革命进行时

Lee+Jenkins

Jeanie Buss took a flamethrower to the Lakers front office， purging 76 years of experience and bringing in Magic Johnson to clean up the wreckage.

珍妮·巴斯廢黜了湖人管理层，清除了76年的老经验，引入“魔术师”约翰逊清理废墟。

On Tuesday morning， before the phones started ringing， Magic Johnson said a prayer. What a life hes led， a national champion in 1979 and a NBA champion a year later， the face of Showtime and the pride of Jerry Buss， an icon and an entertainer， an entrepreneur and an activist. Twenty-six years ago， he was diagnosed with HIV， and since then hes been a coach， a TV star， a record producer， a movie mogul， part owner of the Lakers as well as the Dodgers. When Buss was on his death bed， he called for Magic， the very picture of vitality. He wanted to smile once more.

周二早上，在电话开始繁忙前，“魔术师”约翰逊做了一次祷告。他的一生，可谓波澜壮阔。1979年他在大学拿到了全国冠军，一年后拿到NBA总冠军；他是“表演时刻”的头牌，是杰里·巴斯的骄傲；他是标志人物，有娱乐细胞；也是企业家和活动家。26年前，他被诊断出HIV阳性。从那之后，他做过主教练，当过电视明星，唱片制作人，是电影大亨，也做过湖人和道奇的股东。老巴斯离世前还给“魔术师”这个生命力的象征打了电话。他想再笑一次。

Magic has proven across four decades in L.A. that he can do just about everything， except perhaps evaluate professional basketball players， the role for which he was tabbed Tuesday. If the Lakers were a college football team， they would always hire the old middle linebacker who carried them on one leg in that unforgettable Sugar Bowl. The quest to recapture the glory days takes different forms： making Byron Scott their head coach， giving Kobe Bryant a max contract with a torn Achilles， and now， and putting Magic Johnson in charge of basketball operations.

40年时间，魔术师在洛杉矶证明了自己几乎无所不能。除了评估职业篮球运动员，但他周二恰好被赋予了这一角色。假如湖人是大学美式足球队，他们肯定会聘请用一条腿扛着球队在“糖果碗”比赛里前进的老线卫。湖人采用了不同形式，试图重获辉煌：聘请拜伦·斯科特担任主教练，给跟腱断裂的科比一份顶薪合同，现在，任命“魔术师”约翰逊负责篮球运营。

This is only day one. Johnson may very well become the next Pat Riley， his old coach， forever reinventing in Miami. At the moment， all we know of his personnel acumen is what we read on his timeline. Twitter provides access to thoughts that otherwise might never go public， and Johnsons account has become notorious for broadcasting the most self-evident observations. Yes， Kevin Durant can play， and LeBron James is worth pursuing in free agency.

这不过是第一天。约翰逊当然有可能成为下一个帕特·莱利，也就是他的老教练，不断地改造迈阿密。目前对他在人事方面的洞察力，我们只能依靠他的推特。推特能让人了解到一些可能不会公开的想法，而约翰逊的推特一向以传播显而易见的信息而臭名昭著。谁都知道凯文·杜兰特有能力，勒布朗·詹姆斯是一个值得在自由球员市场追逐的目标。

Those posts， while obvious， are also innocuous. There are others， though， comparing Michael Carter-Williams to Jason Kidd， calling Jimmer Fredette "the real deal，" claiming Rajon Rondo will make the Mavericks contenders， condemning Mike DAntoni， endorsing Jahlil Okafor， hailing the Bulls dysfunctional backcourt. Of course， its just Twitter， and outdated posts can make anybody look foolish. But with Magic fielding the calls before Thursdays trading deadline， Lakers fans might want to say prayers of their own while rubbing purple and gold rosaries.

這些推文尽管类似废话，但也无伤大雅。但另一些推文就不一样了，比如拿迈克尔·卡特-威廉姆斯和杰森·基德对比，说吉默·弗雷戴特“货真价值”，声称朗多能让小牛成为争冠球队，指责迈克·丹东尼，称赞贾利尔·奥卡福，为公牛不正常的后场欢呼。当然，这不过是推特，过时的推文能让任何人看起来像傻子一样。但是当魔术师在周四交易截止日前打电话寻求交易时，湖人球迷大概也想摸着紫金色的念珠，向上帝祈祷。

Jeanie Buss took a flamethrower to the Lakers front office Tuesday， firing Mitch Kupchak and Jim Buss （who probably deserved it） and expert PR director John Black （who surely did not）. Kupchak and Buss bungled nearly every free-agent period they entered for the past five years， culminating with the $160 million they handed Timofey Mozgov and Luol Deng last summer， ludicrous contracts the organization will mourn for the entirety of Trumps first term.

珍妮·巴斯周二彻底废黜了湖人管理层，解雇了米奇·库普切克和吉姆·巴斯（他大概是活该）以及公关主管约翰·布莱克（他不该这样被对待）。过去五年，库普切克和小巴斯搞砸了几乎所有自由球员签约，以去年夏天为蒂莫菲·莫兹戈夫和鲁尔·邓奉上总价1.6亿美元的大合同为最。这些荒唐的合同将会在川普的第一个任期内让球队痛苦不堪。

But Kupchak and Buss did help the Lakers in ways beyond inadvertent tanking. They didnt screw up the draft picks for Brandon Ingram or Julius Randle. They chose DAngelo Russell over Okafor， though in hindsight， Kristaps Porzingis was better than both. Still， they stole Larry Nance Jr. at No.27， Ivica Zubac at No.32， Jordan Clarkson at No.46. You can debate whether any of those are centerpieces， but theyre all young rotation players who havent scraped their ceiling， enviable assets that savvy rivals will inquire about.

但是在漫不经心的摆烂之外，库普切克和小巴斯某种程度上确实帮到了湖人。他们没有搞砸选秀，选到了布兰登·英格拉姆和朱利叶斯·兰德尔。他们放弃奥卡福选择了德安吉罗·拉塞尔，尽管马后炮地看，波尔津吉斯比前面两人都强。即便如此，他们还是在27顺位，32顺位和46顺位抢到了小拉里·南斯，伊维察·祖巴茨和乔丹·克拉克森。尽管这些球员能否成为基石有待讨论，但他们都是年轻的轮换球员，尚未打出能力上限，也是令人羡慕的交易资产，理智的竞争对手都会询问他们的价格。

The timing of this move is questionable， and not only because of the looming deadline. President of Basketball Operations for the Lakers is still a highly attractive post， and if Jeanie had waited， she could have chosen from a handful of decorated candidates. The list of executives willing to work as a general manager， under Johnson， is not the same. The team is reportedly finalizing a multi-year deal with agent Rob Pelinka.

这个举动的时机却有待商榷，不止因为交易截止日即将到来。湖人的篮球事务总裁仍然是一个非常有吸引力的职位，如果珍妮愿意等待，她本可以从很多有经验的候选人中挑选。愿意在约翰逊手下做总经理的管理人员，和想做总裁的不是一回事。有消息称球队正在和经纪人罗伯·佩林卡签订多年的合同。

"Its not about what I did when I played， what Kobe did when he played，" Johnson said. "Its about the new Lakers." Thats a start， and during Tuesdays coup， the Lakers did purge 76 years of history between Kupchack， Black and Jim Buss. But Johnson goes back farther than any of them and Pelinka happens to be Bryants agent. During an interview with Jeanie and Magic on Spectrum SportsNet， they said they would distance themselves from Showtime and all the old stories—but then they started talking about Showtime and all the old stories.

“这和我以及科比的球员时期没有关系。”约翰逊表示，“重要的是新湖人。”这是个开始，在周二的“政变”中，湖人放弃了库普切克，布莱克和小巴斯加在一起的76年工作经验。但约翰逊的尝试更加深入，而佩林卡恰好是科比的经纪人。在Spectrum SportsNet（湖人官方电视台）对珍妮和魔术师的采访中，他们都说会和“表演时刻”以及曾经的历史保持距离——但他们随后就开始讲“表演时刻”和历史上的那些故事。

Maybe those memories hold value. Riley famously recruited LeBron by dumping his championship rings on a table during a free-agent meeting in Akron. But shiny jewelry has not had the same effect for Phil Jackson during his tenure as Knicks president. Many of the brightest execs in the league （including Bob Myers， who lured Durant） never played in the pros.

也许这些记忆还有价值。传说中莱利就在阿克伦招募勒布朗的会议上把自己的冠军戒指扔在了桌上。但闪亮的总冠军戒指在菲尔·杰克逊担任尼克斯总裁时却没能起到同样的作用。联盟中很多优秀的管理人员（包括成功说服了杜兰特的鲍勃·迈尔斯）从未打过职业联赛。

Johnson acknowledged that he requires a lieutenant who is "super duper smart，" specifically in regard to the Collective Bargaining Agreement. After Byron Scott was introduced four years ago， Johnson declared， "If I dont see another three-pointer from a Laker team， Ill be happy." In the socalled new NBA， that may not be such a sound strategy.

约翰逊承认，他需要一个“极端聪明”的人，特别是对劳资协议非常了解。四年前拜伦·斯科特成为主教练后，约翰逊曾经宣称：“如果湖人不再投三分，我会很高兴。”在所谓新NBA环境下，这听起来不是什么好的策略。

When Johnson was brought on as a consultant earlier this month， the role sounded ornamental， as if he were just going to provide cover for Jeanie when she inevitably dismissed her brother. Jeanie admitted Tuesday that she waited too long， a lapse that likely allowed Mitch and Jim to go on that mindless spending spree last summer. But Johnson is no figurehead， after all. He is already talking about accompanying the Lakers on the road and reportedly pulled off his first move by sending Lou Williams to the Rockets on Tuesday night. "Im a guy who understands what this team needs，" Johnson said.

本月早些時候约翰逊成为球队顾问时，那看上去更像是一个虚职，为珍妮最终解雇哥哥时打的幌子。珍妮在周二承认，她等得太久，她的疏忽可能导致了米奇和吉姆去年夏天对工资帽毫无意义的挥霍。不管怎么说，约翰逊不是傀儡。他已经提到和湖人一起去客场，并且在周二晚做出了第一笔操作，将路·威廉姆斯交易到了火箭。“我是一个了解球队需求的人。”约翰逊说。

To his credit， he promised no quick fixes， no three-year plans. No magic. Whats ahead for the Lakers cant be accomplished with a big smile or a blank check. Rebuilding in the NBA is slow， arduous work. Johnson has watched， and critiqued， from afar. Now he will experience it himself.

值得称赞的是，他没承诺迅速解决问题，没提三年计划，没有魔法，湖人的未来。这些都不是一个微笑和空头支票能解决的。在NBA重建是一个缓慢而艰苦的过程。约翰逊曾经作为旁观者观察过，批评过。现在，他要亲身经历了。