presti used high draft picks to surround Durant with other promising young players — Russell Westbrook, Serge Ibaka, James Harden — all of whom overachieved, relative to the rest of their draft classes, to an almost amazing degree. The Presti rebuild, a meticulously rational plan, now looks a lot like a fairy tale. The Thunder has improved, year by year, exactly on schedule: they made the playoffs in their second season, the Western Conference finals in their third and the Finals last year. If the Thunder doesn’t win the title this year, it will seem almost unfair — a violation of the basic laws of narrative. Among basketball fans, Presti has become a mythic braniac legend, the managerial equivalent of Kevin Durant: young, focused, dominant and improbably humble. I met Presti two weeks before the start of training camp at the Oklahoma City National Memorial, a site that commemorates, powerfully, the city’s defining tragedy: the 1995 bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building. Presti shook my hand in the lobby, quickly and firmly, and then proceeded to say nothing for many minutes. The museum’s director was giving us a tour, and Presti seemed relieved to cede the floor completely to her. He wore a polo shirt, casual pants, fashionable glasses and hip sneakers. He was very slim — no excess — and was fidgeting a lot, bouncing rhythmically at the knees. We were at the memorial because, as Presti told me later, “This place is part of our existence.” Presti sits on the memorial’s board, and he makes sure that every player who joins the Thunder visits the site before he ever plays a game. The idea is to teach them the character of the citizenry they’ ve just joined, to help them recognize, as Tom Brokaw put it on the night of the bombing, Oklahomans’ “essential sense of goodness, community and compassion.” After our tour, Presti and I talked for a while outside. He struck me as one of the most cautious people I’ve ever met, constantly stopping and rephrasing, weighing and reweighing his words, openly worried that I was going to misinterpret the team’s relationship to the memorial as a P.R. grab, or that I was going to focus my article on him at the expense of others. He ascribed most of the Thunder’s success to either luck or his colleagues. The most revealing thing Presti said to me that day had to do with the grounds of the memorial, which were impressively tidy. Despite a suffocatingly hot run of late-summer days, the grass was thick and lush and perfectly mowed, with perfect circles around the perfect trees. Presti pointed out how much work it takes to keep everything looking like that, how much deliberate organization, but also how important it is. At the Thunder’s training center, after a practice in early October, Kevin Durant and I sat on folding chairs at the edge of the gym. He was wearing a black tank top, black shorts and ridiculously colorful shoes. (Loud footwear is one of his few obvious vices.) Practice that day, according to everyone involved, had been “chippy” — Durant’s team had lost a couple of early scrimmages to a team full of rookies and backups, and this had sent everyone, especially Durant and Westbrook, into competitive overdrive. Sitting with Durant a few minutes later, though, I could detect none of that aggressive energy. He was placid, polite, obliging. He said pretty much everything you would expect him to say, in exactly the way you would expect him to say it. He took every opportunity to gush about his teammates, singling out Westbrook and Harden — the team’s two other big scorers — as “killers” and insisting that, despite the media’s constant attempts to create controversy among them, there was no tension on the team about sharing the ball. It would be ridiculous, he said, to “put those guys on a leash just so I can get two or three more shots up a game.” He praised his teammates’ unselfishness and said he had learned to play the same way. He said that, although he’d known almost nothing about Oklahoma City before the team moved there, now he couldn’t imagine playing anywhere else. I told Durant that, all over town, people were giving me spontaneous speeches about what a nice guy he was. His response was, naturally, impeccably nice. “ I’m just being me, man,” he said. “I’m just enjoying this all. I can’t complain. I mean, I wasn’t raised to be a jerk to anybody. You know what I mean? My mama wouldn’t like that, so that’s just all I know. Just being nice to people and enjoying what I do.” But how is it possible, I asked, to be as competitive as he must be while also being so nice? Don’t those impulses conflict? He answered with a story. 如今這支雷霆隊創造著一個又一個奇蹟，其中之一便是——他們讓人們很快將建隊初始時（從西雅圖到雷霆時）的污點拋諸腦後。雷霆的重建之路迅捷而高效：它被廣泛認為是一支原則性強，運營良好，還有，最重要的是，徹底融入了俄克拉荷馬。最近ESPN將其評選為全美各大體育運動隊之首（譯註1）。今年秋天，西雅圖市議會批准了興建一座嶄新的籃球館（據說西雅圖有意引入一支新球隊），此舉也預示著事情（超音速搬遷到俄城並改名雷霆）往最終塵埃落定的方向跨出了一大步。就在幾個星期之前，Bill Simmons宣布，他正式收回安在雷霆身上的“超音速殭屍”之名= =。就這樣，雷霆並未耗費多少時間，就成功擺脫了囹圄。雷霆之所以能夠扭轉困局，總經理Sam Presti功不可沒。在球隊離開西雅圖的前一年， Sam Presti開始接手球隊。他當時年僅29歲，是聯盟歷史上最年輕的球隊總經理。Sam上任後第一件事就是在選秀大會中摘得Durant —— 一位是誰都會選擇的球員（拓荒者淚流滿面。。。）。而Sam的第二步棋，是做出了一個沒有先前那麼明顯（卻相當重要）的決定——即將所有可能妨礙球隊推倒重建的老將及其沉重的大合同，都一一清理掉。當雷霆從西雅圖市遷入俄克拉荷馬城，Presti發覺自己掌管著一支不但目前處於聯盟墊底；而且是職業籃球有史以來，戰績最差勁的球隊之一。在賽季開頭的32場比賽中，俄克拉荷馬雷霆只贏了僅僅3場。這個記錄，29負3勝，現在似乎成了球隊的一塊試金石——幾乎每一個和我談論雷霆的人，在某一時刻都會提到它，許多人甚至將它誇大為30負3勝- -。面對如此窘境，聯盟里大多數經理可能已經方寸大亂，但Presti依舊從容：他沉著耐心，有條不紊地展開工作。在他的努力下，雷霆不但球員名單煥然一新，而且球隊文化得以重塑。從開會的次數到應對媒體的策略再到練習場館牆壁上的裝飾物，Presti對於一切都是反复考慮，事無鉅細。所有人很快就對Presti的幾個習慣用詞耳熟能詳：過程，系統，耐心，堅持。他在球隊內部建立起一套擢拔人才的慣性機制，對上至頂尖球星下到飲水機守護者莫不適用。也正因如此，雷霆隊才能變得如此年紀輕輕而又緊密團結。Presti投入了大量的額外資源，用以悉心培養年輕球員。從市場方面來講，他不會關注任何脫離於隊友之外的球員。哪怕是迅速成長為國際巨星的Durant，也非例外。與此同時，Presti運用手中高順位的選秀簽，為Durant物色到其他前途光明的新人們作為得力戰友—— Westbrook，Ibaka，Harden ——他們相比其他同年級的新秀們，表現均是遠遠好過預期。 Presti對雷霆的重建規劃，顯得是那麼一絲不苟合情合理。如今回頭審視，更頗有幾分童話般的色彩。雷霆的戰績逐年提升，而且彷彿按時間表似的恰好每年邁上一個台階：他們在第二個賽季就打入季後賽，第三個賽季闖進西決，今年這第四個賽季又站上了總決賽的舞台。如果雷霆無法在明年一舉奪冠的話，似乎會讓人產生一種違和感——這違背了故事發展敘述的基本規律。在廣大球迷眼中，Presti被視為一位作風神秘才智超群的傳奇人物，他就等同於聯盟管理層面上的Durant：年輕，專注，極具統治力卻又出奇地平和謙遜。雷霆賽季集訓營開啟兩個星期前，我和Presti在俄克拉荷馬城國家紀念館碰了面。這座建築物，是為紀念發生在這座城市的一樁標誌性慘劇：1995年的時候，俄克拉荷馬城市政— 府一幢名叫Alfred P. Murra的建築發生爆—炸（譯註1）。（俄城國家紀念館外景）當我在紀念館的大廳見到Presti的時候，他迅速而有力地同我握了手，然後就在接下來的數分鐘裡沉默不語。場館的一位負責人帶領我們參觀了紀念館，而Presti似乎也樂得由這位女士來主導進程。他穿著一件polo衫（譯註2），下身搭配休閒褲，佩戴一副時尚眼鏡，腳上則是一雙運動鞋。他身形修長，又不會過分顯瘦。Presti看起來有些煩躁不安，兩膝關節在有節奏地來回擺動。 Presti在稍後的談話中告訴我，之所以將會面地點定在紀念館，是因為“這個地方是我們自身存在的一部分。”Presti是紀念館董事會的成員之一。每每有新球員加盟雷霆，在正式上場比賽之前，都會被Presti要求先行參觀紀念館。這個舉動旨在讓他們了解自己所加入城市的市民秉性，正如Tom Brokaw（譯註3）在爆炸慘案當晚所形容的，俄克拉荷馬人民“本質上的善良天性，團結互助，惻隱之心”。結束參觀之後，我同Presti在館外交談了一會兒。他是我生平所遇最謹言慎行的人之一。他在談話間不時停下，對自己所說的話重新措辭，並且反复思量，再三斟酌。生怕我曲解他的本意，誤會雷霆隊和紀念館之間存在公關上強行攫取的關係；或者擔心我在落筆寫稿之時，會把焦點放在他的身上，從而忽略了其他人。對於雷霆的成功，Presti大都歸結在幸運之神的眷顧和一眾同仁的辛苦之上。那一天，Presti對我提及的最具有啟迪意義的一件事，和紀念館那被收拾打理得異常整潔的地面不無聯繫。儘管時下已是夏末，天氣酷熱得讓人窒息，但是紀念館的草坪依然顯得茂盛蔥蘢，青翠欲滴，並且被精心地修剪過，形成完美地圓圈環繞著本已完美的樹木。 Presti指出，想要讓諸般事物皆達到如此狀態，需要付出何其艱鉅的努力，形成何其周密的團隊，不過這麼做所包含的意義又是何其重要。（sam真哲人。。。） 10月初的雷霆訓練中心，在一次練習結束以後， Durant隨同我坐在體育館一隅的折疊椅上談天交流。他上身著一件黑色背心，下身是同色短褲，腳上則搭配了一雙看著滑稽的彩色鞋- -（對鞋子的選擇偏於花哨，大概是Durant身上為數不多的明顯瑕疵之一）。當天全隊都參與了練習，普遍興致高昂，其間還出現了一幕小插曲——分組對抗之時，Durant 所在一方被對面滿是新秀和替補的小組給打敗了。而這激發了每個人，尤其是Durant和威少的求勝心和鬥志力。然而，此刻坐在Durant旁邊半晌，我從他身上卻幾乎感覺不到任何咄咄逼人的氣息。他溫和沈靜，彬彬有禮，平易近人。他言談舉止間總是恰到好處，所講的種種全都符合你的事前預料或者心理期望。 Durant抓住一切機會，滔滔不絕地談論著自己的隊友們，尤其是Westbrook和Harden—— 隊中另外兩大得分手（10月初，當時鬍子還沒去火箭TT）——Durant把他們稱為“殺手” ，並且堅持認為，儘管媒體總是無中生有，企圖刻意營造出雷霆三少間互有矛盾的樣子，但事實上在球隊中並不存在球權分配的紛爭。那種事情簡直是荒謬的，Durant強調說：“ 限制其他人的出手，以便讓我每場比賽可以多兩到三個投籃的機會！？”他盛讚自己隊友們的慷慨無私，並且自己也耳濡目染學習到同樣的打球方式。他還表示，儘管在球隊搬遷過來以前，自己基本對俄克拉荷馬城這個地方一無所知，但如今他幾乎難以想像再去為另外一支球隊效力。（如果可以亮，真是想亮書包這段話一百遍也不厭倦啊。。。也讓某些自以為是的懂球帝們好好看看）我告訴Durant，他是被俄城人民眾所公認的五好青年。他自然而然又無可挑剔地加以回應：“我只是做好了我自己，哥們兒，”他解釋說：“我只是單純享受眼前所有的一切。我不能有所抱怨。我的意思是，爸媽把我撫養成人，可不是要我以一種粗暴愚蠢的方式去對待別人。你該了解我的意思吧？我的母親可不會喜歡（看到）那個，因此這就是我所認知的一切。對他人友善相待，同時享受自己的做為。” 但是這怎麼可能呢，我詢問Durant，他是如何在保持求勝心切的同時，又做到和善待人的？難道兩者之間不會產生衝突，不會相互矛盾麼？對於這個問題，Durant則用了一個故事加以回答。（part 2 完）翻譯: http://bbs.hupu.com/4716056.html -- ※ 發信站: 批踢踢實業坊(ptt.cc) ◆ From: 114.36.95.225