波神的雄起:洛杉磯湖人的短視

It was a private predraft Lakers workout in 2015, and the Lakers went into it legitimately tempted to believe Porzingis was worth their No. 2 overall pick.

2015年湖人隊曾在選秀前舉行過一次私人試訓，而當時湖人隊堅信不疑波爾津吉斯的實力絕對配得上他們的榜眼籤。

Porzingis had just dazzled all 30 teams' scouts, including Lakers executives Jim Buss and Mitch Kupchak, with a showcase workout in Las Vegas. Porzingis went from Vegas to Los Angeles to see if he could seal the deal with the Lakers through a private workout at their training facility.

然而波爾津吉斯在拉斯維加斯的試訓中的表現欺騙了所有30支球隊，包括湖人的經理吉米-巴斯以及米奇-庫普切克。波爾津吉斯從拉斯維加斯來到洛杉磯，在湖人隊的訓練館裏參加了他們的私人試訓。

Obviously, he did not.

但顯然，他沒有達到湖人隊的期望。

And the reason, according to league sources, is an interesting truth to bear in mind as the Lakers try to refashion themselves as a younger, more open-minded organization led by Luke Walton, the most youthful and inspiring head coach in the NBA.

至於原因，根據聯盟內部的消息源，其實非常有趣，尤其是考慮到現在的湖人隊不停地嘗試把自己變成一支更加年輕、更加開明的團隊——他們甚至聘用了NBA最年輕有爲、最能鼓舞人心的主教練盧克-沃頓。

Old-school thinking.

原因就是他們老派的思想。

Father Time waits for no man, as the Lakers reluctantly accepted in bidding farewell to Kobe Bryant after last season.

時間不等人，上賽季湖人隊依依不捨地告別科比-布萊恩特就是一個很好的例子。

And that inevitable aging applies even in management, as Knicks president Phil Jackson appears to be demonstrating with each out-of-touch remark he makes.

然而不可避免的衰老問題甚至會出現在球隊管理層，比如尼克斯總裁菲爾-傑克遜就一次次示威般的做出毫無聯繫的評論決策。

And though Lakers management has not been as disconnected from the modern NBA in word, they were in deed, especially when Porzingis walked into their gym before the 2015 draft.

雖然口頭上我們覺得湖人隊管理層還沒有那麼和現代的NBA世界隔絕，但在波爾津吉斯選秀前踏入湖人隊體育館的那一刻，管理層實際上就已經和現代脫節了。

Kupchak structured Porzingis' private Lakers workout as essentially a challenge of his manhood rather than a validation of his gifts.

庫普切克組織的波爾津吉斯個人試訓看上去更像是對他男子氣概的挑戰，而不是關於他獨特籃球天賦的測試。

In doing so, the Lakers lost sight of how truly unique this 7'3" player could be, with skills at a size already forcing the NBA to adjust to him rather than vice versa.

在這種情況下，湖人隊自然看不到這樣一位有技巧的7尺3的大個子能做些什麼，他不需要去適應聯盟，他的技術和體格會使得聯盟來適應他自己。

The Lakers, though, wanted to test Porzingis' physicality, and especially his "bigness," in that workout. They overvalued Porzingis' need to prove he could play in the low post and wrongly equated his shaky stamina with his overall NBA readiness.

但是湖人隊在試訓中太過強調波爾津吉斯的身體素質——尤其是他的“大個子”。他們過分地想要波爾津吉斯在低位展示自己的能力，又錯誤地由於他耐力上的缺點忽略了他聯盟頂級的敏捷性。

Lakers assistant coach Mark "Mad Dog" Madsen, notorious for physical play in his 2000-09 NBA career, was pushed on Porzingis in the workout. To put it in preschool-level terms, the workout looked a lot like Big Bird being pushed all around the court by his dinosaur-ish friend Snuffleupagus.

湖人助教“瘋狗”馬克-馬德森，在他從2000年到2009年的職業生涯裏，一直以愛好激烈的身體對抗爲人所知，而正是他參與了波爾津吉斯的試訓。做個簡單的比較，這次試訓就像大鳥伯德被他恐龍一樣的朋友Snuffleupagus（伯德想象中的一個可怕形象）追着滿球場亂跑。

Then-Lakers head coach Byron Scott, whose outdated mindsets have been well documented, even joked with Lakers staffers after watching Porzingis wilt with exhaustion that Scott had better get a contract extension if the club decided to draft Porzingis and wait for him to grow up.

當時湖人隊的主教練拜倫-斯科特——現在他的老派思想已經廣爲人知——在看到波爾津吉斯試訓時的筋疲力盡之後，甚至和湖人隊的員工們開起了玩笑：如果球隊要選擇波爾津吉斯還想等他成長起來的話，那還是先給斯科特自己一份續約合同吧。

The physicality of the Lakers' workout was not what Porzingis' agent, Andy Miller, had expected or approved. But the results led the Lakers to lock in on D'Angelo Russell despite how intrigued they'd been by Porzingis, one of the few quibbles anyone could have with how well they've scouted lately.

湖人隊訓練的肉體強度和波爾津吉斯的經紀人安迪-米勒想象的相去甚遠。儘管湖人隊被波爾津吉斯深深吸引，他們依舊用榜眼籤鎖定了丹吉洛-拉塞爾。

With a preference first endorsed by director of player personnel Ryan West, the Lakers were new-school enough to see Russell, a 6'5" guard with a gift for passing and Stephen Curry's one-motion shot form, as a better choice than low-motor Jahlil Okafor, projected initially among the top two picks because of his traditional value as a polished, scoring big man.

在人事經理萊恩-韋斯特的大力支持下，湖人隊還算“新派”地發現了拉塞爾，這樣一個能傳球，又和斯蒂芬-庫裏一樣one-motion投籃的6尺5後衛，相比於賈利爾-奧卡福這樣一個有腳步能投籃，傳統前二順位的大個子確實還算是一個不錯的選擇。

Okafor went No. 3 to the Philadelphia 76ers before Porzingis went No. 4 to the Knicks; Karl-Anthony Towns went No. 1 to the Minnesota Timberwolves.

最終奧卡福第三順位被費城76人選走，而波爾津吉斯緊隨其後去了尼克斯。卡爾-安東尼-唐斯則成爲了明尼蘇達森林狼的新晉狀元。

The Lakers remain high on Russell, whose recent injury absence was a huge reason the team's encouraging start came to a quick halt with this six-game losing streak. But in his return Sunday from a knee injury, Russell shot poorly and acknowledged his lack of defense allowed Derrick Rose to get going for 25 points.

湖人隊對拉塞爾期望很高，球隊這賽季不錯的開局也由於他的傷勢終止，最近打出了一波六連敗。但是週日拉塞爾從膝傷中復出後，他的投射非常糟糕，並且承認是由於自己防守上的問題讓德里克-羅斯拿到了25分。

The contrast became even starker when measured against Porzingis' 26 points, 12 rebounds, seven blocks and three three-pointers.

這樣的表現和波爾津吉斯的26分，12板，7冒以及三個三分形成了鮮明的對比。

Because Porzingis sat out the Knicks' visit in his rookie year with an illness, Lakers fans on Sunday saw for the first time all that they are missing.

新秀賽季波爾津吉斯由於傷病錯過了洛杉磯主場的比賽。於是這週日湖人球迷們才第一次親眼看到自己究竟錯過了什麼。

Not too many people anywhere besides Jackson's Knicks adviser Clarence Gaines, who scouted Porzingis in Spain, were thinking predraft that he should be viewed as comparable to the thicker yet similarly skilled Towns. The opportunity was there for the Lakers to identify it, though.

除了傑克遜在尼克斯的助手克拉倫斯-蓋恩斯之外，很少有人會在選秀前把波爾津吉斯看作雖然瘦，但是技巧同樣豐富的唐斯，而也正是蓋恩斯在西班牙發現了波爾津吉斯。雖然湖人隊曾經有機會證實這一觀點。

Unlike the 76ers, who picked third but were denied almost all access to Porzingis to discourage them from selecting him, the Lakers got that early private audience. Porzingis' favorite team growing up? The Lakers.

不像76人——他們雖然是第三順位，但是波爾津吉斯拒絕了所有他們想要深入瞭解他的機會——湖人可是早早就有了試訓機會。波爾津吉斯從小到大最喜歡的隊伍？正好就是湖人隊。

Nevertheless, the Lakers squandered the opportunity with the outdated premise that Porzingis needed to fit into a customary NBA power forward position.

但是，湖人隊關於大前鋒和波爾津吉斯老舊而習慣的觀念讓他們白白喪失了這次機會。

And as much as Kupchak has finally come around to hire new-school thinkers and younger people into the organization, you don't get to roll your odometer back.

儘管最後庫普切克終於醒悟，僱傭了思想更爲先進的決策者和年輕人，但歷史的齒輪已經不容改變。

You are however old you are in this business, and one of the complaints about Buss, 57, and Kupchak, 62—amplified by their free-agent failures—is that they don't play the modern management game of working angles behind the scenes with agents and players.

關於57歲的巴斯和62歲的庫普切克，除了他們太老，人們還總是抱怨他們不懂得現代籃球的管理方式。

Jackson, 71, is a legend in this league but has been criticized in New York for stubbornly sticking to his longstanding philosophies.

71歲的傑克遜無疑是聯盟中的傳奇人物，但他也經常被人詬病在紐約固執地使用三角戰術。

And if Jackson is being cast now by none other than LeBron James as some fossil reluctant to give players credit for their business acumen, it's fair to wonder how much help Jackson would be to fiancé Jeanie Buss as a potential Lakers consultant in the future to recruit free agents.

我們就很好奇傑克遜作爲湖人隊未來的潛在顧問，在招募自由球員方面能爲他的未婚妻巴斯起到些什麼幫助。

Yet Jackson, despite his age and the pressure to win now with Carmelo Anthony, had his mind open enough to endure the draft-night boos and choose Porzingis.

然而，即使傑克遜已經年齡很大，甚至還負擔着和卡梅隆-安東尼一起贏球的巨大壓力，他的思維依然足夠開放，忍受住巨大的噓聲選擇了波爾津吉斯。

Jackson did it even though Porzingis hurt his leg early in his private workout at the Knicks' practice facility three days before the draft and couldn't even continue…with Anthony among those watching with frustration.

他這樣做了，即使三天前尼克斯的私人試訓中波爾津吉斯還傷了自己的腿，即使波爾津吉斯當時甚至不能繼續試訓，即使安東尼眼睜睜地看到了這一切並且難掩失望之情，他依然這樣做了。

"The Lakers are a great organization," Porzingis said late Sunday night. "But I'm happy where I am."

“湖人是一支偉大的球隊，”波爾津吉斯週日晚上說道，“但我很滿意我現在的位置。”

Though he is only 21 years old and has much to learn, Porzingis is already a superstar. The Lakers will need superstars for the "great organization" to stay great with future championships.

即使他只有21歲，還有很多要學，但波爾津吉斯已經是一名巨星了。而“偉大的球隊”湖人正急需一名巨星在未來奪得總冠軍，繼續他們的偉大之路。

They could also use real trendsetters.

他們也可以去發掘一些真正敢於吃螃蟹的人。

And along those lines, though it may be downright blasphemous to state, the Lakers are better off having Walton around than Jackson. One is new; the other is old.

雖然有些難以啓齒，但是我還是要補充一句，湖人隊擁有沃頓無疑要比傑克遜更好。一個是新人；一個是元老。

The reality is the Lakers' young players get more out of connecting with a Jackson disciple who vibes with them than they would having Jackson himself around as an overseer.

事實是湖人的年輕人們有一個能夠與他們打成一片的傑克遜門徒，要遠比他們有一個監工一般的傑克遜作爲主教練更便於交流，也能因此學到更多。

Walton's system is basically reenactment of what worked when he was an assistant coa ach for the forward-thinking Golden State Warriors, representing the game's direction today.

沃頓現在的體系根基正是他在聯盟先驅者——金州勇士任助理教練時思考的產物，直到現在這種體系依然彰顯着聯盟比賽的發展方向。

It's very good to be a quality copycat.

有一個高質量的山寨貨是極好的。

It's even better to be ahead of the game.

能走在潮流的前面當然就更好了。

Had they understood a year-and-a-half ago that Porzingis would find his unique place in the modern game, the Lakers would've set their own trend right there instead of watching it happen in front of them.

如果一年半以前湖人隊能夠想到波爾津吉斯會在現代聯盟中獨當一面，他們也許可以建立自己的潮流，而不是眼睜睜地看着新的潮流在自己的眼前發生。

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