Steve Netrk

There is a gaggle of Hinkies inside the Barclays Center Starbucks. It looks like a Philadelphia suburb in here. Its about 5 p.m.， and a group of red， white， and blue Sixers shirts crowd around a laptop， hashing out trade and draft scenarios in unabashed Philly accents. What about Nash and L.A.s no. 7？ What about the 3， 10， and 32 for Clevelands no. 1？

巴克萊中心的星巴克里坐著一群吵鬧的76人球迷，這里有一種費城郊區(qū)的感覺。下午5點，一群身穿紅、白、藍76人T恤的人圍坐在一個電腦跟前，操著明顯的費城口音大聲討論著交易和選秀進程。納什加湖人的7號簽怎么樣？用3號、10號和32號簽換騎士的狀元簽怎么樣？

A dad in line explains to his young son —wearing a Mavs Shane Larkin jersey — who Kiki Vandeweghe is， and who the Knicks might be able to get with their newly acquired secondround picks.

一個正在排隊的父親正給自己的小兒子解釋誰是奇奇·范德維奇，他兒子身上穿的是一件小牛肖恩·拉金的球衣。這個父親還在講尼克斯能用新交易來的二輪選秀權(quán)選下哪個球員。

“Cleanthony might be there，” the dad said.

“克林東尼（厄里）應(yīng)該還有希望?！备赣H說道。

I suggest Thanasis Antetokounmpo， and， like a genie summoned from the NBA-nerd depths， a towering， milk-pale beanpole of a teenager in a black Joe Johnson Nets T-shirt materialized and asked if we went to any of the signing appearances that took place over the weekend throughout the city.

我建議選薩納西斯·阿德托昆博，這句話就像有魔力一樣，召喚出了一個身穿籃網(wǎng)喬·約翰遜黑色T恤的瘦高NBA宅男。他問我這個周末有沒有參加紐約市里舉辦的各種球星簽名會。

“I chased Giannis two blocks to get his autograph. Hes my favorite player，” Teen Iso Joe said. Then he asked， “Do you think LeBron will leave Miami？”

“我追了吉安尼斯兩個街區(qū)，就為了拿到他的簽名?！鄙泶皢未騿獭钡男∧贻p說道，然后他問：“你覺得勒布朗會離開邁阿密嗎？”

If you listen to the Lowe Post podcast from this week， you will hear Zach Lowe and Brian Windhorst — two of the most rational， well-connected reporters in the business— describe a volatile NBA landscape of interlocking， potentially cascading deals. It sounded like they were just waiting for Gavrilo Princip to shoot Archduke Ferdinand①. Or， in this case， for Kevin Love to get traded.

如果本周你聽了洛威的播客，你能聽到扎克·洛威和布萊恩·文德霍斯特兩個業(yè)界最理性、關(guān)系網(wǎng)最廣的記者討論NBA內(nèi)部錯綜復(fù)雜的關(guān)系，以及稍縱即逝的交易可能性。聽起來他倆就像在等待加夫里洛·普林西普槍擊斐迪南大公一樣?；蛘咴谶@里，他們在等待凱文·勒夫被交易的消息。

There is a sense that anything could happen. LeBron and Melo to Houston？ LeBron back to the Cavs？ LeBron to the Clippers for the midlevel exception？ LeBron signing a oneyear deal with Miami and strangling Wade with his belt while Bosh holds Wades arms？ Wiggins at no. 1？ Parker at no. 1？ Trade the no. 1？ Anything and everything.

我們有一種感覺，任何情況都有發(fā)生的可能。勒布朗和梅洛去休斯敦？勒布朗回騎士？勒布朗跟快船簽一份中產(chǎn)特例？勒布朗跟熱火簽一份一年合同，然后用皮帶勒死韋德，波什在一旁幫忙按住韋德的胳膊？威金斯會是狀元？還是帕克？交易狀元簽？一切皆有可能。

At any given moment over the past week， I have had 21 tabs open， 10 Google Alerts set， and Twitter running in the background. And I still managed to miss the Omer Asik trade when it was announced.

過去一周的任何時候，我盯著21家媒體網(wǎng)站，開了10個谷歌新聞提醒，電腦上時刻滾動著推特消息，可我還是錯過了歐米爾·阿西克的交易。

We have entered a world of fantasy basketball② brought to life， and this is exactly the way the NBA wants it. Lowe touched on this in his Asik trade post. You combine a byzantine collective bargaining agreement that promotes player movement via shorter contracts and harsher luxury tax rules； a new breed of hedge-fund executives who view the league as a pure marketplace for accruing flippable assets； impatient owners looking to make their mark； the sports-discourse bubble and its increasing obsession with “l(fā)egacy”； and the bottomless 24-7-365 maw of the social-media age， and you get a league that essentially has no offseason.

我們仿佛把范特西籃球帶入了現(xiàn)實生活，而這正是NBA希望看到的一幕。在阿西克交易的文章里，洛威提到了這個話題。我們有一個極端復(fù)雜的勞資協(xié)議，這份協(xié)議使得球員更多地簽下短合同，而且規(guī)定了嚴厲的奢侈稅規(guī)則。我們有了一群新的球隊管理層，他們用管理對沖基金的方式管理球隊，他們把聯(lián)盟視為利用交易累積財富的市場。我們有了缺乏耐心想要證明自己的老板。我們讀過數(shù)不清的體育文章，我們越來越執(zhí)迷于“遺產(chǎn)”這個概念。再加上社交媒體時代對任何事件全天候無死角的覆蓋，事實上，聯(lián)盟根本不存在休賽期的概念。

Since 1980， only nine teams — the Lakers， Celtics， Sixers， Pistons， Bulls， Rockets， Spurs， Mavs， and Heat — have won the title. And yet， somehow， the NBA has managed the trick of turning an eight-month-a-year sport， with a remarkable dearth of competitive balance， into a year-round soap opera. The league has done this in part by turning an event that is essentially a reward ceremony for bad basketball teams into a borderline riotous， all-inclusive celebration of the business of basketball.

從1980年開始，只有9支球隊贏得過NBA的總冠軍，分別是湖人、凱爾特人、76人、活塞、公牛、火箭、馬刺、小牛和熱火。可NBA不知道用了什么方法，把一個一年8個月、而且競爭嚴重不平衡的聯(lián)賽，變成了一年一度的肥皂劇。之所以能做到這一點，部分原因就在于聯(lián)盟把一個本質(zhì)上是回饋爛隊的事件，轉(zhuǎn)變成了一個熱鬧的，包容一切的籃球大事。

Sam Hinkie treated a draft workout like the nuclear launch codes； Dante Exum emerged from high school in fucking Australia to garner comparisons to Kobe， Scottie Pippen， and Dwyane Wade； and Joel Embiid had surgery. His medical records became something pro sports teams tried to buy， and Embiid went from being compared favorably to Hakeem to recalling memories of Bill Waltons feet. Oh， and at some point， he tweeted this：

薩姆·辛基（76人總經(jīng)理）像對待核武器發(fā)射密碼一樣小心對待新秀試訓(xùn)；丹特·艾克薩姆從偏僻的澳大利亞高中冉冉升起，被人們拿來和科比、斯科蒂·皮蓬還有德韋恩·韋德對比；喬爾·埃比德動了手術(shù)。職業(yè)球隊紛紛想出錢買下他神秘的醫(yī)療記錄，而埃比德也從模板奧拉朱旺，淪落到讓人想起比爾·沃頓那悲劇的腳。哦，他在某一刻還發(fā)了這樣一條推特：

Im a Laker.

我是湖人，

Then he deleted it. Welcome to the NBA， Joel.

然后他刪了這條推特。歡迎來到NBA，喬爾。

Back to Barclays. Its showtime， and Sixers fans are everywhere. Even before Adam Silver takes the stage， chants of“Lets go Sixers” rain down. Philly turned up tonight. This is their championship； this draft is tankings final victory.

回到巴克萊中心。現(xiàn)在是表演時刻，到處都是76人球迷。亞當(dāng)·蕭華還沒上臺時，球館里就響起了“76人加油”的喊聲。76人雄起了。這就是他們的冠軍，這次選秀就是擺爛大賽最后的勝利。

As lively as the atmosphere in the arena is， despite being here in person， it quickly becomes clear that the only real way to follow the news of the night is through social media. Silvers onstage announcements are no match for reporters with league sources and Twitter accounts.

盡管我來到現(xiàn)場，親眼觀看選秀進程，但很快我就明白，想真正不遺漏今晚各種消息的辦法，還是社交媒體。蕭華在臺上宣布結(jié)果的速度，遠遠比不上記者們的消息源和推特。

Andrew Wiggins at no. 1 hits my TweetDeck about a minute before the draft clock hits zero； its the same with every single other pick， all night. All over the arena， people are checking their phones， leaning over to tell their friends whats coming. At one point， Yahoos Adrian Wojnarowski was legitimately four picks ahead of corporeal reality. Its like watching Game of Thrones with someone who has read the books and keeps telling you whos about to die.

在選擇時間還剩1分鐘左右時，我的推特上已經(jīng)出現(xiàn)了安德魯·威金斯成為狀元的消息。其他每個簽位都是如此，一晚上都是這樣。體育館里的所有人都在看手機，然后告訴身邊的朋友未來將會發(fā)生什么。雅虎的亞德里安·沃納羅斯基甚至比現(xiàn)場選秀快了4個簽位。這種感覺就像看電視劇《權(quán)力的游戲》一樣，旁邊總有個讀過原著的人，不停地告訴你哪個角色會死。

To follow the NBA in 2014 is to enter a state of augmented reality. The granular， dealswithin-deals level of detail needed to really understand the league on draft night is only accessible through Twitter， which has basically become the NBAs real-time Bloomberg terminal. The CBA rules act as the leagues DNA， mandating its structure — which players move， who can be kept， and for how much. The only way to even try to understand it is online. The currency of fandom is hope， and the draft is the embodiment of that hope. This focus on the deal has elevated the front-office executive to a weird sort of stardom while ever so subtly dehumanizing the players. You know， assets.

想在2014年關(guān)注NBA，我們其實面對的是更廣大的現(xiàn)實社會。想在選秀夜真正摸清聯(lián)盟里各個交易繁冗的細節(jié)，我們只能依靠推特，說實話，推特已經(jīng)成為NBA的實時新聞終端。勞資協(xié)議就像NBA的DNA，確定了聯(lián)盟的基本規(guī)則——哪個球員會被交易，誰能被留下來，還有更多的細節(jié)。即便想搞懂這些復(fù)雜的問題，唯一的辦法就是上網(wǎng)?！跋Ｍ笔乔蛎缘蹏牧魍ㄘ泿牛x秀就是希望的具體化表現(xiàn)。球迷對交易的執(zhí)念，已經(jīng)把球隊管理層捧成了某種奇怪的明星，與此同時，這里也有一種難以察覺的，把球員不當(dāng)人看的感覺。財產(chǎn)嘛，你懂的。

So it was heartening that Silver and the NBA took a moment to recognize Isaiah Austin， whose pro basketball dreams were cut short by a diagnosis of Marfan syndrome during a draft physical. After the 15th pick， Silver announced Austin as a ceremonial selection of the NBA， and the former Baylor center took the stage to a standing ovation.

所以說，當(dāng)伊塞亞·奧斯汀得到蕭華和NBA的認可時，我們會覺得非常感動，奧斯汀在選秀前的體檢中被查出患有馬方綜合癥，導(dǎo)致他的職業(yè)夢碎。15號簽選秀結(jié)束后，蕭華宣布奧斯汀成為聯(lián)盟的榮譽新秀，這個前貝勒大學(xué)的中鋒走上舞臺時，得到了人們的起立致敬。

It was a touching moment， a nice reminder that players are more than their stats and cap figures.

這是一個令人感動的時刻，這提醒我們，球員不只是冷冰冰的數(shù)據(jù)和合同數(shù)字。

The NBA has always marketed its stars. Now its marketing its marketplace. Tanking for picks， swapping picks， stashing players in Europe like the Adriatic League is a 401（k） …its fun to follow， no doubt. But， when you consider what the draft really is， draft night and its assorted bartering is a little like rearranging the deck chairs on several Titanics， and selling tickets to the rearranging ceremony.

NBA總是在推銷自己的球星，現(xiàn)在他們又開始推銷自己的市場。為了選秀權(quán)擺爛，交易選秀權(quán)，把球員像私下開的養(yǎng)老金賬戶，藏在諸如歐洲亞得里亞海聯(lián)賽那種地方？毫無疑問，這些東西很有意思?？墒钱?dāng)你想到選秀到底是怎么回事，想到選秀夜以及它的分檔，就好像是在重新排列泰坦尼克號上的座椅順序……而且他們還賣票讓我們看，一切了然了。

The NBA wanted a hot stove league； what it got is a forest fire.

NBA希望自己成為一個火爆的聯(lián)賽，可他們得到的其實只是場野火。

End of the night. Past security， past the rows of laptops and television cameras， I take the steps up from the arena floor into the seats of the lower bowl. Barclays is emptying out. At the landing， leading out to the concourse， NBA deputy commissioner Mark Tatum appears on the stage below to announce the Knickspick at 51. New York had already taken Cleanthony Early at 34. As I leaned over the railing to watch， Tatum announced Thanasis Antetokounmpo. Starbucks Dad and I hit both of our picks.

那天晚上最后，我走過保安，穿過一排排電話和電視攝像機，從球場地板區(qū)走到底層看臺座位區(qū)。巴克萊中心已經(jīng)空了，在下面人群匯集的地方，NBA副總裁馬克·塔特姆走上舞臺，宣布尼克斯在第51順位的選擇。尼克斯早在第34順位就選了克林東尼。當(dāng)我探過圍欄伸頭看時，塔特姆說出了薩納西斯·阿德托昆博。星巴克老爹和我的預(yù)言都實現(xiàn)了。