來源: The USA Today
網址:https://tinyurl.com/y8ssdv9u
Jerry West explains why ‘LeBron was not a tough free-agent signing’ for
Lakers
Jerry West:對湖人而言 簽LBJ不是難事
Jerry West shared his thoughts on the Lakers signing LeBron James with Sports
Illustrated‘s Jack McCallum. The Hall of Famer, who’s now a consultant for
the Clippers, explained why he believes it wasn’t tough for his former team
to sign James.
Logo爺Jerry West在接受記者訪問時，分享了一些湖人簽下LBJ的想法，他現在是快艇的顧
問，解釋了為什麼他認為湖人簽下LBJ不是一件難事。
“All due respect to the Lakers, who handled everything well,” said West, “
but, as these things go, LeBron was not a tough free-agent signing. LeBron
wanted to come to L.A. and he wanted to come to the Lakers. Period. He has a
family he’s thinking about. He has a home here. [Actually two homes.] He has
a son [13-year-old “Bronny” Jr.] whom he wants to keep in one school in Los
Angeles. He will be a celebrity out here, sure, but it’s a place where, once
in a while, he can get lost, be himself. You can’t do that everywhere.
「湖人處理整個過程處理的很好，但是恕我直言，」Logo爺說。「隨著情勢的變化，LBJ不
是一個難簽的FA。LBJ想來LA，他想到湖人，就是這樣。他要考慮他的家庭，他在LA有一間
房子(事實上是兩間)，他有一個13歲的兒子，LBJ想讓他待在LA的學校。LBJ到哪裡都會是
明星，但是LA是一個地方若是他想要隱形一下是沒問題的，在其他地方是不可能的。」
“But most everything I got out of basketball came from my association with
this city and the Lakers. It was my launching pad. Getting to play with
Elgin. Getting to play with Wilt. And playing for the fans. Despite all the
losing we did in the Finals before we finally won one, the L.A. fans never
turned on us.
「但是我從籃球這件事得到的大部分是我跟LA這城市跟湖人這球隊的關係，那是我的起
點，可以跟Elgin Baylor打球，跟Wilt Chamberlain打球，為球迷打球。儘管在拿下第一
個NBA總冠之前輸了很多，湖粉始終不離不棄。」
“I hope LeBron has that experience out here. I really do. I hope he finds
the happiness that I found.” West stops and makes this point clear. “Just
not when he plays the Clippers.”
「我希望LBJ也可以擁有那樣的經驗，我衷心期盼。我希望他可以擁有跟我一樣的喜
悅。」Logo爺停下來，強調：「只是不要在打快艇的時候。」
It’s true that the Lakers really didn’t need to convince James they were a
great destination. James’ agent, Rich Paul, even said to SI’s Lee Jenkins
that James’ meeting with Magic Johnson before announcing his final decision
“wasn’t a pitch. It was just a conversation: ‘Here’s who I am. Here’s
what we do. Here’s the culture we stand for. Here’s what we’re trying to
accomplish. Here’s how we look at you. Here’s how we value you.'” And
Johnson was the only one James officially met with from the Lakers before the
press release was posted.
事實上也是如此，湖人球團並沒有太花力氣說服LBJ，讓LBJ相信湖人隊是個很好的落腳
處。LBJ的經紀人Rich Paul跟記者說，在LBJ宣布決定之前，LBJ跟Magic Johnson的碰面連
個"推銷"都算不上。那就只是一段聊天像是：「你好，我是誰誰誰，我們是做什麼的，我
們的球隊文化是這樣，這是我們計畫想要辦到的，然後這是我們對你的期待，我們會如何
珍惜你。」而且，LBJ在宣布決定之前，Magic Johnson是唯一一個湖人代表LBJ有正式談過
話的。
James knew what he wanted and made his decision quickly, but that doesn’t
mean the waiting was easy for the Lakers. No one was 100 percent certain what
James would choose to do. Team owner and president Jeanie Buss told ESPN’s
Ramona Shelburne that they were prepared with “a plan B and a plan C and a
plan D and E,” just in case it didn’t work out.
LBJ知道他要什麼，所以很快就做好了決定，但是那不代表對湖人來說，這段等待的時間是
很輕鬆的。沒有人百分之百確定LBJ會選擇哪一隊，湖人老闆Jeanie Buss跟記者說，「我
們有計畫B，C，D，E，」以防LBJ若是沒選湖人的狀況。