Where do Pistons go now? No easy answers 活塞的下一步？没有明确的答案。 Insider Ford By Chad Ford ESPN Insider Archive One NBA title. A Game 7 in the Finals. 64 wins this season. Four players in the 2006 All-Star Game. 一座总冠军。一次冠军战第七场。例行赛64胜。四人入选全明星赛。 The Detroit Pistons' run the last three seasons has been amazing. 过去三个球季底特律活塞有惊喜的表现。 Unfortunately, Pistons fans, it's over. 不幸地，活塞迷们，结束了。 The Pistons had their backs against the wall again on Friday night and they did what they don't usually do -- they came up short. The team couldn't make a shot and couldn't stop Miami. 周五晚上活塞又一次在无退路的处境下出赛，而一反往常地，功亏一匮。这支队伍不能做出 反击，无法阻止热火。 Have we witnessed the end of an era? Is this the '04 Lakers all over again? 我们见证了一个时代的句点吗？就像04年的湖人队？ Pistons president Joe Dumars doesn't have long to figure out what changes, if any, need to be made to his team. 活塞的老板Joe Dumars并没有太多时间思考该对这支球队作什麽改变。 For starters, Ben Wallace hits free agency July 1. 先发队员中，班华勒斯在七月一日成为自由球员。 Then Chauncey Billups wants a big contract extension this fall. 然後琼西毕勒普斯在秋季要求一份大的延长合约。 So what's the blueprint for the future? 所以未来的计画是？ The Pistons were the best basketball team in the NBA in the regular season. So Dumars could look at this year's 64 wins and say, "There's no reason to panic." Under this premise, they could play the starters a little less next year, get more comfortable with head coach Flip Saunders and be just fine. 活塞在季赛战绩是全联盟最佳。所以Dumars可以看着这64胜说，「没有理由要惊慌。」在这 个前提下，明年他们可以让先发上场时间少一点，让球员跟教练Flip Saunders都稍作喘息 。 Or, Dumars could make a few minor tweaks to the team to address the glaring weaknesses. Adding a quick guard to break down defenses and get to the basket would open up the offense. Finding a little low-post scoring would lessen Detroit's dependence on the jump shot. 或者Dumars可以为明显的弱点作一些调整。增加一名敏捷的後卫穿越防线到篮下会开启得分 攻势。寻求低位单打能力会减低底特律对中距离跳投的依赖程度。 Or, Dumars could blow up the Pistons and start from scratch. He could scrap the coach, sell off the players to the highest builder and rebuild the Pistons. 又或是Dumars将活塞拆夥重新组织。将教练开除，把球员卖给开高价的球队，重新建立活塞 王朝。 No matter what plan he chooses, he faces serious roadblocks. The team is capped out, limiting what it can do in free agency. Also, the Pistons don't have a first-round draft pick this season. And a number of young Eastern Conference teams, such as the Cavs, who almost knocked out the Pistons this year, appear to be on the rise. 无论是什麽打算，他都会面对不轻松的挑战。球队薪资已达上限，没有多余的钱签自由球员 。本季也没有第一轮选秀权。而且一些年轻的东区队伍例如几乎在今年将他们淘汰的骑士队 ，也正在成长。 Here are the three biggest issues Dumars will have to sort out this summer: 以下是Dumars在这个暑假必须厘清的三大议题： Issue 1: What to do about Ben Wallace 第一：如何处理大班的问题 Wallace is an unrestricted free agent. For months it's seemed to be a given that Big Ben would re-up with the Pistons and finish his career in Detroit. 大班成为不受限的自由球员。几个月来，他会和活塞续约然後在那里打到退休，似乎被视为 理所当然。 Wallace is the heart and soul of the Pistons. He's the guy who started the team' s turnaround. He's been underpaid for most of the run. Dumars is a loyal guy. It 's not clear that the Pistons' Bad Boy mojo even exists without Big Ben in the middle. So Wallace has to come back, right? 大班是活塞的中心灵魂人物。是他开始了这个球队的反击。相较於他的贡献他所受到的薪资 待遇一直偏低。Dumars是忠诚的人。如果没有了大班，还不清楚活塞的坏男孩魔法能否发挥 。所以他必须留在队上，不是吗？ A number of factors have muddied the waters in the past few months. 一些因素在过去几个月内使情况复杂了。 First, after deciding to go without an agent, which seemed to be a signal he would re-sign with Detroit, Wallace did an about-face a month ago and hired superagent Arn Tellem to negotiate his deal. 首先，在决定不采用经纪人似乎暗示会与活塞续约後，大班在一个月前有了180度转变，雇 用名经纪人Arn Tellem以协商合约。 The conventional wisdom this whole season was the Dumars would negotiate a reasonable contract with Wallace that rewarded him for his past performance but didn't break the Pistons back financially. Now, no one's sure. 整季以来旧有想法是，Dumars会在活塞负担得起的条件下，与大班签一份合理契约犒赏他过 去的表现。现在，没有人能确定。 With teams like the Bulls, Raptors and Hawks needing centers and having max cap room to play with this summer, Wallace may garner an offer well above what the Pistons want to pay. 随着今年暑假，需要中锋的公牛，暴龙及老鹰等，他们都有薪资空间可以运用，大班可以从 那里取得比活塞所能提供的更好得多。 Second, it's pretty clear that Wallace isn't a huge fan of Saunders. 其次，很明显大班不欣赏桑德斯。 Wallace is a defensive stopper and Saunders is an offensive coach. Wallace felt loved when defense-first coaches Larry Brown and Rick Carlisle ran the show. Now ? He's been openly critical about Saunders' approach. Is their relationship strained enough that he'll look elsewhere? 大班是以防守见长，而桑德斯是强调进攻的教练。大班在防守第一的教练如布朗与Carlisle 带领下才觉得受重视。现在他曾经公开批评桑德斯的方法。是否他们之间的关系恶化到他会 找别的球队？ Three, Wallace's game seems to be slipping. He's not the dominant rebounder and shot-blocker he once was. 第三，大班的表现似乎在下滑。他不再是篮板王及火锅王。 Yes, he won the Defensive Player of the Year award this season. But Wallace doesn't seem quite as explosive as he was at his peak. Any slippage will only increase with age, and Wallace turns 32 in September. A big-money, five-year deal might mean that Wallace would be grossly overpaid at the end of the con- tract as he approached age 37. 是的，他本季赢得年度防守球员。但是似乎不像他巅峰期那麽有爆发力。随着年龄增长体力 退步只会加速，而他今年九月就要32岁。一份五年的肥约意谓到他合约结束37岁那年，他会 被付给太多的薪水。 The Pistons would probably like to offer Wallace about three years, $24-30 mil- lion. But it's quite possible another suitor will offer something like five years, $60-70 million. 活塞可能会倾向给他3年两千四百到三千万的契约。但是其他争取球队非常有可能提出例如5 年六千到七千万。 All of those factors seem to argue against re-signing Wallace. But what's the backup plan if Dumars lets him go? The team's front line is thin. Wallace's understudy, Darko Milicic, was traded in February. Their options to replace Big Ben are slim to none. And while a sign-and-trade is possible in theory, several teams with cap room could sign Wallace without agreeing to give up any assets in trade. 这些因素都不利於与大班续约。但是如果Dumars放他走後有什麽备用计画？球队的先发阵容 单薄。大班过去的替补Darko Milicic在二月时被交易。他们所能代替大班的选择几乎没有 。而虽然签约後交易理论上可行，很多球队却有薪资谈判空间可以签下大班而不必放出任何 球员。 Issue 2: Whether to keep coach Flip Saunders 第二：是否要保留教练菲利浦桑德斯 He seemed like a brilliant choice when the Pistons hired him. Saunders is the anti-Larry Brown. He's personable, a player's coach and the guy who was supposed to jump start the team's offense. 在活塞刚雇用他时，他似乎是个正确的选择。他和布朗截然不同。平易近人，教导球队如何 迅速启动进攻得分。 For most of the regular season, Saunders lived up to advance billing, and then some. The team performed at a very high level, making a run at 70 wins and show- ing more freedom and confidence than ever, and Saunders finished a strong third in the Coach of the Year voting. 整个正规赛季桑德斯大约都达到了他的任务，只有一点美中不足。球队打出高水准，朝向70 胜目标推进，比以往有更多自由及信心，也使他在年度教练票选上获得第三名。 However, he made some critical mistakes that might have cost the Pistons the title. 然而，他犯的一些重要错误可能是导致活塞无法争夺冠军的原因。 First, he refused to develop his bench. Not only did he ride his top six -- Chauncey Billups, Richard Hamilton, Tayshaun Prince, Rasheed Wallace, Ben Wallace and Antonio McDyess -- into the ground, but he never developed the depth necessary to provide them relief. 首先，他不练板凳球员。他不只将主力球员六人--枪西，Rip，小王子，溪蛙，大班和袋鼠- -用到体力耗尽，还从不训练可以减轻先发负担的替补。 Talented players like Milicic, Carlos Arroyo and Carlos Delfino sat around doing little or nothing. Eventually Arroyo and Milicic were shipped out, with the rationale being that the Pistons might as well get rid of them if the coach wasn't going to play them. Delfino will ask for a trade when the season ends. 有天份的球员像小米粒，Arroyo和Delfino坐在场边看戏。最後Arroyo和米粒被送走因为既 然教练不用他们就让他们走。Delfino在本季结束後会要求被交易。 In the short term, the approach of riding the starters and the sixth man so hard brought success. The Pistons got what they wanted -- the best record in the NBA and home-court advantage throughout the playoffs. 短期内重用主力先发及第六人带来成效。活塞得到想要的--全联盟最佳战绩以及季後赛有绝 对主场优势。 Now, Saunders' approach looks disastrous. The only logical replacement for Big Ben is playing in Orlando. The other young reserves have gotten no real experi- ence. 现在看来那是灾难性的影响。唯一能代替大班的现在於奥兰多打球。其他年轻替补没有实战 经验。 This was supposed to be part of the reason Larry Brown got the ax -- he didn't develop the young guys. Saunders didn't either. 这被认为是布朗离开的部分原因--他没有培养年轻新人。桑德斯也没有。 Also, Saunders was exposed in the playoffs a bit. He has shown that he's a talented coach, but the Pistons' players saw first-hand that he's no Larry Brown . 季後赛也明显看清楚了桑德斯。他证实自己是有能力的教练，但是活塞队员一开始就知道他 不是布朗爷。 Now, the players can't throw all the blame Saunders' way. He can't make jump shots for them. But he seemed unable to motivate his team or make the right adjustments in the playoffs. 现在球员不能完全怪罪桑德斯。他不能为他们跳投。但是在季後赛他没有办法激励他的球队 ，没有办法适时作出调整。 Coaches have been the Achilles' heel for Dumars. He's always had a deft touch with the players, but he's never been able to get coaches to buy into his larger vision. 教练一直是Dumars的痛处。他总是能容易理解球员，但是从未能让教练们认同他更长远的眼 光。 Carlisle refused to play Tayshaun Prince and Mehmet Okur in their rookie seasons . Brown was exceedingly stubborn about Okur, Milicic and Delfino. Saunders pro- mised to get with the program, but balked when the Pistons got off to a great start. Carlisle拒绝运用小王子和Okur在他们新人球季。布朗爷非常严苛对待Okur,米粒及Delfino 。桑德斯起初答应要训练他们，但是当活塞战绩一开始就很好时就忘了这件事。 Meanwhile, Dumars has been reluctant to interfere and insist that the coach do what's best for the long-term health of the franchise. 同时Dumars不愿意干涉，强调教练会在长远考量下对这支球队作最好的措施。 The result? The Pistons have developed just one good young player in the past three years, leaving the bench bare and putting their future in serious doubt. 结果呢？在过去三年活塞只练出一个年轻新秀，板凳屈指可数而且球队未来被放上问号。 Dumars' ability to evaluate talent isn't the problem -- look at how well Okur, Arroyo and Milicic have played since leaving Detroit. Rather, Dumars' problem is his inability to get his coach to develop that young talent. Dumars看人的能力没有问题--看看离开後的Okur,Arroyo,Milicic打得如何就知道。他的问 题是，他 无法说服教练去训练这些年轻有潜力的球员。 All of that argues for Dumars to fire Saunders and put in someone who would work with him, not against him. Someone like Pistons VP John Hammond, currently Dumars' right-hand man, might be a great choice. 种种都支持Dumars开除桑德斯，另选一名能与他合作而不是意见相左的人。像副手John Hammond就是很不错的选择。 The problem for Dumars is that he can't keep firing coaches. He's had three great ones in the past four seasons. At some point, firing them isn't the answer . 但Dumars的难题还在他不能一直开除教练。过去四个球季已经有过三名伟大教练。某方面来 看，开除他们不是解决之道。 But if Saunders stays, Dumars is going to have to address some serious chemistry issues that arose in the locker room and insist that Saunders begins developing the young players. 但是如果桑德斯留下，Dumars就必须处理好内部彼此间相处的问题，而且坚持要培养年轻球 员。 Issue 3: How to create a deeper roster 第三：如何打造有深度的球员名单 If the Pistons are going to return with their top six players, Dumars has to find a way to add some depth to address the team's weaknesses. 如果活塞将要以最佳六人重返，Dumars必须找到办法增加可用的板凳以填补缺点。 Job 1 is finding an athletic guard in the backcourt who can put the ball on the floor, create his own shot and get to the basket. The Pistons were exposed as a jump-shooting team in the playoffs. If the shots weren't falling, they had no one who could get them an easy basket. 首要是活跃後卫，能从後场带球到前场自己射篮或是切入篮下。季後赛里活塞暴露出是一支 依赖跳投的球队。如果跳投不进，就没有人能轻松得分。 Someone like the Hornets' Speedy Claxton would be a good choice. But given how weak the free agent market is, Claxton might have better options, either because he can demand a higher price than the Pistons can pay or because he knows he can play more with another team. 像黄蜂队的Speedy Claxton是好的选择。但是在自由市场普遍缺好手下，他会有更好的其他 路可走例如因为其他球队有更高薪资或是在其他球队有更多上场机会。 Second, the Pistons have to find a way to get some low-post scoring. 其次活塞要想办法在禁区得分。 Rookies Jason Maxiell and Amir Johnson could be answers down the road, but they' re not ready. might may have to rely on international scout Tony Ronzone to find him an international veteran like Maccabi's Maceo Baston or Nikola Vujcic to fill the void for the next few years. 新人Jason Maxiell和Amir Johnson可能是答案，但是他们还没准备好。可能要藉助国际球 探Tony Ronzone找来国际上经验丰富的球员像Maccabi的Maceo Baston或Nikola Vujcic，来 补强往後几年的空缺。 The long-term answer might arrive next summer when the Pistons cash in a first- round pick from Orlando. Given the way the Magic played toward the end of the season, it's no longer a given that it will be a lottery pick. However, next year's draft looks to be one of the strongest in many years, so the Pistons should be able to score an excellent player there. Dumars and company will need to turn the pick into gold to justify giving up on Milicic this winter. 答案可能是明年暑假，当活塞从奥兰多换来第一轮签。有鉴於魔术队在正规赛季末尾的表现 ，不一定会是最优秀的签。然而，明年的选秀有望是几年来最好的，所以活塞应该可以在那 时获得一名杰出球员。Dumars和球团需要让那次选秀有所价值，才能合理化今年将小米粒换 走。 This is a dangerous time for the Pistons, with a potentially overwhelming set of issues. It's not a spot to be envied. 这是一个对活塞危险的时期，有一连串问题可能将其压垮。这不是值得被称羡的事。 If they were to re-sign Wallace and Billups, they would be practically locked into this roster for the next three or four years. Would they be able to compete against the younger, more athletic teams that are thriving under the new rule changes? Would they continue to slip a little each year, eventually becoming an old, overpaid lottery team? 如果他们要与大班和枪西续约，这两人在接下来三到四年都会在球员名单中。他们有办法在 新规则生态中与年轻又有活力的球队竞争吗？会不会持续退步，最後变成只领薪水没有表现 的老球队？ If they were to let Wallace go, how would they replace him? Would Dumars then decide to move Hamilton or Rasheed Wallace, who is 31, to reshuffle the deck and get younger? Hamilton would have trade value, but he wouldn't likely bring back a star in trade. Likewise, 'Sheed's big contract and volatile personality make it unlikely the Pistons would be able to move him for serious cap space or a top young prospect. 如果要让大班走，要怎麽代替他？Dumars会不会送走Hamilton和31岁的溪蛙的，然後找来年 轻的？Hamilton有交易价值，但是可能不会换来明星级的。同样的，溪蛙的肥约与不稳定个 性使活塞不容易用他换到薪资空间或顶级年轻球员。 And other avenues to rebuilding won't be easy to navigate, given the Pistons' current salary cap status. Not impossible, but not easy either. 其他重组的路不会很容易进行，因为薪资空间。不是不可能，但是也不容易。 The good news is that Dumars is at the helm. I've written for the last three years that he's the best executive in the league. The speed and skill with which he built the Pistons' championship team were remarkable. 好消息是Dumars是高层可以做决定。我过去三年间已经写过他是联盟里最好的执行阶层。他 打造活塞的冠军队那种速度以及技巧是很令人瞩目的。 Now Dumars faces his next big challenge -- how to get the Pistons back on track. 现在Dumars面对的是下个挑战--如何让活塞重新上轨道。 --

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