Pritchard Eager to Start Dramatic Offseason
Mark Montieth on May 01, 2019.
Source:
https://www.nba.com/pacers/news/pritchard-eager-start-dramatic-offseason
It's the summer of unprecedented cap space. Also the summer of opportunity,
thinking on your feet, acting quickly, and taking some educated risks.
手裡握著史無前例的寬廣薪資空間，對溜馬來說這將會是個充滿機會、考驗反應、手腳要
快而且得冒些險的夏天。
Kevin Pritchard and Nate McMillan met with the media on Wednesday to wrap up
the Pacers season that ended with 48 victories and a first-round playoff
exit, but more importantly to look ahead to an immediate future that likely
will have major ramifications on the next few seasons, at least.
Kevin Pritchard和Nate McMillan在本週三的季末會議上總結了這個例行賽48勝、季後賽
一輪跪的賽季，不過更重要的是眼前這個將會影響深遠的休賽季。
The Pacers have seven free agents among the 13 players who dressed for their
playoff games, at least $43 million in cap space, and the 18th pick in the
NBA Draft. They'll try to piece together the puzzle of those roster openings,
available money, and other assets to try to bring improvement to a team that
has exceeded expectations each of the past two seasons but hasn't advanced
past the first round of the playoffs since 2014.
在季後賽有出場的13位球員中有7位即將在本季成為FA，帶來了至少43m的薪資空間，再加
上第18順位的選秀籤。球團將利用這空出來的輪值名單、薪資空間以及其他的資產，試圖
為這支雖然在過去兩個賽季有超乎預期的表現，卻自從2014年後季後賽全部一輪遊的球隊
帶來更大的突破。
Pritchard promised to be "super aggressive" in his approach to the
franchise's reconstruction period, with no limits placed on his resources for
doing so by owner Herb Simon. Pritchard has just one proven All-Star caliber
player in Victor Oladipo, and obviously needs more to compete with those
teams still operating in the playoffs.
如果溜馬想跟目前還在季後賽的那些球隊競爭的話，除了陣中的全明星球員Victor
Oladipo以外明顯還需要更多。在球團老闆Herb Simon大開綠燈後，Pritchard保證了會把
握這次重建的機會做出「非常積極」的操作。
That means they won't shy away from pursuing anyone out of a belief they have
no shot.
這意味著他們將不吝於挑戰那些大家不認為溜馬有機會追逐的球員。
"We'll go after 'em," Pritchard said during the press conference at Bankers
Life Fieldhouse. "We'll make the pitches. We're not afraid. We're willing to
think big.
「我們會去追的。」Pritchard在Bankers Life Fieldhouse的媒體會議上表示：「我們無
懼於做出嘗試，我們會有些大膽的想像。」
"I gave my management staff a book here recently, The Magic of Thinking Big.
We want to think big. It may happen, it may not happen. One thing we believe
very strongly in is that once you sign with us we'll do our best to make you
feel comfortable here and we'll do that with our daily actions."
「我最近給了我的管理團隊一本書，『大膽想像的魔法』(暫譯)。我們想要有些大膽的想
像，它有可能成真也可能不會成真。但是唯一我們確信的是，只要是與溜馬簽約的球員，
我們每天都會盡最大的努力讓你感到舒適。」
Pritchard emphasized that cap space can be utilized beyond signing free
agents. It could enable the Pacers (and other teams) under the cap to make
uneven trades that don't conform to the rule that the salaries of traded
players must be within 25 percent of one another. The Pacers, for example,
could trade a player earning $5 million for one making $15 if another team is
looking to shed payroll.
Pritchard強調了薪資空間不只能用在FA上，它也可能用來幫其他球隊省點薪資支出。
The luxury tax won't come into play for the Pacers this summer unless they
re-sign most or all of their free agents. The tax only comes into play when
teams have used all their cap space and want to re-sign one of their own free
agents.
除非溜馬續簽了他們本季全部或大部分的FA，否則溜馬隊本季不需要煩惱奢侈稅的問題。
Pritchard, however, said he is confident owner Herb Simon will allow him to
cross the tax threshold when the time comes, if necessary.
不過Pritchard也提到，他有信心Herb Simon會願意讓他在必要的時候超出稅線幹大事。
"Herb wants to win," Pritchard said.
Pritchard：「Herb很想贏。」
"We set a budget. It's a very high budget, I will tell you that. Herb has
never told me no if it makes the team better. Not one time. I want to think
big, but the one thing we take a lot of pride in here is paying players
appropriately. We have a hierarchy that we believe in. But if a special
circumstance comes up, I have no hesitation in believing Herbie will say,
'Let's do it, if it's the right player and it can take us to another level.'"
「我可以告訴你，我們設了個預算，很高的預算。Herb從來沒有拒絕過任何能讓球隊變得
更好的操作。我有些大膽的想像，但是我們也很自豪支付給球員的薪水總是恰到好處。我
們有我們排好的優先次序，但是如果有些特殊的情況發生了，我完全相信Herb會對我說：
『如果這就是那個能帶我們走向不同層級的球員，那就做吧！』」
The Pacers also have the 18th pick in the draft. Pritchard said he would "not
be surprised" if it's used in a trade and promised to be aggressive with it.
溜馬今年也有第18順位的選秀籤，Pritchard表示這支籤將會被積極地運用，如果在交易
中被用掉他也不會意外。
All in all, the summer represents a rare opportunity for Pritchard and his
staff to remake the roster, but also exceptional pressure to make the right
decisions.
總而言之，對於Pritchard和他的團隊來說，這個夏天將是重新打造球隊的大好機會，但
該如何做出正確的決定勢必也會帶來巨大的壓力。
Pritchard can't wait to get started.
而Pritchard已經迫不及待要開工了。
"I'm more excited about the draft and free agency than I've ever been," he
said. "There's such a high degree of variability. I don't know if it's even
possible to come up with every scenario. We spend hours on the board going,
'OK, so if he goes here and he goes here, and they spend their money, does
that make this player (available)?' Because almost 40 percent of the players
in this league are free agents, you're going to have unbelievable movement. I
think we have to be prepared to be opportunistic and I think we have to be
able to do it very quickly. You have to be able to move at a moment's notice,
and you have to be in those conversations.
「這是我對選秀和FA最興奮的一次。」
「未來有著許多變數存在，我不知道是否有可能去設想到所有的劇本。我們花了無數的時
間不斷沙盤推演：『OK，如果這傢伙去了這裡、那傢伙去了那裡，那個球隊把他們的錢花
光了，這樣的話我們是不是有機會能弄到這個球員？』因為在這個休賽季有40%左右的球
員將會進入自由市場，你將會看到一些難以置信的轉隊發生。我想我們已經準備好抓住出
現的任何機會，在機會來臨時馬上下手。你得要把握好轉瞬即逝的時機，參與到那些對話
裡面去。」
"When Larry (Bird) was the president and I was the general manger, my job was
to pound the pavement and understand what was going on. So I've challenged
Peter (Dinwiddie) and Chad (Buchanan) and Kelly (Krauskopf) to pound the
pavement. I want to know exactly what's going on and what could go on. We're
going to call audibles. This is the audible summer. So I think if you're
prepared with your rankings with your hierarchy and when you've done your
intel and you know what players fit us and what players don't and what you're
willing to spend on these players, I think that gives you an opportunity to
call the right audible."
「當Larry Bird是總裁而我還是GM的時候，我的工作是到處打聽消息並搞清楚現在發生了
什麼事。所以現在我也要求Peter、Chad和Kelly去做同樣的事，我想要知道目前正在發生
的以及未來可能發生的情況。我們會打很多電話，這是個需要聆聽的夏天。所以我想如果
你準備好了對球員的分級以及優先次序，在確立了核心之後你就會知道誰適合、誰不適合
你的球隊，以及你願意在他們身上付出多少，這樣就能讓你有機會撥出最該打的那通電話
。」
While smaller market teams generally don't fare as well in the free agent
marketplace, Pritchard believes the Pacers' culture and facilities could help
facilitate some opportunities.
儘管小市場球隊在自由市場上通常沒辦法很有表現，Pritchard仍相信溜馬的文化與體系
可以抓到一些機會。
"We believe we are player-centric," Pritchard said. "The players know they'll
be taken care of...and they know we're going to win. The more you can prove
you will take care of your players and you develop your players and you're
all about winning, then you have a chance."
「我們是以球員為本的。」Pritchard說：「球員知道他們會被照顧地很好，而且也知道
我們是來贏球的。當你能夠證明對球員的照顧、球員成長的幫助以及對勝利的渴望...
那麼你會有機會的。」
譯註：
KP在季末會議上展現要在休賽季大展身手的決心，
儘管我們不是大市場球隊，那幾個S級球星大概很難抓到...
不過至少有薪資空間就有機會，等著看制服組了。
下篇的部份預計會等到明天。