https://reurl.cc/ZlergQ (這次主作者是Amick 立場應該相對中立一些) ATLANTA – The late-night meeting that brought Chris Paul’s LA Clippers career to a stunning and unceremonious end was supposed to take place during normal business hours. After all these weeks of building frustrations between the two sides, with Paul’s dissatisfaction being felt in every corner of the Clippers operation during a brutal start to their season, the team’s longtime president of basketball operations, Lawrence Frank, sent word to the future Hall of Famer that they needed to meet on Tuesday evening in Atlanta. The tone of his message demanded a change in Paul’s plans. 亞特蘭大-結束Chris Paul快艇生涯、令人震驚且毫無儀式的深夜會面，本來應該在正常上 班時間進行。 在過去這幾週，雙方的挫折感不斷累積，Paul的不滿情緒瀰漫在快艇營運的每一個角落， 而球隊也經歷了殘酷的賽季開局。於是，快艇長年負責籃球事務的總裁Lawrence Frank傳 話給這位未來名人堂明星，表示需要在星期二傍晚於亞特蘭大見面。他的語氣明確到讓 Paul必須重新安排自己的行程。 Paul, league sources said, had planned on attending the men’s basketball game at his alma mater, Wake Forest, and then rejoining the Clippers in Atlanta afterwards. But he changed his plans, spending the first part of Tuesday attending an art festival in Miami before hopping on the team’s chartered flight that was scheduled to land in Atlanta around 6 p.m. local time. But there was an unexpected issue: The team plane had mechanical problems in Miami, causing an hours-long delay that, in the end, would lead to Frank and Paul discussing their unresolvable issues deep into the wee hours. By the time Paul shared the news of his release on social media at 2:40 a.m. in Atlanta, writing “Just found out I’m being sent home” on an Instagram post, the only people confused about why it had happened were outside of the Clippers’ walls. Whether you agreed with the decision or not, this much was clear: Paul’s constant criticism internally had been the root of the perceived problem. Paul，根據聯盟消息人士透露，原本計畫先去母校威克森林大學觀看男子籃球比賽，之後 再飛到亞特蘭大與快艇會合。但他最後改變了行程，星期二先在邁阿密參加了一個藝術節 ，接著才登上球隊安排的包機，預計於當地時間傍晚6點降落在亞特蘭大。 但意外發生了:球隊飛機在邁阿密出現機械故障，導致延誤了好幾個小時。這場延誤最終讓 Frank和Paul必須在深夜、甚至凌晨時分，針對他們無法調和的問題進行談話。 當Paul在亞特蘭大的凌晨2:40於社群媒體宣布消息時--他在Instagram上寫道："我剛剛知 道我要被送回家了"--唯一感到困惑的，只有快艇之外的人。不論外界是否認同這項決定， 有一點已經非常清楚:Paul在隊內持續的批評與抱怨，才是整個問題的核心。 The notion of Paul being unfiltered and unrelenting with his viewpoint is hardly something new. Anyone who paid attention during his storied 21-year career — including his Lob City run with the Clippers from 2011 to 2017 — knows that his leadership style isn’t for everyone. And when the Clippers signed up for this reunion in July, adding him to their veteran-laden group by way of a one-year, $3.6 million deal, team sources say they went to great lengths to manage his expectations regarding his role. The goal was to minimize the chance that something like this might occur. Yet as the Clippers continued to struggle, falling to 5-16 during this season in which they fully intended on contending for a title, league sources say the acerbic nature of Paul’s perspective was met with increasing resistance from those around him. Head coach Ty Lue and his staff, specifically, were known to be at wit’s end when it came to dealing with Paul. Some teammates took exception with his disparaging tone. Paul直率、不留情面的說話方式並不是新鮮事。任何關注過他21年輝煌生涯的人--包括他 2011到2017年在快艇的"Lob City"時期--都知道他的領導風格並不適合所有人。 而當快艇在7月決定重聚，給他一份一年3.6M的合約，把他加入這支滿是老將的球隊時，根 據球隊消息來源，他們其實花了非常多心力去管理Paul對於自己角色的期待。目的很明確: 盡量避免如今這種情況發生。然而，隨著快艇本季表現持續低迷--跌到5勝16敗，遠遠偏離 原本要爭冠的目標--聯盟消息人士指出，Paul那種尖銳刻薄的發言風格，引來越來越多隊 內人士的不滿。尤其是總教練Ty Lue與教練團，被形容為已經快被他逼到崩潰邊緣;部分隊 友也對他愛用貶低語氣說話的方式感到不滿。 League sources say Paul had several meetings recently with Clippers officials regarding their concerns with his approach, with one source indicating that there was a request for him to stop with the “locker room lawyering.” League sources said Paul was openly critical of the team in a film session on Tuesday, but — as Frank indicated — the decision to move on from Paul had already been made. “It wasn’t working out the way that I had planned and we had planned and it ’s unfortunate,” Frank said Wednesday at a virtual news conference. “You don’t take decisions like this lightly at all. Especially a guy that meant so much to the league and so much our organization, but just felt it was the right decision to make and unfortunately it was a really, really hard decision to make, but I think it was the right one for the team and organization.” 聯盟消息人士指出，Paul近期已與快艇管理層進行過多次會面，討論球隊對他作風的擔憂 ，其中有一位消息來源甚至透露，球隊要求他停止所謂的"更衣室詭辯"。聯盟消息人士也 表示，Paul在週二的影片會議中公開批評球隊，但--正如 Frank 所指出的--球隊要與他分 道揚鑣的決定早已做出。 Frank在週三的線上記者會上說:"事情的發展不像我原本預期的、也不像我們共同預期的那 樣，這真的很遺憾。你不會輕易做出這種決定，尤其是針對一位對聯盟、對我們球團都有 重大意義的球員。但我們只是覺得，這是必須做出的正確決定。很不幸地，這真的是非常 非常困難的決定，但我認為，對球隊與整個組織而言，這是對的選擇。" Frank also said his decision “had nothing to do with one incident or one meeting that did or did not happen,” declining to further elaborate on how he decided to move on from a man many consider to be the greatest Clippers player of all time. He said his face-to-face with Paul began at 11 p.m. ET on Tuesday and lasted three hours, describing it as a “long, long, long, long, long meeting.” Paul, 40, was in and out of Lue’s rotation during this trying season in which the Clippers entered Wednesday’s game against the Hawks with a 5-16 record. He appeared in 16 games for the Clippers this season, averaging 2.9 points and 3.3 assists in a career-low 14.3 minutes per game. Paul was coming off a campaign in San Antonio last year in which he started all 82 games for the Spurs, averaging 8.8 points and 7.4 assists. Frank也表示，這項決定"與某一件事件，或某一次有發生或未發生的會面毫無關聯"，並拒 絕進一步說明他是如何下定決心，要與許多人心中"快艇隊史最偉大球員"切割。他只透露 ，自己與Paul的面對面會談是在週二晚間美東時間11點開始，持續了三個小時，並形容那 是一次"非常、非常、非常、非常、非常漫長的會議"。 40歲的Paul在這個艱難的賽季裡，時常被Lue進進出出地調整到輪替之外。快艇在週三對上 老鷹的比賽前，戰績僅5勝16敗。Paul本季為快艇出賽16場，場均僅2.9分、3.3助攻，出場 時間只有14.3分鐘，創下生涯最低。而就在去年，他還在聖安東尼奧打完82場先發，場均 8.8分、7.4助攻。 Because Paul signed as a free agent with LA, he is not eligible to be traded until Dec. 15. Frank said the Clippers would “continue to work with Chris’ representatives” in determining how Paul is ultimately removed from the roster. Frank also made clear the team was not blaming its poor performance on Paul. Reading between the lines, this was a move made because Paul’s presence and demeanor with the team while it was losing was not considered helpful. Paul coming back to the LA Clippers seemed like the obvious move. After his one-year pact with the San Antonio Spurs, Paul indicated that his career was winding down. After leaving the Clippers in 2018, Paul’s family had stayed in Los Angeles as he hopped from one stop to the next: From Houston to Oklahoma City, a three-year run in Phoenix, a one-season stop with Golden State and then a successful season with Victor Wembanyama and the Spurs. 因為Paul是以自由球員身分與快艇簽約，他在12月15日前沒有被交易的資格。Frank表示， 快艇會"繼續與Chris的代表合作"，決定最終要如何將Paul從名單中移除。Frank也強調， 球隊並沒有把戰績不佳怪罪在Paul身上。從字裡行間可以看出，之所以做出這個決定，是 因為球隊在持續輸球時，Paul的存在與態度被認為沒有幫助。 Paul回到洛杉磯快艇似乎是理所當然的選擇。在與聖安東尼奧馬刺一年合約結束後，Paul 表示他的生涯已接近尾聲。自從2018年離開快艇後，Paul的家人一直留在洛杉磯，而他本 人則從休士頓到奧克拉荷馬城，又在鳳凰城度過三年，接著在金州勇士停留一季，最後在 與Victor Wembanyama的馬刺度過成功的一年。 Still, the Clippers put a roster together in the offseason that made it clear where Paul’s place on the team would be: he wouldn’t be a starter or even a regular rotation player. It took the Clippers until the fourth week of July to sign Paul. While celebrating Paul as a Clippers legend and praising him for his ability at this stage of his career, Frank was careful to use his statement announcing Paul’s addition to clearly and publicly outline Paul’s role, as if to diffuse any potential confusion and conflict. “Chris will help fortify our backcourt with his exceptional ballhandling, playmaking and shooting,” Frank said in the team’s statement. “He is joining us as a reserve point guard and is excited to fill whatever role T. Lue asks him to play. He wants to be part of the group and we’re fortunate to have him back.” 然而，快艇在休賽季組出的陣容已經清楚表明Paul在球隊中的定位:他不會是先發，甚至不 是固定輪替球員。快艇直到七月第四週才簽下Paul。當時球隊一邊稱讚Paul是快艇傳奇、 肯定他在生涯這個階段仍具備的能力，Frank也在宣布Paul加盟的聲明中，小心翼翼地明確 、公開說明他的角色，彷彿是為了事先化解任何可能的誤解與衝突。 Frank在球隊聲明中說:"Chris會用他出色的控球、組織與投射來強化我們的後場。他將以 替補控球後衛的身分加入我們，並且很樂意扮演T. Lue要求他的任何角色。他希望成為團 隊的一部分，而我們也很幸運能迎回他。" Paul can, and on numerous occasions has, served as a mentor and adviser to younger players who look up to him. A 12-time All-Star who is second all time in assists and steals behind John Stockton, Paul most recently put his arm around rising Atlanta star Dyson Daniels. When the Hawks were in Los Angeles last month, Paul was spotted in an engaged chat with Daniels, telling him, among other things, to “shoot the ball.” “He basically said I work too hard on defense and every other aspect of the game, so I basically need to reward myself by shooting the ball,” Daniels said Wednesday morning, before the Hawks’ game against the Clippers. “It all makes sense. Very simple but yeah, coming from a guy like that, it definitely helps to hear.” Paul能夠--而且在許多場合中確實--擔任仰慕他的年輕球員的導師與顧問。身為12次全明 星、助攻與抄截數僅次於John Stockton的傳奇球員，Paul最近一次被看到指導的對象，是 亞特蘭大正崛起的新星Dyson Daniels。上個月老鷹作客快艇時，有人看到Paul與Daniels 交談甚歡，其中包括告訴他:"把球投出去。" "他基本上是說，我在防守和其他比賽面向都下了很大功夫，所以我應該要用投籃來獎勵 自己，"Daniels在週三早上、老鷹對上快艇前說道。"這一切都很有道理，很簡單，但從那 樣的球員口中聽到，真的很有幫助。" There were chances for Paul to do the same for Clippers teammates, and he would mentor the team’s few young players from time to time. But the Clippers entered the season as the NBA’s oldest team, with an average age per player of 33.2 years. The coaching staff is also a veteran group, with lifers like Lue, and Jeff Van Gundy, and Brian Shaw and Larry Drew, and Paul’ s critiques came off like grating criticisms that were unwelcome while the team was trying to find itself while playing through injury, league sources said. Paul’s retirement tour through the league didn’t last two weeks. On Nov. 22, Paul unveiled that this would be his final season through a social media post. “Do I want to see CP go out like this? No, I have a lot of respect for him, ” Lue said. “He’s been a friend of mine over the years, and you never want to see a great go out like this, but I’m pretty sure he will find something because he’s a great player. “I don’t like it for CP, but it just wasn’t a good fit.” Paul原本也有機會在快艇做同樣的事，並且偶爾會指導隊上少數的年輕球員。但快艇本季 以平均年齡33.2歲成為聯盟最老的球隊。教練團同樣是資深班底，包括 Lue、Jeff Van Gundy、Brian Shaw、Larry Drew等人。聯盟消息人士表示，在球隊一邊帶著傷勢掙扎、一 邊努力找方向時，Paul的批評聽起來更像是刺耳且不受歡迎的指責。 Paul的"退休巡迴"在聯盟裡甚至沒撐過兩週。11月22日，Paul透過社群媒體宣布這將會是 他的最後一季。(我只能說 我還有機會看到 我很幸運) "我想看到CP以這種方式離開嗎?不，我很尊重他。"Lue 說。"他多年來一直是我的朋友， 你永遠不會想看到一位偉大的球員以這樣的方式結束，但我很確定他會找到其他事情做， 因為他是一位偉大的球員。" "我不喜歡CP的處境，但這真的不適合。" -- ※ 發信站: 批踢踢實業坊(ptt.cc), 來自: 104.176.138.216 (美國) ※ 文章網址: https://www.ptt.cc/bbs/NBA/M.1764820256.A.02D.html