信菲尔，得永生

Howard Beck

It would not be in politics， despite his acute interest in the subject.

这份工作与政治无关，尽管他本人对政治有着浓厚的兴趣。

It would not be a speaking tour， a surely lucrative but empty pursuit.

巡回演讲也不行，这是一份诱人却空虚的工作。

It would not be in coaching. Jackson seemed certain of that much， too. His mind was willing， but his body was uncooperative. Several surgeries lay ahead.

执教也不可能了，杰克逊也相当明确这一点。他还有执教的意愿，可他的身体已经跟不上了。还有好几场手术等着他。

One idea， broad and undefined， held the most appeal.

有一个想法，既宏大又模糊，但却也最有吸引力。

“I think mentoring is something that Id be very comfortable doing，” Jackson told me over lunch in February 2011.

“我觉得指导别人是我非常想做的事。”2011年2月和我一起吃午餐时，杰克逊这样对我说。

Mentor who？ Coaches， preferably， though coaches can be famously headstrong， Jackson noted.

指导谁？教练当然是最合适的。但杰克逊也明白，教练一向以顽固出名。

The seeds of a broader vision were evident， even then. Jackson wanted to share the wisdom he had accumulated over four decades in basketball. What form that might take， he wasnt yet sure.

即便在那时，他已经开始考虑更长远的问题。杰克逊想去分享自己在篮球界打拼40多年积累下来的智慧。但要用何种形式去分享，他还没确定。

Now we know. Jackson， 68， is close to joining the New York Knicks as their top basketball executive， according to an NBA source. The Knicks PR department reported on Friday， March 14 that a "major announcement" is set for Tuesday， March 18. Per Marc J. Spears of Yahoo！ Sports， its expected that Jackson will be introduced in his new role with the team.

现在，我们知道了。根据NBA的消息，68岁的杰克逊即将加入纽约尼克斯队，成为球队的高层管理人员。3月14日，周五那天，尼克斯公关部门宣布，球队在3月18日，也就是周二，将宣布一个重大决定。根据雅虎体育迈克·J·斯皮尔斯的报道，尼克斯会在这次发布会上宣布杰克逊在球队的新职务。

This is the ultimate evolution of Jacksons mentoring impulse： to teach an entire franchise—indeed， the leagues most dysfunctional franchise—how to win. To impart all that he knows about team building， trust， strategy， training， preparation， work habits and， yes， Eastern philosophy. If any team needs a lesson in Zen， its the Knicks.

这就是杰克逊指导他人的终极阶段：他要教会整整一支球队——一支联盟里最混乱的球队——如何去赢球。他要把自己所有有关球队建设、信任、策略、训练、准备、工作习惯的知识传授给他们，是的，这其中还包括东方哲学。如果说有哪支球队需要学习禅道的，那支球队就是尼克斯。

And no building needs a karmic cleansing more badly than Madison Square Garden， the worlds most toxic arena.

也没有哪个球馆比麦迪逊广场花园球员更需要禅道的洗礼，这可是全世界中毒最深的球馆了。

In Jackson， the Knicks are buying themselves a sheen of credibility， a stabilizing figure after 15 years of wild instability. They are also buying a new symbol of hope， something the Garden does almost annually.

有了杰克逊，尼克斯多了一份可靠，在15年疯狂的不稳定过后，杰克逊带来了一份稳重。尼克斯同样还花钱买来了新的一线希望，几乎每一年，麦迪逊广场花园都会沉浸在这种希望中。

Some skepticism is understandable.

当然，也存在一些可以理解的质疑。

Though Jacksons credibility is engraved in those 11 shiny rings， he has never run a front office. Yet isnt this the same path Pat Riley traveled， from coaching icon to exalted executive？ Didnt Larry Bird make a similar（and much quicker） leap from coach to team president？

凭借那11枚闪闪发光的戒指，杰克逊的可靠性毋庸置疑，可他从来没在管理层任过职。但这不正是帕特·莱利走过的路吗？从一个传奇教练变身为顶级管理人？拉里·伯德不也是由教练变为球队总裁，只是更快而已？

The sharpest basketball minds find a way to channel their genius in whatever role they find. And Jackson is not seeking a traditional daily general manager job.

无论担任什么角色，篮球界最敏锐的头脑总有办法发挥自己的才能。杰克逊想要的，也不只是传统的总经理职位。

T h e r o l e Jackson covets is best described as“philosopher-inchief.” He wants to set the agenda， to establish a culture and a values system， to identify the type of players and coaches a team should pursue， the offensive and defensive philosophies it should adopt.

杰克逊想要职位，最准确的描述应该是“总思想家”。他想为球队确定目标，确立一种球队文化，确立一套价值体系，从而明确球队应该追逐的球员和教练，确定球队应当采纳的进攻防守体系。

That could even extend to shaping the teams training regimen and its use of analytics—an area that fascinates Jackson， and one he would surely seek to bolster. （The Knicks lag far behind many teams in this area.）

这些当然也会延伸到整合球队的训练方式，以及球队对数据分析的应用——这是杰克逊相当感兴趣的地方，他当然会加大对此的投入。（在这个领域，尼克斯远远落后于联盟的很多球队。）

Contrary to speculation， its unlikely that Jackson would attempt to do the job from his beach house in Playa Del Rey， Calif. Those who know Jackson best say he would not take a job like this without relocating. And there is no doubting Jacksons affection for New York—“a magical place to live，” he told me in 2011.

和之前的猜测不同，杰克逊不太可能坐在位于加州普拉亚德尔雷的海边豪宅里指挥球队。那些最了解杰克逊的人表示，他不可能在接受这份工作后又不搬家。我们也不用怀疑杰克逊对纽约的热爱，他在2011年对我说过：“这是一个充满魔力的地方。”

This much is also true： Jackson has no interest in getting cozy with agents， or poring over salary-cap minutiae or scouting college games. He will need a strong and experienced front office working with him. That might spell the end for Steve Mills， who was just hired as president and general manager last September. Mills is a savvy business executive， but he had never worked in basketball operations， and he has done nothing significant to date.

当然，下面要说的也是事实：杰克逊没兴趣和经纪人称兄道弟，没空死抠薪金空间的细节，也没空考察大学篮球比赛。他需要一个强大而有经验的管理层配合他。这意味着，史蒂文·米尔斯在尼克斯的日子要到头了，而他在去年九月刚刚被聘为尼克斯的总裁和总经理。米尔斯对商业管理很熟悉，但他过去从来没涉及过篮球运营，而且到目前为止，他也没做出什么值得称道的操作。

Indeed， Jackson could conceivably overhaul the entire front office. Its hard to seem him coming out of retirement to be a distant figurehead， overseeing the same feckless crew of Garden loyalists and Creative Artists Agency① cronies.

杰克逊也确实可能对整个管理层做出大调整。很难想象，他放弃退休生活，就为了远远观察球队，看着过去那群无能的球队管理层和CAA经纪人操控球队。

And its a safe bet that Jackson would not risk his reputation without getting strict assurances that he can work without interference from those same forces—and freedom from Dolans infamous media policies.

我们也可以很保险地预测，在没有得到明确保证自己不会受到上述势力影响的情况下，他不会冒着损害自己名誉的风险接下这份工作。这其中当然也包括不受多兰著名的媒体政策的影响。

Donnie Walsh sought similar assurances before becoming team president in 2008. He resigned three years later， fed up with the incessant meddling by owner James L. Dolan and his advisers， including CAA （Creative Artists Agency） and the ubiquitous power broker William Wesley.

唐尼·沃尔什在2008年担任尼克斯总裁的时候也曾经寻求过这样的保证。三年后，在受够了球队老板詹姆斯·L·多兰、多兰的顾问们包括CAA经纪公司人，还有无处不在的大牌经纪人威廉·韦斯利的干扰后，沃尔什宣布辞职。

Since then， CAA has only dug its tentacles deeper. The agency represents Carmelo Anthony， J.R. Smith， coach Mike Woodson， assistant general manager Allan Houston and director of player personnel Mark Warkentien. Wesley played a role in Mills hiring last fall.

那之后，CAA的触角越来越长。CAA是卡梅隆·安东尼、JR·史密斯、主教练迈克·伍德森、助理总经理阿兰·休斯顿和球员主管马克·沃克西恩的经纪人。去年秋天，韦斯利在尼克斯聘用米尔斯的事情上也产生了作用。

And it was CAA， according to sources， that persuaded Dolan to make the ill-fated trade for its client Andrea Bargnani—over the concerns of the Knicks front office.

据某消息源表示，正是CAA劝说多兰，在不顾尼克斯管理层担忧的情况下，完成了签约球员安德烈·巴格纳尼这次不成功的交易。

“If （Jacksons hiring） breaks the stranglehold of CAA， I want it to happen，” said an agent who does business with the Knicks. “I cant see him in a million years working with them.”

“如果（聘请杰克逊）能打破CAA的束缚，我希望这事能成功。”一个和尼克斯有生意来往的经纪人表示，“我完全看不出来杰克逊和CAA能合作下去。”

Jackson， a fiercely independent soul who has no ties to CAA， seems like the right man to break that stranglehold. He will certainly look to hire his own people—that is， assuming Dolan is finally ready to grant full authority to his top basketball executive， and get out of the way.

作为具有独立精神且与CAA没有任何联系的人，杰克逊看上去正是那个能打破CAA束缚的人。我们能预期他聘用自己人——不过前提条件是，多兰真的做好准备赋予自己的管理层全部自主经营的权力，不再横加干预。

And really， this is the key calculation for everyone： Has a decade of meddling and misery convinced Dolan that hes been doing this the wrong way？ That its time to try a different approach？ Has he noticed that he is the only NBA owner whose fans are staging a protest next week？

说真的，对所有人来说，这也是最重要的预判：过去10年对球队的干预及由此带来的后果，是否让多兰明白他做事的方法是错的？现在该换种运营方式了？他是否意识到他是唯一一个有球迷针对示威活动的NBA老板？

If Dolan provides Jackson with the autonomy he needs， if Jackson proves as adept fostering a healthy office culture as he is at promoting a harmonious locker room， then the Knicks may yet have a ray of hope， and Dolan may yet find redemption.

如果多兰赋予杰克逊想要的自主权力，如果杰克逊证明自己能像培养和谐更衣室氛围那样培养出健康的球队文化，尼克斯也许真能迎来希望之光，多兰也许真的能得到救赎。

It will be a fascinating culture clash： Dolans paranoid， iron-fisted autocracy vs. Jacksons free-spirited individualism. Dolan is intolerant of dissent and known for profanely upbraiding anyone who challenges him. Jackson is candid， unfailingly outspoken and headstrong. No one tells him how to run his team—or when he can speak to the media. Dolan isnt likely to be the first.

这将是一场令人激动的观念对撞：多兰那多疑而铁腕的独裁统治，与杰克逊自由主义的对决。多兰容不下任何异议，所有人都知道他不会放过挑战自己权威的人。杰克逊是一个坦白且不惧说出自己想法的人，而且桀骜不驯。没人可以去教他如何管理球队，或者何时该与媒体交流。多兰也不会是打破这个规矩的第一人。

If this ends badly， as so many are predicting， it will only serve as fodder for another Jackson tell-all book. That alone should motivate Dolan to release his suffocating grip.

如果像很多人预测的那样，这次合作以失败收场，这件事不过成为另一个杰克逊自传的素材。就因为这个原因，也能刺激多兰放松他对球队的控制。

Three years ago， as Jackson picked over his lunch at a Boston hotel， I asked whether he had any sentimental pangs about what would be his final trip to Madison Square Garden as an NBA coach. No， he said. Hes not the sentimental type. I asked about a possible reunion with the Knicks， the team that drafted him in 1967. Jackson demurred there， too. A front-office job？ “I cant see why，” he said， dismissively.

三年前，当杰克逊在波士顿的酒店里吃午餐时，我问他，以NBA主教练身份最后一次造访麦迪逊广场花园，他的情绪是否会有波动。他回答，没有。他不是多愁善感的那类人。我问他有没有可能和当初在1967年选中他的尼克斯再续前缘，杰克逊在这里迟疑了一下。管理层职位嘛？“我不知道为什么要做这件事。”他当时给出了否定的回答。

So， what then？

所以，之后呢？

“I think theres going to be opportunities that lead me in directions， and I hope I have the distinction to know how to move inside of those，” Jackson said.

“我觉得会有给我指引出方向的机会，我希望自己能清楚如何在其中做出选择。”杰克森表示。

It was a perfectly Jacksonian response， sounding confounding and reasonable all at once. Sort of like deciding to work for the Knicks.

这是一个完美的杰克逊式的回答，既让人迷惑，又让人感觉合情合理。就像他决定为尼克斯工作一样。