The Lakers Always Made the Most

The Lakers Always Made the Most Sense for LeBron James

湖人是最适合勒布朗的下家

来源：虎扑

图文连接：

https://www.si.com/nba/2018/07/01/lebron-james-lakers-cavaliers-heat-nba-free-agency

翻译：坚果是王道

备注：作者科密一枚，翻译纯属个人爱好，原文如有侵权，马上删，译文不作任何商业用途，未经同意，不得转载

LeBron James is going to Hollywood and it was probably a waste of time to think he was ever going anywhere else. There are so many reasons for James to sign with the Lakers—the cap space, the history, the lifestyle, his off-court interests, his Brentwood mansion—that no other location could offer as compelling a case. Cleveland can’t beat the Warriors. Philly is probably too young. And Houston would have been too tricky. Instead James will head to Los Angeles, where he can do what he’s done the last two times he was a free agent: Build a championship team to his liking.

勒布朗·詹姆斯决定远赴好莱坞，而且很有可能在这里结束职业生涯。湖人队的薪资空间、豪门历史、加州的生活方式、老詹球场外的兴趣和在布伦特伍德的豪宅，这些因素是其他队伍无可比拟的，也是促成这笔签约的关键。骑士队无法战胜勇士，费城过于年轻，休斯顿又比较棘手，而在洛杉矶老詹能够按自己的意愿打造一支冠军级球队，就像他前两次转会时那样。

James’s decision to sign with the Lakers echoes what he did in 2010, when he signed with the Heat. Facing a brick wall in the Celtics, Bron joined forces with Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade to thwart their common rival. James is in a similar spot now, running into consistent championship interference from the Warriors, and he has a desperate need to put together a star-laden squad to compete with one of the most talented teams of all time. The Lakers offer James that opportunity.

这与老詹2010年签约热火如出一辙，面对凯尔特人的铜墙铁壁，老詹加入波什和韦德，共同对抗波士顿。现在的情况与当时非常相似，接连几个赛季在总决赛上输给勇士，老詹急切地希望组建一支明星级球队来对抗勇士这支史上最具天赋的球队之一，湖人提供了这个机会。

Who will join LeBron next? Will Kawhi Leonard’s insistence on being sent to Los Angeles force the Spurs to trade him over? Los Angeles has the most flexibility to put together a roster that LeBron approves of, one that’s on the same timeline as his career. That alone is a good enough reason for James to join the Lakers. All the other factors likely made it a much easier decision. In L.A., James can raise his kids in a city they’ve already spent much time in. He can start to keep an eye on his post-NBA plans. And he can live in the same city as plenty of other world famous and insanely rich people.

谁会跟随詹姆斯的脚步？卡哇伊坚持交易到湖人的决心会迫使马刺完成这笔交易吗？洛杉矶有足够的薪资空间来签下任何一位詹姆斯认可的球星，一位与詹姆斯一样处于巅峰期的球员。这个理由足够詹姆斯加入湖人队，其余因素只是锦上添花而已。詹姆斯的孩子能够在洛杉矶这个已经呆了很久的城市长大，他能够在此实现退役后的种种规划，并且与许多闻名世界且富裕的名人同处一座城市。

Magic Johnson and Rob Pelinka deserve credit for landing James. The duo didn’t exactly sell him with an elaborate pitch, but Johnson and Pelinka reversed course after mistakes from L.A.’s previous regime, and did a noble job of keeping space open for this summer—something many other teams have failed to do. As a result of Pelinka and Johnson’s maneuvering, the Lakers had two max-salary slots, as well as the assets to potentially engineer a trade for Leonard. (Kawhi’s preference to play in L.A. certainly helps, but so does nailing draft picks like Kyle Kuzma and Josh Hart.)

此次交易中，魔术师和佩林卡居功至伟。俩人并没有向詹姆斯承诺详细的补强计划，但是他们俩走出了前管理层犯下的种种错误，今夏的薪资空间非常充裕，这也是联盟里很多球队无法做到的。得益于魔术师和佩林卡的操作，湖人队能够签下两名顶薪球员，并有足够的筹码用于交易卡哇伊。（卡哇伊倾向于加盟湖人队当然有帮助，但是湖人队也得付出诸如库兹马和哈特这样的新秀球员）

There will be some initial awkwardness seeing James in a Lakers uniform. He’ll likely avoid the vitriol that came with his decision to join the Heat, thanks his own persistent greatness and a media course-correction in how free agency is viewed. LeBron will have to deal with an intense fan base as well as inevitable comparisons to Kobe Bryant. Some people will question the fact that three times at the height of his powers, James felt the need to switch teams.

詹姆斯身着湖人队服，初看会有些别扭。这些年来他持续性的伟大表现以及媒体对自由人签约的态度转变都使得这次的交易不会让詹姆斯陷入当年加盟热火带来的刻薄鄙夷中。当然詹姆斯必须应对一个强大的球迷群体以及不可避免地拿来与科比进行比较。而且有些人会质疑詹姆斯的能力之高，为何会三次转会其他球队。

None of that will matter if the Lakers win. If LeBron adds another ring or two to his collection—and takes down the Warriors along the way—it won’t matter that he joined Kobe’s former team. It won’t matter that he only won once in Cleveland. It won’t matter that he linked up with a different set of superstars. James knows the value of championships outweighs everything else when it comes to his on-court legacy, and potentially creating a legitimate contender will matter more than the first time a basketball writer feels uncomfortable seeing LeBron in purple and gold.

当然湖人拿到总冠军，以上这些都不成问题了。假如詹姆斯能再拿1-2个总冠军，并且击败勇士，谁都不会介意他加入的是曾经拥有科比的队伍，谁都不会介意他在骑士只拿了一次总冠军，谁都不会介意他又一次抱团成功。詹姆斯明白在球场上，总冠军大于一切，相比于他成为紫金军团一员带给众人的不适感，以总冠军争夺者的形象出现更加重要。

One way or another, James will package his decision to be palatable for the public. He’ll pay his respects to Cleveland. He’ll explain that his legacy is bigger than basketball. He’ll discuss how he made this choice with regards to his family. There will be degrees of truth to all those statements. Personally, I think James sees the Lakers as his best chance to win now and as his career continues. Stars will want to come to L.A. to play with LeBron, and I don’t think James—someone who expects to be in the Finals every summer—is comfortable letting the Warriors run amok with titles.

无论怎样，詹姆斯的决定都会让人津津乐道。他将表达对骑士的尊重，解释自己的成就比篮球更重要，表明自己的决定是为了家人，当然这些声明真真假假，无人知晓。就我个人而言，我认为詹姆斯将湖人视为争夺总冠军最好的选择以及职业生涯后期最佳的归宿。各路球星会蜂拥而至，与之联手，并且詹姆斯期望每年都能进总决赛，并不能容忍勇士年年夺冠。

What does this move mean for the rest of the league? There’s going to be a huge concentration of power in the West. The Warriors, Lakers and Rockets will probably end up as title favorites. The East is now wide open for the Celtics and Sixers to perhaps dominate for the next decade. And a lot of dedicated fans are going to have to prepare for groggy mornings because they stayed up late to watch LeBron and Steph.

此举给联盟带来了什么？西部的竞争力将达到前所未有的白热化高度。勇士、湖人和火箭都是总冠军的有力争夺者，而凯尔特人和76人很有可能在未来十年内统治东部。而大批的粉丝不得不熬夜观看詹姆斯和库里的比赛以至白天昏昏沉沉。

There was a fear after Kevin Durant signed with the Warriors that the NBA would be ruined with a sense of inevitability. Polarizing regular-season performances, off-court hijinks and Joel Embiid’s twitter account saved us from a couple boring years of basketball. But the last two NBA Finals could be described as underwhelming at best. In retrospect, how Durant’s decision ultimately affected the NBA the most was to force stars to concentrate in order to win. It may not be fair to every market, but it’s surely made the league more interesting.

杜兰特签约勇士后，大家都担心NBA肯定会被毁。常规赛各球队的极端表现、场下的狂欢做了以及大帝的推特多少把我们从这几年的无聊中拯救了出来，但是前两年的NBA总决赛并没有给大家留下多少印象。回顾一下，杜兰特加盟勇士的决定对NBA最大的影响就是球星开始抱团争冠，这显然不公平，但是联盟却随之变得越来越有趣。

LeBron’s decision to (likely) form a new superteam of sorts in Los Angeles is a win for everyone. It’s a win for the NBA’s bottom line. It’s a win for a storied franchise looking to resurrect itself. And it’s a win for fans who want to see the Warriors eventually challenged at their highest level. In that case, James signing with the Lakers didn’t only make the most sense for him. It made the most sense for everyone.

詹姆斯加盟洛杉矶，有望组建一支超级强队，这其中每个人都是赢家。NBA的底线得到了维持、湖人队得以重生、粉丝终于能看到最强勇士有了竞争对手。这样来看，此次签约不仅使得詹姆斯的利益最大化，对每个人来说都是皆大欢喜的结局。

Grade：A+

评级：A+