By Mike Finger, Columnist | San Antonio Express-News (SAEN), 2024-06-29 15:45:49
由生成式人工智能翻译，译文内容可能不准确或不完整，以原文为准。
总经理布莱恩·赖特 (Brian Wright) 和马刺队选择着眼于更长远的未来，而不是在一个平淡无奇的选秀大会上使用他们的8号签。
周六上午，在胜利资本表演中心训练场边的一张桌子下面，两件崭新的白色球衣整齐地叠放在一起，等待着2024年NBA选秀大会上的第四顺位和第四十八顺位新秀。
那里没有8号球衣。
但本来可以有。
而且差点就有了。
三天前的晚上，在距离训练场不远的一间房间里，马刺队智囊团的所有成员围坐在另一张桌子旁，达成了共识。他们准备用8号签选择一名球员。他们已经确定了一个目标，并准备留下他。
但在选秀截止日期前的最后几秒钟，他们收到了他们一直期待在周三出现的报价。明尼苏达森林狼队想要马刺队的选秀权，他们愿意为此放弃一个不受保护的2031年首轮签和2030年首轮签互换权。
通过电话，森林狼队给了马刺队一个名字——肯塔基大学的罗布·迪林厄姆 (Rob Dillingham)。在最后时刻，马刺队将迪林厄姆的名字报给了联盟。
几分钟后，当交易细节公布时，在训练场外院子里观看选秀直播的球迷们和全国各地的许多人一样，心中都有一个相同的疑问。
为什么？
为什么马刺队不抓住这个看似轻而易举的机会，为维克多·文班亚马 (Victor Wembanyama) 补充一些年轻、薪水相对较低的帮手？
为什么他们要交易一个七年后才能兑现的选秀权，而他们在此之前已经有太多自己的选秀资产需要使用了？
答案很复杂，但归根结底，像这样的交易背后只有一个动机：
贪婪。
简单地说，马刺队想要的不是第六座拉里·奥布莱恩冠军奖杯。他们想要第八座、第九座、第十座。他们的目标不是在2027年赢得总冠军。他们的目标是从2027年到2035年左右，赢得每一年的总冠军。
这听起来可能不切实际，甚至有些疯狂。但在文班亚马这个奇迹降临之后，马刺队认为“小打小闹”是一种亵渎。
是的，这位高大的法国人在20岁的时候就已经足够优秀，可以开始赢球了。当然，如果他们愿意，他们可以变得更有侵略性，组建一支本赛季就能进入季后赛的球队。
但他们的目标不是短暂的季后赛之旅，而是建立一个王朝。
从长远来看，像周三这样的前瞻性举措是实现这一目标的精明之举。提前囤积选秀资本可以让优秀的球队在超级巨星争夺战中更加灵活，并让伟大的球队即使在新的、惩罚性更强的工资帽限制时代也能补充人才。
假设，两年后，马刺队想和一支开始重建的球队做交易。那支球队不会想要迪林厄姆，因为他那时开始变得昂贵。相反，那支球队会觊觎那些符合他们自己时间线的资产。比如，一个2031年的首轮签。
这就是这种疯狂背后的逻辑。在未来的几年里，2031年的选秀权只会升值。如果他们在选秀大会上用8号签选错了一个人，那么这名球员的市场价值很可能永远不会高于周三。
因此，马刺队抓住了接受森林狼队报价的机会，他们将选秀权的遥远时间视为一件好事。正如球队管理层的一位成员所说，圣安东尼奥有一个“满满的百宝箱”，可以在未来几年用来为文班亚马寻找高调的长期搭档。正如另一位马刺队官员所指出的，来自森林狼队这样一支争冠球队的2031年选秀权比2025年的选秀权更有吸引力，因为它给了他们时间“利用混乱”。
诚然，尽管这听起来很聪明、很有远见，但这并不能保证一定会成功。像这样的举动伴随着巨大的风险，马刺队也知道这一点。
首先，你指望着文班亚马能看到最终的目标，并支持它。到目前为止，他做到了。到目前为止，他一直完全、热情、坚定地支持着。而且他没有表现出任何迹象表明他会提出任何相反的要求。
尽管如此，马刺队还是非常清楚情况会发生多快的变化。只需要一瞬间的怀疑，或者来自家庭成员的一个外部声音，突然之间就出现了交易请求。可以肯定的是，没有人认为文班亚马会发生这种情况。
早在2016年，他们也从未预料到科怀·伦纳德 (Kawhi Leonard) 会提出交易请求。
即使文班亚马 tetap berkomitmen, 还有一点需要考虑。在未来一两年内，马刺队可能会宣布在市中心建造球馆的计划。据推测，他们会希望获得公共资金来帮助他们建造球馆。
如果球队没有深陷连续第六个或第七个赛季的失利泥潭，那么为这样的请求争取政治支持是否会更容易一些？在球场上表现出一些真正的进步，是否会比说“相信我们，等球馆建成后，我们就会成为赢家”更能赢得人们的好感？请记住，马刺队上一次向公众请求建造新球馆时，他们很幸运，因为那是在他们第一次夺冠之后。
换句话说，极度的耐心也可能带来长期的负面影响。
那么，是否存在折衷方案呢？也许吧。随着4号秀，来自康涅狄格大学的斯蒂芬·卡斯尔 (Stephon Castle) 的加入，马刺队已经增加了一名潜在的影响力球员。现在，他们可以利用原本用于8号秀的薪金空间，帮助球队签下一名自由球员射手，外加一名多才多艺、高效的老将领袖（也许是老朋友凯尔·安德森 (Kyle Anderson)？）。如果有机会完成一笔对犹他爵士队的劳里·马尔卡宁 (Lauri Markkanen) 或克利夫兰骑士队的达柳斯·加兰 (Darius Garland) 这样的年轻全明星球员来说有意义的交易，未来的选秀权应该有助于促成这些交易。
除了在今年夏天增加卡斯尔和两名二轮秀之外，马刺队还需要做些其他的事情。他们几乎肯定会这么做。
当他们这样做的时候会发生什么？
他们差点做出的选择可能会带来更好的结果。
点击查看原文：What Spurs' draft-night trade says about their refusal to think small
What Spurs’ draft-night trade says about their refusal to think small
General manager Brian Wright and the Spurs chose to focus on a bigger future, rather than work with the No. 8 pick in an underwhelming draft.
Underneath a table on the practice court at Victory Capital Performance Center on Saturday morning, two crisp new white jerseys sat folded and waiting for the fourth and 48th overall selections in the 2024 NBA draft.
There was not a jersey for the No. 8 pick.
But there could have been one.
And there almost was.
Three nights earlier, in a room not far from that practice court, all the members of the Spurs’ brain trust sat around a different table and came to a consensus. They were ready to draft a player at No. 8. They’d agreed on a prospect. And they were prepared to keep him.
But with seconds ticking away just before their pick was due, they received exactly the kind of offer they hoped would materialize Wednesday. The Minnesota Timberwolves wanted the Spurs’ selection, and they were willing to give up an unprotected 2031 first-rounder and the right to swap first-rounders in 2030 to get it.
Over the phone, the Timberwolves gave the Spurs a name — Rob Dillingham of Kentucky. Just beating the buzzer, the Spurs passed Dillingham’s name along to the league.
Minutes later, when details of the trade were announced, fans watching the draft broadcast in the courtyard outside the practice facility had the same one-word question many people across the country did.
Why?
Why didn’t the Spurs seize what looked like an easy opportunity to add some young, relatively inexpensive help for Victor Wembanyama?
Why did they trade for a pick they won’t be able to make for seven years when they already have too many draft assets to use on their own before then?
The answer is complicated, but it boils down to one motivating principle behind a trade like this:
Greed.
Simply put, the Spurs don’t want a sixth Larry O’Brien trophy. They want an eighth, a ninth, a tenth. Their goal is not to win a championship in 2027. Their goal is to win EVERY championship from 2027 until, oh, 2035 or so.
That might sound unrealistic. It might sound certifiably insane. But blessed with the miracle that was the Wembanyama lottery, the Spurs consider it sacrilege to think small.
Yes, the tall Frenchman is good enough to start winning now, at age 20. Absolutely, if they wanted to, they could get aggressive and assemble a team that could make the playoffs this season.
But the objective isn’t a quick postseason run. The objective is a dynasty.
And in a vacuum, forward-thinking moves like Wednesday’s are a shrewd way to make that happen. Stocking up on draft capital years in advance allows good teams flexibility to add superstars, and allows great teams to replenish rosters with talent even in the new era of extra-punitive salary cap restrictions.
Let’s say, two summers from now, the Spurs want to make a deal with a team starting a rebuild. That team won’t want Dillingham just as he starts to get expensive. Instead, that team will covet the types of assets that fit its own timeline. Like, say, a 2031 first-rounder.
That’s the method to the madness here. In the years to come, that 2031 pick only will appreciate in value. Had they taken a used the No. 8 pick on the wrong guy in an underwhelming draft, there’s a good chance the market for that player would never have been higher than it was Wednesday.
So the Spurs jumped at the chance to accept Minnesota’s offer, viewing the distant timing of the pick as a positive. As one member of the team’s front office put it, San Antonio has a “whole big chest of stuff” it can use in the coming years to acquire high-profile, long-term Wembanyama running buddies. And as another Spurs official noted, a 2031 pick from a current contender like the Timberwolves is more attractive than a 2025 selection would’ve been, because it allows time to “capitalize on chaos.”
Granted, as smart and as forward-thinking as that sounds, there are no guarantees it will work. There are huge risks associated with moves like this, and the Spurs know it.
For one, you’re counting on Wembanyama to see the endgame, and to support it. So far, he has. So far, he’s been completely, enthusiastically, unshakably on board. And he hasn’t shown the slightest hint he’ll ever make any demands suggesting otherwise.
Still, the Spurs know all too well how quickly that can change. All it takes is one moment of doubt, or one outside voice from a family member, and suddenly there’s a trade demand. To be sure, nobody in the building expects that to happen with Wembanyama.
Back in 2016, they also never expected it from Kawhi Leonard.
Even if Wembanyama remains committed, there’s another factor to consider when we talk about patience. In the next year or so, the Spurs are likely to announce plans for a downtown arena. Presumably, they will want public funds to help them build it.
Might it be easier to muster political support for such a request if the team is not mired in its sixth or seventh losing season in a row? Might showing some real progress on the court engender a little more goodwill than saying, “Trust us, we’ll be winners when the thing gets built?” Remember, the last time the Spurs asked the public for a new arena, they had the good fortune of doing so right after their first championship.
In other words, extreme patience has its potential long-term downsides, too.
So is there a middle ground here? Perhaps. With No. 4 pick Stephon Castle of Connecticut in the fold, the Spurs already added one potential impact player. Now they can use the cap space that would have gone to No. 8 to help acquire a free-agent shooter, plus a versatile, productive veteran leader (old friend Kyle Anderson, maybe?). And if there’s a chance to pounce on a deal that makes sense for a young All-Star like Utah’s Lauri Markkanen or Cleveland’s Darius Garland, future picks should help facilitate those deals.
The Spurs need to do something besides adding Castle and two second-rounders this summer. They almost certainly will.
And when they do?
The pick they almost made might lead to something better.
By Mike Finger, Columnist, via San Antonio Express-News
