https://reurl.cc/ZlergQ (这次主作者是Amick 立场应该相对中立一些) ATLANTA – The late-night meeting that brought Chris Paul’s LA Clippers career to a stunning and unceremonious end was supposed to take place during normal business hours. After all these weeks of building frustrations between the two sides, with Paul’s dissatisfaction being felt in every corner of the Clippers operation during a brutal start to their season, the team’s longtime president of basketball operations, Lawrence Frank, sent word to the future Hall of Famer that they needed to meet on Tuesday evening in Atlanta. The tone of his message demanded a change in Paul’s plans. 亚特兰大-结束Chris Paul快艇生涯、令人震惊且毫无仪式的深夜会面，本来应该在正常上 班时间进行。 在过去这几周，双方的挫折感不断累积，Paul的不满情绪弥漫在快艇营运的每一个角落， 而球队也经历了残酷的赛季开局。於是，快艇长年负责篮球事务的总裁Lawrence Frank传 话给这位未来名人堂明星，表示需要在星期二傍晚於亚特兰大见面。他的语气明确到让 Paul必须重新安排自己的行程。 Paul, league sources said, had planned on attending the men’s basketball game at his alma mater, Wake Forest, and then rejoining the Clippers in Atlanta afterwards. But he changed his plans, spending the first part of Tuesday attending an art festival in Miami before hopping on the team’s chartered flight that was scheduled to land in Atlanta around 6 p.m. local time. But there was an unexpected issue: The team plane had mechanical problems in Miami, causing an hours-long delay that, in the end, would lead to Frank and Paul discussing their unresolvable issues deep into the wee hours. By the time Paul shared the news of his release on social media at 2:40 a.m. in Atlanta, writing “Just found out I’m being sent home” on an Instagram post, the only people confused about why it had happened were outside of the Clippers’ walls. Whether you agreed with the decision or not, this much was clear: Paul’s constant criticism internally had been the root of the perceived problem. Paul，根据联盟消息人士透露，原本计画先去母校威克森林大学观看男子篮球比赛，之後 再飞到亚特兰大与快艇会合。但他最後改变了行程，星期二先在迈阿密参加了一个艺术节 ，接着才登上球队安排的包机，预计於当地时间傍晚6点降落在亚特兰大。 但意外发生了:球队飞机在迈阿密出现机械故障，导致延误了好几个小时。这场延误最终让 Frank和Paul必须在深夜、甚至凌晨时分，针对他们无法调和的问题进行谈话。 当Paul在亚特兰大的凌晨2:40於社群媒体宣布消息时--他在Instagram上写道："我刚刚知 道我要被送回家了"--唯一感到困惑的，只有快艇之外的人。不论外界是否认同这项决定， 有一点已经非常清楚:Paul在队内持续的批评与抱怨，才是整个问题的核心。 The notion of Paul being unfiltered and unrelenting with his viewpoint is hardly something new. Anyone who paid attention during his storied 21-year career — including his Lob City run with the Clippers from 2011 to 2017 — knows that his leadership style isn’t for everyone. And when the Clippers signed up for this reunion in July, adding him to their veteran-laden group by way of a one-year, $3.6 million deal, team sources say they went to great lengths to manage his expectations regarding his role. The goal was to minimize the chance that something like this might occur. Yet as the Clippers continued to struggle, falling to 5-16 during this season in which they fully intended on contending for a title, league sources say the acerbic nature of Paul’s perspective was met with increasing resistance from those around him. Head coach Ty Lue and his staff, specifically, were known to be at wit’s end when it came to dealing with Paul. Some teammates took exception with his disparaging tone. Paul直率、不留情面的说话方式并不是新鲜事。任何关注过他21年辉煌生涯的人--包括他 2011到2017年在快艇的"Lob City"时期--都知道他的领导风格并不适合所有人。 而当快艇在7月决定重聚，给他一份一年3.6M的合约，把他加入这支满是老将的球队时，根 据球队消息来源，他们其实花了非常多心力去管理Paul对於自己角色的期待。目的很明确: 尽量避免如今这种情况发生。然而，随着快艇本季表现持续低迷--跌到5胜16败，远远偏离 原本要争冠的目标--联盟消息人士指出，Paul那种尖锐刻薄的发言风格，引来越来越多队 内人士的不满。尤其是总教练Ty Lue与教练团，被形容为已经快被他逼到崩溃边缘;部分队 友也对他爱用贬低语气说话的方式感到不满。 League sources say Paul had several meetings recently with Clippers officials regarding their concerns with his approach, with one source indicating that there was a request for him to stop with the “locker room lawyering.” League sources said Paul was openly critical of the team in a film session on Tuesday, but — as Frank indicated — the decision to move on from Paul had already been made. “It wasn’t working out the way that I had planned and we had planned and it ’s unfortunate,” Frank said Wednesday at a virtual news conference. “You don’t take decisions like this lightly at all. Especially a guy that meant so much to the league and so much our organization, but just felt it was the right decision to make and unfortunately it was a really, really hard decision to make, but I think it was the right one for the team and organization.” 联盟消息人士指出，Paul近期已与快艇管理层进行过多次会面，讨论球队对他作风的担忧 ，其中有一位消息来源甚至透露，球队要求他停止所谓的"更衣室诡辩"。联盟消息人士也 表示，Paul在周二的影片会议中公开批评球队，但--正如 Frank 所指出的--球队要与他分 道扬镳的决定早已做出。 Frank在周三的线上记者会上说:"事情的发展不像我原本预期的、也不像我们共同预期的那 样，这真的很遗憾。你不会轻易做出这种决定，尤其是针对一位对联盟、对我们球团都有 重大意义的球员。但我们只是觉得，这是必须做出的正确决定。很不幸地，这真的是非常 非常困难的决定，但我认为，对球队与整个组织而言，这是对的选择。" Frank also said his decision “had nothing to do with one incident or one meeting that did or did not happen,” declining to further elaborate on how he decided to move on from a man many consider to be the greatest Clippers player of all time. He said his face-to-face with Paul began at 11 p.m. ET on Tuesday and lasted three hours, describing it as a “long, long, long, long, long meeting.” Paul, 40, was in and out of Lue’s rotation during this trying season in which the Clippers entered Wednesday’s game against the Hawks with a 5-16 record. He appeared in 16 games for the Clippers this season, averaging 2.9 points and 3.3 assists in a career-low 14.3 minutes per game. Paul was coming off a campaign in San Antonio last year in which he started all 82 games for the Spurs, averaging 8.8 points and 7.4 assists. Frank也表示，这项决定"与某一件事件，或某一次有发生或未发生的会面毫无关联"，并拒 绝进一步说明他是如何下定决心，要与许多人心中"快艇队史最伟大球员"切割。他只透露 ，自己与Paul的面对面会谈是在周二晚间美东时间11点开始，持续了三个小时，并形容那 是一次"非常、非常、非常、非常、非常漫长的会议"。 40岁的Paul在这个艰难的赛季里，时常被Lue进进出出地调整到轮替之外。快艇在周三对上 老鹰的比赛前，战绩仅5胜16败。Paul本季为快艇出赛16场，场均仅2.9分、3.3助攻，出场 时间只有14.3分钟，创下生涯最低。而就在去年，他还在圣安东尼奥打完82场先发，场均 8.8分、7.4助攻。 Because Paul signed as a free agent with LA, he is not eligible to be traded until Dec. 15. Frank said the Clippers would “continue to work with Chris’ representatives” in determining how Paul is ultimately removed from the roster. Frank also made clear the team was not blaming its poor performance on Paul. Reading between the lines, this was a move made because Paul’s presence and demeanor with the team while it was losing was not considered helpful. Paul coming back to the LA Clippers seemed like the obvious move. After his one-year pact with the San Antonio Spurs, Paul indicated that his career was winding down. After leaving the Clippers in 2018, Paul’s family had stayed in Los Angeles as he hopped from one stop to the next: From Houston to Oklahoma City, a three-year run in Phoenix, a one-season stop with Golden State and then a successful season with Victor Wembanyama and the Spurs. 因为Paul是以自由球员身分与快艇签约，他在12月15日前没有被交易的资格。Frank表示， 快艇会"继续与Chris的代表合作"，决定最终要如何将Paul从名单中移除。Frank也强调， 球队并没有把战绩不佳怪罪在Paul身上。从字里行间可以看出，之所以做出这个决定，是 因为球队在持续输球时，Paul的存在与态度被认为没有帮助。 Paul回到洛杉矶快艇似乎是理所当然的选择。在与圣安东尼奥马刺一年合约结束後，Paul 表示他的生涯已接近尾声。自从2018年离开快艇後，Paul的家人一直留在洛杉矶，而他本 人则从休士顿到奥克拉荷马城，又在凤凰城度过三年，接着在金州勇士停留一季，最後在 与Victor Wembanyama的马刺度过成功的一年。 Still, the Clippers put a roster together in the offseason that made it clear where Paul’s place on the team would be: he wouldn’t be a starter or even a regular rotation player. It took the Clippers until the fourth week of July to sign Paul. While celebrating Paul as a Clippers legend and praising him for his ability at this stage of his career, Frank was careful to use his statement announcing Paul’s addition to clearly and publicly outline Paul’s role, as if to diffuse any potential confusion and conflict. “Chris will help fortify our backcourt with his exceptional ballhandling, playmaking and shooting,” Frank said in the team’s statement. “He is joining us as a reserve point guard and is excited to fill whatever role T. Lue asks him to play. He wants to be part of the group and we’re fortunate to have him back.” 然而，快艇在休赛季组出的阵容已经清楚表明Paul在球队中的定位:他不会是先发，甚至不 是固定轮替球员。快艇直到七月第四周才签下Paul。当时球队一边称赞Paul是快艇传奇、 肯定他在生涯这个阶段仍具备的能力，Frank也在宣布Paul加盟的声明中，小心翼翼地明确 、公开说明他的角色，彷佛是为了事先化解任何可能的误解与冲突。 Frank在球队声明中说:"Chris会用他出色的控球、组织与投射来强化我们的後场。他将以 替补控球後卫的身分加入我们，并且很乐意扮演T. Lue要求他的任何角色。他希望成为团 队的一部分，而我们也很幸运能迎回他。" Paul can, and on numerous occasions has, served as a mentor and adviser to younger players who look up to him. A 12-time All-Star who is second all time in assists and steals behind John Stockton, Paul most recently put his arm around rising Atlanta star Dyson Daniels. When the Hawks were in Los Angeles last month, Paul was spotted in an engaged chat with Daniels, telling him, among other things, to “shoot the ball.” “He basically said I work too hard on defense and every other aspect of the game, so I basically need to reward myself by shooting the ball,” Daniels said Wednesday morning, before the Hawks’ game against the Clippers. “It all makes sense. Very simple but yeah, coming from a guy like that, it definitely helps to hear.” Paul能够--而且在许多场合中确实--担任仰慕他的年轻球员的导师与顾问。身为12次全明 星、助攻与抄截数仅次於John Stockton的传奇球员，Paul最近一次被看到指导的对象，是 亚特兰大正崛起的新星Dyson Daniels。上个月老鹰作客快艇时，有人看到Paul与Daniels 交谈甚欢，其中包括告诉他:"把球投出去。" "他基本上是说，我在防守和其他比赛面向都下了很大功夫，所以我应该要用投篮来奖励 自己，"Daniels在周三早上、老鹰对上快艇前说道。"这一切都很有道理，很简单，但从那 样的球员口中听到，真的很有帮助。" There were chances for Paul to do the same for Clippers teammates, and he would mentor the team’s few young players from time to time. But the Clippers entered the season as the NBA’s oldest team, with an average age per player of 33.2 years. The coaching staff is also a veteran group, with lifers like Lue, and Jeff Van Gundy, and Brian Shaw and Larry Drew, and Paul’ s critiques came off like grating criticisms that were unwelcome while the team was trying to find itself while playing through injury, league sources said. Paul’s retirement tour through the league didn’t last two weeks. On Nov. 22, Paul unveiled that this would be his final season through a social media post. “Do I want to see CP go out like this? No, I have a lot of respect for him, ” Lue said. “He’s been a friend of mine over the years, and you never want to see a great go out like this, but I’m pretty sure he will find something because he’s a great player. “I don’t like it for CP, but it just wasn’t a good fit.” Paul原本也有机会在快艇做同样的事，并且偶尔会指导队上少数的年轻球员。但快艇本季 以平均年龄33.2岁成为联盟最老的球队。教练团同样是资深班底，包括 Lue、Jeff Van Gundy、Brian Shaw、Larry Drew等人。联盟消息人士表示，在球队一边带着伤势挣扎、一 边努力找方向时，Paul的批评听起来更像是刺耳且不受欢迎的指责。 Paul的"退休巡回"在联盟里甚至没撑过两周。11月22日，Paul透过社群媒体宣布这将会是 他的最後一季。(我只能说 我还有机会看到 我很幸运) "我想看到CP以这种方式离开吗?不，我很尊重他。"Lue 说。"他多年来一直是我的朋友， 你永远不会想看到一位伟大的球员以这样的方式结束，但我很确定他会找到其他事情做， 因为他是一位伟大的球员。" "我不喜欢CP的处境，但这真的不适合。" --

※ 发信站: 批踢踢实业坊(ptt.cc), 来自: 104.176.138.216 (美国) ※ 文章网址: https://webptt.com/cn.aspx?n=bbs/NBA/M.1764820256.A.02D.html