杜蘭特降薪 開創先河 傷害NBA平衡

Kevin Durant is going to make 25 million American dollars in 2017-18. That's a lot of money. It's also significantly less than Durant could be making. And that's totally fine.

凱文-杜蘭特2017-18賽季將賺到2500萬美元。這筆錢可不少。但這也比他能賺到的少得多。不過這也完全沒毛病。

Durant is taking a sizable pay cut to apply an extra layer of superglue to any potential fissures in the Golden State Warriors' superteam, and, if hundreds of angry people on the internet are to believed, this further solidifies his status as a villain.

杜蘭特爲了鞏固金州勇士隊的超級陣容選擇大幅減薪，消除球隊任何潛在的裂痕。如果網絡上真的有成百上千人因此憤怒的話，杜蘭特此舉徹底坐實了他反派的角色。

That anger not only represents a ludicrous double-standard in an age when players are often criticized for prioritizing money over other motives; it's also just silly. Durant can do what he wants. He's earned that right. He has now taken advantage of it multiple times. And that's totally fine.

這種怒火不僅代表了這個時代一種荒誕的雙重標準：人們常常批評球員把金錢置於一切其它目的之前；而且也很蠢。杜蘭特想幹什麼就幹什麼。他有權這麼做。他現在多次使用了這種權利而已。這也完全沒毛病。

It's important to get that out of the way, because this column will argue that what Durant is doing is dangerous; that it threatens the NBA and the ideals the league has acted upon, namely that competitive balance is good. It's important to clarify that Durant is not at fault for any of that.

很重要的一點是，我們要把上述這種想法拋之腦後，因爲本專欄就是要說明杜蘭特的行爲是很危險的；它給NBA和聯盟一直在打造的理想狀態帶來了威脅，就是說各方競爭達到平衡是好事。但也要澄清，杜蘭特沒有責任維護這些。

But his decision does imperil every single mechanism the NBA and NBPA have collectively bargained into place to curb superteams and foster parity.

但他的決定的確危害了NBA體制的方方面面，球員工會也開始集體討論約束超級球隊的出現，促進實力平等化。

Tuesday is the one-year anniversary of Durant's decision, his "My Next Chapter" announcement that rocked the NBA and eventually changed it. His leap to Golden State irritated many around and within the sport. "I don't think it's good for the league," opined commissioner Adam Silver, and he wasn't alone.

這週二是杜蘭特離開俄城決定的1週年，他的聲明“我的下一站”讓聯盟轟動，也最終引起變化。他加盟勇士的決定激怒了很多身邊的人，包括體育圈內人士。“我認爲這對聯盟不是一件好事，”總裁亞當-蕭華表示。並不是只有他一個人這麼想。

So he and the NBA's 30 owners did something about it. They went to the bargaining table with the goal of stamping out superteams in the new CBA. They targeted them with mechanisms such as the Designated Player extension that they hoped would entice stars to stay at home; that they hoped would dissuade stars from emulating Durant.

因此他和NBA30支球隊的老闆確實有了新舉措。他們走到談判桌前希望在新勞資協議下阻止超級球隊的誕生。爲此他們設計了新機制，比如特定球員續約條款，希望能籍此促使球星留隊；也希望這樣的條款能阻止其他球星效仿杜蘭特。

But there was nothing they could do about this. And, at least for the foreseeable future, there is nothing they can do. The entire CBA is predicated on players seeking out and getting what they are worth, within the confines of team-wide and individual salary caps. It does not, and probably cannot, answer a simple question: What if players don't do that?

但對此他們也無能爲力。至少在可預見的未來，他們做不了什麼。整個勞資協議就是在球隊範圍內和球員工資帽的限制中假設球員們追求得到自己價值的年薪。它沒有，估計也不能，回答一個簡單的問題：如果球員們不這麼做怎麼辦？

Durant didn't. He prioritized winning and lifestyle over money. He was financially unselfish. He took less money to fortify his superteam. And there's nothing stopping other superstars from doing the same.

杜蘭特就沒有。他把勝利和生活方式放在金錢之前。在金錢上，他是很無私的。爲了鞏固超級球隊他自己減薪。而這並沒有阻止其他超級巨星也這麼做。

That doesn't mean others will. Steph Curry wasn't going to take a discount after being criminally underpaid for four years. LeBron made it clear in 2014 that he wanted the max after he himself took a pay cut in 2010. Chris Paul, the president of the players' union, has fought for bigger contracts for players like himself; you think he'll be taking anything less than the max next summer?

當然也不是說其他球員就一定會這麼做。斯蒂芬-庫裏的4年童工合同結束後肯定不會讓自己的合同再打折扣。詹姆斯早在2014年就說清楚了，2010年他降薪之後現在他想要頂薪合同。克里斯-保羅身爲球員工會主席，爲球員們、包括他自己爭取大合同；你覺得他明年夏天會籤比頂薪少1個子的合同嗎？

But the potential cause-and-effect here could alter the landscape of the league. Will others feel more comfortable eschewing their market value to take pay cuts of their own?

但這裏潛在的因果關係會改變聯盟的風氣。其他球員會不會因爲減少了自己的市場價值以實現降薪而感到更舒服呢？

Or, even more ominous for Silver and the league: Will some players feel like they have to?

或者，對於蕭華和NBA更不幸的是：會不會有些球員覺得自己必須降薪？

Durant set the precedent, and the Warriors will set the pace. The rest of the league must keep up. We've seen how that pressure has affected front office decision making and risk taking. We've seen how teams like the Rockets and Thunder have made drastic moves to try to keep up, and how others feel they must follow suit.

杜蘭特開了先河，而勇士隊帶起了軍備競賽的節奏。聯盟裏的其他球隊必須得跟上。我們已經看到這種壓力是如何影響制服組的決策和風險承擔的，也看到了像火箭隊和雷霆隊這樣的球隊是怎麼大動干戈試圖跟上勇士隊的腳步的，其他球隊又是如何自覺必須有樣學樣的。

But what if it's not enough? What if the Warriors are still head and shoulders above the James Harden-Chris Paul backcourt? What if they sweep through the West again, and roll over a retooled Cavaliers team in the Finals once more?

但如果這還不夠呢？要是即便有了詹姆斯-哈登和克里斯-保羅這樣一對後場組合，勇士隊仍然更高一籌怎麼辦？要是勇士隊再次橫掃西部，在總決賽中又一次碾壓了重裝上陣的騎士隊怎麼辦？

If general managers can't solve the Golden State problem, the onus shifts to the players. Taking less might be the only solution. And if Durant can do it, why can't others? Why won't others?

若是總經理們無法解開勇士隊這道謎題，責任就傳一代轉移到球員們身上了。堅信減薪可能是唯一的出路。而且如果杜蘭特能降薪，其他球員就降不得？其他球員就不會降？

And if one or two others do, will the arms race begin to spiral out of control? Could pay cuts become an essential aspect of building a championship contender? Could these ripple effects extend beyond the era of Warriors dominance and have a lasting effect on the league?

然後，如果有一兩名成員這麼做了，軍備競賽會不會再次失去控制？想打造冠軍之師，減薪是否會成爲必不可少的一方面？這些連鎖效應會在勇士主宰的時代過去之後繼續延續，給聯盟帶來長久的影響嗎？

Now we're getting ahead of ourselves. But Durant has brought the idea to our attention. He has opened eyes, and if some of those eyes belong to other superstars, the bodies connected to those eyes could soon open doors. The possibility is real, even if unlikely. And it's a threat to a league that champions parity, even if it often fails to achieve it.

現在說這些有些言之過早。但是是杜蘭特把這個主意帶進了我們的視野裏。他的腦筋很活絡，如果某些其他超級巨星腦子也很靈活，他們可能就要溜之大吉了。雖然可能性很小，但它確實存在。這也對聯盟冠軍的雨露均沾是個威脅，即便很少能做到這一點。

And the scary part is that there is no obvious counter for Silver or the NBA. When Durant made his initial decision, Silver and the owners conveniently had a collective bargaining agreement that they could opt out of within the year. If there is a similar reaction to this Durant decision, they will have no such luck.

另外，可怕的一點在於，蕭華和NBA沒有明顯的應對之策。當杜蘭特做出最初的決定加盟金州勇士隊時，蕭華和球隊老闆們輕鬆地達成了一份能在一年內作廢的集體商討協議。如果他們想對杜蘭特的這個降薪決定有所反應就沒有那麼幸運了。

And they would have trouble writing a reaction into the next CBA anyway. In theory, they could draft some sort of provision that prevents All-NBA players from signing a contract that pays them less than, say, 80 percent of their previous annual salary.

他們要是想把他們的反應寫進下一份勞資協議裏也很麻煩。理論上他們能起草一些所謂的條款限制全明星球員簽下一份年薪少於上份合同，比如說80%的合約。

That could be adjusted for cap inflation, and amended in other ways to close loopholes. But such a rule, or any rule intended to prevent players taking pay cuts to form superteams, would likely carry problematic side effects.

這些條款也可以爲了工資帽的上漲隨之調整，通過其他的方法修訂後起到堵漏的效果。但這樣一項條例，或者任何意圖想阻止球員們減薪以組成超級球隊的規定都很可能帶來棘手的副作用。

Tens of thousands of words could be written about other potential solutions to the NBA's parity problem. (Side note: Parity is not inherently necessary, nor is a lack of it necessarily a problem; the NBA, however, clearly thinks it is.) But the bottom line is that almost all those solutions hinge on players desiring more money rather than less.

對於NBA平衡性的問題，我們能寫出長篇大論來闡述其它潛在的解決方案。（旁註：平衡性並非天生必要的，沒有它也不一定會帶來問題；但在NBA，顯然平衡性就是必要的）但底線在於幾乎所有的方法都基於球員們只求更高的薪金而非降薪。

For example, you could eliminate max contracts and allow LeBron James to make $70 million per year, leaving LeBron's team with, in 2017-18 cap terms, only $29 million to fill out the rest of a roster. Durant and Steph Curry could make over $50 million each. What would that do to superteams?

比如說，你可以取消頂薪合同的限制，允許勒布朗-詹姆斯每年拿5000萬美元，他所在的球隊就只有2900萬美元填補陣容了，這是按照2017-18賽季工資帽計算得出的。杜蘭特和斯蒂芬-庫裏每個人都能拿5000萬美元。這對於超級球隊意味着什麼呢？

Nothing, if stars don't accept contracts that pay them what they're worth. Durant took a $9.5 million pay cut. There is nothing stopping a player from taking a $25 million pay cut. There just isn't.

如果球星們不願意接受符合自己身價的合同的話，就沒有什麼用。杜蘭特減薪950萬美元。沒有什麼能阻止一名球員降薪2500萬美元的。就是沒有。

Players wield tremendous power in the NBA, and that's generally a good thing, both in theory and in practice. It's part of what makes the NBA so wildly entertaining. But the players haven't even realized the full extent of their power. That's what could ultimately begin keeping Adam Silver up at night.

在NBA裏球員們能呼風喚雨，無論是理論上還是實際上都大體是件好事。這是讓NBA如此好看的部分原因。但球員們還沒有意識到他們的全部能量。最終這件事開始讓亞當-蕭華晝思夜想，絞盡腦汁。

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