By Mike Finger | San Antonio Express-News (SAEN), 2026-07-02 15:41:37
2026年5月24日，周日，在圣安东尼奥弗罗斯特银行中心举行的西部决赛第四场比赛中，圣安东尼奥马刺队前锋维克托·文班亚马 (Victor Wembanyama)(1号)、后卫迪伦·哈珀 (Dylan Harper)(2号)和后卫斯蒂芬·卡斯尔 (Stephon Castle)(5号)庆祝文班的压哨三分球，帮助马刺在第二节结束时拿下此球。
在距离这篇专栏撰写地不到20步远的一个冰箱里，有一罐腌黄瓜。
罐子上的保质期表明，它的购买时间远早于2024年6月，那时两位年轻球星卢卡·东契奇 (Luka Dončić) 和杰伦·布朗 (Jaylen Brown) 正在NBA总决赛中闪耀，他们所在的球队似乎即将在未来多年统治联盟。
腌黄瓜看起来还好好的。达拉斯独行侠和波士顿凯尔特人，可就没那么好了。
东契奇，出于某种莫名其妙的原因，现在是洛杉矶湖人队的一员。布朗，同样几乎令人匪夷所思，现在效力于费城76人。他们的前东家，在两年之前的夏天都还以为自己正开启一段新的征程，如今却意识到那已是终结。
那么，这对马刺有什么启示呢？很简单。
作为一个团队，你永远不想彻底发疯。
也许这本该是不言而喻的，但为保险起见，我还是想提一提。值得重申的是，当一支球队打进总决赛，特别是阵容由那些还有至少五年多巅峰期的新锐顶尖球员领衔时，球队的目标就应该是让这些球员一起并肩作战。
不是将他们以跳楼价甩卖。不是为了那些十年前以球技闻名，但近来更以频繁受伤著称的球员，而送走他们中的任何一个。不是去同意那种让人们反复查看手机、确认自己没被恶作剧的那种交易。
这里的争议观点是，马刺绝不应该做以上任何事情。他们不应该用文班去换吉米·巴特勒 (Jimmy Butler)。他们不应该用斯蒂芬·卡斯尔去换詹姆斯·哈登 (James Harden)。他们不应该把迪伦·哈珀的名字挂在有关科怀·伦纳德 (Kawhi Leonard)的交易方案中长达六个月，然后突然之间用他换回德马尔·德罗赞 (DeMar DeRozan)。
是的，所有这些情况听起来都荒谬至极，《圣安东尼奥快报》的体育专栏作家本无需指出这一点。但让我问你一个问题：
《达拉斯晨报》有没有人警告过独行侠别用东契奇去换过气的安东尼·戴维斯 (Anthony Davis)？《波士顿环球报》有没有人警告过凯尔特人别用布朗去换过气的保罗·乔治 (Paul George)？说不定当时有人警告的话，这些交易就能被阻止了。
看，我这不正为我的读者着想嘛。你知道的，试图提供一项社区服务。这不正是新闻业应该做的吗？
当然，目前看来马刺管理层似乎很清楚自己在做什么。迄今为止，首席执行官R.C. 布福德 (R.C. Buford)、总经理布莱恩·莱特 (Brian Wright)和主教练米奇·约翰逊 (Mitch Johnson) 似乎都对未来有着共同的愿景，从下个赛季到市中心新球馆的启用，以及更远的未来。
迄今为止，每笔操作都完全合理。包括本周与托拜厄斯·哈里斯 (Tobias Harris)签下的两年合同，这既满足了马刺最迫切的需求（寻找一位兼具身高和技术的四号位），又能在卡斯尔和哈珀准备签下类似文班今夏将要签署的顶薪续约合同时，保持薪资空间的灵活。
2025年3月25日，周二，在底特律，底特律活塞队前锋托拜厄斯·哈里斯 (Tobias Harris)（左）在对阵圣安东尼奥马刺队后卫克里斯·保罗 (Chris Paul) 的上半场比赛中突破上篮。(美联社照片/Duane Burleson)
理性的球队就是这么运作的。下个赛季，这支刚刚赢得西部冠军的球队将更有能力弥补自身短板，并为自己创造一切机会重返总决赛。放眼未来三、四、五年，球队将处于有利位置，能够留住所有最重要的球员，同时保留选秀资产和灵活性，以获取更多人才。
但在达拉斯和波士顿，球迷们会告诉你，光明的未来是多么脆弱。谁能保证莱特不会在南城的一家咖啡馆遇到一位友好的总经理，然后敲定一笔将文班送到勇士的交易细节？要是马刺主席皮特·J·霍尔特 (Peter J. Holt) 从上头下达了什么神秘的指令，然后我们一觉醒来，发现哈珀正前往圣安东尼奥的宿敌，比如俄克拉荷马城或休斯顿呢？
你知道“更疯狂的事都发生过”这句话吧？在这个联盟，这十年里，这还真不是玩笑。
再说了，我们都明白，经营一支NBA球队是个复杂的活儿。管理球员的自我、人员评估、薪资帽运作、赛场策略——这一切都需要一屋子聪明人来做好。
但要是马刺队的决策者们能控制住自己，别彻底昏了头呢？
或许总冠军并非手拿把攥。
但我看好他们比那罐腌黄瓜更持久。
2026年5月15日，周五，在明尼阿波利斯标靶中心举行的西部半决赛第六场比赛中，圣安东尼奥马刺队后卫迪伦·哈珀（2号，左起）、后卫德文·瓦塞尔 (Devin Vassell)（24号）、前锋文班（1号）、后卫斯蒂芬·卡斯尔（5号）和前锋朱利安·尚帕尼 (Julian Champagnie)（30号）在明尼苏达森林狼队后卫安东尼·爱德华兹 (Anthony Edwards)（5号）罚球前聚拢在一起。
由生成式 AI 翻译，译文内容可能不准确或不完整，以原文为准。
点击查看原文：How can Spurs keep window open? First step is not losing their minds
How can Spurs keep window open? First step is not losing their minds
San Antonio Spurs forward Victor Wembanyama (1), San Antonio Spurs guard Dylan Harper (2), and San Antonio Spurs guard Stephon Castle (5) celebrate Wembanyama’s three point shot at the buzzer to end the second quarter of Game 4 of the Western Conference Finals at Frost Bank Center in San Antonio, Sunday, May 24, 2026.
Inside a refrigerator, less than 20 steps from where this column is being written, there is a jar of pickles.
The expiration date on that jar suggests it was purchased long before June of 2024, when two young stars named Luka Dončić and Jaylen Brown were shining at the NBA Finals for franchises poised to rule the league for years to come.
The pickles still seem fine. The Dallas Mavericks and Boston Celtics, not so much.
Dončić, for some inexplicable reason, is a Los Angeles Laker. Brown, almost as inexplicably, now is a Philadelphia 76er. Their former teams, which both believed two summers ago they were at the beginning of something, now realize they were at the end.
And if there is a lesson for the Spurs in this? It’s a simple one.
As an organization, you never want to go completely insane.
Maybe that should go without saying, but I wanted to mention it, just to be safe. It’s worth reiterating that when a team makes the Finals, especially with a roster led by elite up-and-comers with a half-decade or more of prime years remaining, the goal of that franchise should be to keep those players together.
Not to flip any of them for 50 cents on the dollar. Not to trade any of them for guys who were famous for being good at basketball a decade ago, but who are better known recently for being hurt a lot. Not to agree to the kind of transaction that makes people double-check their phone, to ensure they’re not being pranked.
The controversial opinion here is that the Spurs should not do any of that. They should not trade Victor Wembanyama for Jimmy Butler. They should not trade Stephon Castle for James Harden. They should not dangle Dylan Harper’s name in offers for Kawhi Leonard for six months, and then, out of the blue, trade him for DeMar DeRozan.
Yes, all of those scenarios sound preposterous, and there should be no need for the sports columnist at the San Antonio Express-News to point that out. But let me ask you this:
Did anyone at the Dallas Morning News ever warn the Mavericks not to trade Dončić for a washed-up Anthony Davis? Did anyone at the Boston Globe ever warn the Celtics not to trade Brown for a washed-up Paul George? Maybe if they would have, those deals could have been stopped.
See, I’m just looking out for my readers here. You know, trying to provide a community service. Isn’t that what journalism is supposed to be about?
Sure, it might look for now like the Spurs’ management knows what it’s doing. So far, CEO R.C. Buford, general manager Brian Wright and head coach Mitch Johnson all seem to be on the same page when it comes to a vision for the future, from next season to the opening of a downtown arena and beyond.
So far, every move makes perfect sense. That includes this week’s signing of Tobias Harris to a two-year deal, which addresses the Spurs’ most immediate need (for a power forward with both size and skill) while keeping the books clear for the era when Castle and Harper will be ready to start lucrative extensions similar to the one Wembanyama will sign this summer.
Detroit Pistons forward Tobias Harris, left, drives to the basket against San Antonio Spurs guard Chris Paul during the first half of an NBA basketball game Tuesday, March 25, 2025, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Duane Burleson)
This is how rational organizations operate. Next season, a team that just won the Western Conference will be better equipped to address its shortcomings, and will give itself every chance to make it back to the NBA Finals. And when you look three, four, and five years down the line, the team will be well-positioned to keep all of its most important players, while also retaining the draft capital and flexibility to acquire more talent.
But in Dallas and Boston, fans can tell you what a delicate thing a bright future can be. What’s to stop Wright from meeting a friendly fellow general manager at a Southtown coffee shop, and hammering out the details of a swap sending Wembanyama to Golden State? What if Spurs chairman Peter J. Holt issues some mysterious edict from on high, and the next thing we know, Harper is on his way to a longtime San Antonio rival, like Oklahoma City or Houston?
You know the phrase, “crazier things have happened?” In this league, in this decade, it’s the truth.
And look, we all understand that running an NBA franchise can be a complicated endeavor. Managing the egos, the personnel evaluations, the salary-cap machinations, the in-game strategy — all of that requires rooms full of smart people to do well.
But if the people making the Spurs’ decisions can just keep themselves from losing their dang minds?
Maybe championships aren’t guaranteed.
But I like their chances of outlasting the pickles.
San Antonio Spurs guard Dylan Harper (2), from left, guard Devin Vassell (24), forward Victor Wembanyama (1), guard Stephon Castle (5) and forward Julian Champagnie (30) huddle together before Minnesota Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards (5) takes a free-throw during the first half of Game 6 of the Western Conference semifinals at Target Center in Minneapolis, Friday, May 15, 2026.
By Mike Finger, via San Antonio Express-News