By Mike Finger, Columnist | San Antonio Express-News, 2024-04-16 16:22:15

由Gemini Pro人工智能翻译，译文内容可能不准确或不完整，以原文为准。



田纳西州孟菲斯 — 2024 年 4 月 9 日：圣安东尼奥马刺队 1 号球衣得主维克托·文班亚马和孟菲斯灰熊队 45 号球衣得主 GG 杰克逊在 2024 年 4 月 9 日孟菲斯联邦快递球场的第一场半场比赛中

多年来，格雷格·波波维奇多次若无其事地表示自己故作不知。据他说，他对马刺球探在选秀中瞄准谁一无所知，也不知道球队高管在任何交易截止日期前会做出怎样的决定，或者对任何一轮自由球员的签约前景毫无头绪。

现在，他终于供认了。

“这就是谎言。”波波维奇说道。

关于马刺阵容建设的话题，这并不是唯一一个谎言。上周末，当被问及他是否希望在休赛期和之后的赛季中参与特许经营的战略时，维克托·文班亚马板着脸说，他主要会被咨询的问题是作为球队的一名球员。

好像他就是这样。

好像他的意见不比任何人都重要。

好像马刺不顾一切去经营会很疯狂。

“他们知道自己在做什么，但事实是我不知道。”文班亚马说道，“我还在学习。”

更真实的情况是，文班亚马从未对马刺的所有计划要求拥有最终决定权，因为他没有必要这么做。从去年五月抽签时圣安东尼奥第四个乒乓球弹出并归位的那一刻起，这个组织最重要的成员就一直是一名法国人，组织中的每个人都知道这一点。

文班亚马和他的顾问是否正在提出诸如“选秀球员 X”、“签约球员 Y”或“交易球员 Z”之类的事务性要求——甚至建议？不。据所有说法称，他们一再表示尊重特许经营的愿景和流程是真诚的。

但马刺是否会再做任何重大的举措而不确保得到文班亚马的支持呢？

绝不可能。

保持这种一致是有意义的，尤其是在文班亚马在场内外都超出了所有期望的一个赛季之后，而马刺仍然输掉了 60 场比赛。在此情况下，就起飞时间表达成一致——就像总经理布莱恩·赖特所说的“跑道”——至关重要。

例如，如果马刺在进入休赛期时计划对现有核心球员进行小规模、低调的补充，而文班亚马正在推动现在进行重磅交易，那将是一个问题。但没有证据表明存在这样的脱节。

从去年夏天的选秀日开始，再到去年秋天惨痛的 18 连败，再到今年春天令人鼓舞的赛季最后一个月的比赛，文班亚马、波波维奇、赖特和首席执行官 R.C. 布福德在这个问题上一直始终如一。目标不是在明年争夺一个冠军。目标是在未来十年内竞争并赢得多个冠军，没有理由急于采取可能损害这一更大目标的行动。

作为反面教材，马刺不需要再往州外看。2019 年，在卢卡·东契奇整个新秀赛季进行到一半时，达拉斯为前锋克里斯塔普斯·波尔津吉斯做了一场大胆的冒险，开启了一个循环，小牛队一直在努力阻止他们的总冠军窗口关闭，而不是等待它的开启。

达拉斯在 2022 年进入分区决赛，但那是东契奇在他的前四个赛季中唯一一次在季后赛中晋级第一轮。小牛队最终交易掉了波尔津吉斯，无法留住本土后卫贾伦·布伦森这位冉冉升起的新星，并且仍然欠尼克斯队一个首轮选秀权，该选秀权将于今年六月传达。

如果凯里·欧文在东契奇身边，他们可能会在季后赛中取得进步。但回顾过去，小牛队是否应该围绕他们的新秀慢慢建立，并将最佳的选秀权和交易筹码留给更适合长期发展的球员？

如果他们有任何遗憾，那么他们遇到的就是马刺希望避免的那种遗憾。尽管在今年夏天将大批角色球员和首轮选秀权送到亚特兰大换取特雷·杨听起来可能很诱人，但这样的举动不会发生。当赖特说计划是“战略性地进行侵略”时，重点在于“战略”部分。

现实地说，马刺在未来几年可能会有一次机会在真正的重磅交易中获胜。当他们这样做时，目标将是一个他们可以确信自己能融入他们所做的一切的球员类型。如果他们正在打赌自己能够找到一个比杨更合适的人，他们可能没错。

也许如果太阳队或骑士队在季后赛中表现不佳并且需要重新调整，那么今年夏天可能会出现一个有吸引力的替代方案。然而，更有可能的是，马刺将看看他们在选秀中是否可以解决控球后卫的问题，并通过一些中级自由球员签约来解决投篮问题，同时保留在 2025 年掀起更大波澜的能力。

当他们这样做时，决定不会单方面做出。

“我们想要每个人的意见，并尝试找出大多数情绪所在。”波波维奇说道，他指的是球探、助理、发展专家和分析专家。“我们想要这个、那个，还是另一个？”

在某种程度上，这个问题将被问及一位 20 岁的无名天才评估员，他的声音比他让世人相信的传得远得多。

“情况会怎样？”文班亚马说道，“我很好奇会发生什么。”

他的教练知道偶尔隐瞒整个真相是有用的，他感到无比自豪。

原文如下：

As Spurs plan future, no voice matters more than Victor Wembanyama's

[Image] MEMPHIS, TENNESSEE - APRIL 09: Victor Wembanyama #1 of the San Antonio Spurs and GG Jackson #45 of the Memphis Grizzlies during the first half at FedExForum on April 09, 2024 in Memphis, Tennessee.

More than once over the years, Gregg Popovich made unconvincing claims of willful ignorance. To have heard him tell it, he had no idea who Spurs scouts were targeting in any draft, and no clue what kind of calls team executives were making at any trade deadline, and no inkling about the front office’s map for any round of free agency.

Now, he’s finally fessed up.

“That’s a lie,” Popovich said.

It’s not the only one told on the subject of Spurs’ roster construction. Last weekend, when asked if he expects to weigh in on the franchise’s strategy this offseason and beyond, Victor Wembanyama sat with a straight face and said he will be consulted mainly to the extent that he’s a player on the team.

As if that’s all he is.

As if his opinion doesn’t matter more than anyone’s.

As if the Spurs wouldn’t be crazy to operate otherwise.

“They know what they’re doing, but the truth is I don’t know,” Wembanyama said. “I’m still learning.”  

The more complete truth is that Wembanyama hasn’t demanded the final say on anything the Spurs are planning, because he doesn’t have to. From the moment the fourth ping-pong ball in San Antonio’s combination popped into place at the lottery drawing last May, the most important person in the organization has been a Frenchman, and everybody in the organization knows it.

Are Wembanyama and his advisors making transactional requests — or even suggestions — along the lines of "Draft Player X," "Sign Player Y," or "Trade for Player Z?" Nope. By all accounts, their repeatedly professed respect for the franchise’s vision and process is genuine.

But will the Spurs ever make another significant move without being sure Wembanyama is on board? 

No way.

Maintaining this alignment makes sense, especially after a season in which Wembanyama exceeded every expectation, on and off the court, while the Spurs still lost 60 games. In this situation, agreement on a timeline for takeoff — the “runway,” as general manager Brian Wright calls it — is crucial.

For instance, if the Spurs entered this offseason planning to make minor, low-key additions to their existing core, while Wembanyama was pushing for a blockbuster trade now, that would be a problem. But there is no evidence such a disconnect exists.

Wembanyama, Popovich, Wright and CEO R.C. Buford all have been consistent on this point, from draft day last summer, through a brutal 18-game losing streak last fall, to an encouraging final month of the season this spring. The goal is not to compete for one championship next year. The goal is to contend for and win lots of them over the next decade, and there is no reason to rush into moves that might compromise that larger objective.

As a reminder of what not to do, the Spurs need not look beyond state lines. In 2019, with Luka Doncic halfway through a spectacular rookie season, Dallas made a bold gambit for forward Kristaps Porzingis, beginning a cycle in which the Mavericks constantly have been trying to keep their championship window from closing instead of waiting for it to open.

Dallas made the conference finals in 2022, but that’s the only time Doncic advanced past the first round of the playoffs in his first four seasons. The Mavericks wound up trading Porzingis away, were unable to retain a burgeoning superstar in home-grown guard Jalen Brunson, and still owe the Knicks a first-round pick that will be conveyed this June.

With Kyrie Irving next to Doncic, they might make a run in these playoffs. But looking back on it, would the Mavericks have been better off building slowly around their rookie and saving best draft and trade chips for a more optimal long-term fit?

If they have any regrets, they’re the kind of regrets the Spurs are hoping to avoid. As tempting as it might sound to send a big package of role players and first-rounders to Atlanta for Trae Young this summer, that move isn't going to happen. When Wright says the plan is to be “strategically aggressive,” the emphasis is on the “strategic” part.

Realistically, the Spurs might get one chance to pull off a true blockbuster in the next few years. When they do it, the target will be the type of player who they can be sure fits into everything they do. And if they’re betting they’ll be able to land someone who fits better than Young does, they’re probably not wrong.

Perhaps an attractive alternative will present itself this summer, if a team like the Suns or the Cavaliers disappoints in the playoffs and needs to retool. More likely, though, the Spurs will see if they can address their point-guard issues in the draft, and their shooting issues through some mid-tier free agency signings, while retaining the ability to make a bigger splash in 2025.

When they do, the decision won’t be made unilaterally.

“We want everybody’s opinions and try to triangulate and see where most of the sentiment falls,” Popovich said, referring to scouts, assistants, development specialists and analytics crunchers. “Do we want this, that, or the other?”

At some point, that question will be asked of a 20-year-old novice talent evaluator whose voice carries much farther than he’d have the world believe.

“How will things go?” Wembanyama said. “I’m just curious to see.”

His coach, knowing the usefulness of occasionally withholding the whole truth, couldn’t be prouder.

By Mike Finger, Columnist, via San Antonio Express-News