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HOW THE WARRIORS BECAME THE TOTAL PACKAGE.
金州勇士如何成为了一支具有争冠能力的球队。
Golden State is fun to watch for all the obvious reasons — the best shooting backcourt ever， Stephen Curry’s preposterous pull-up 3s， the splendid passing dotted across the roster， Andrew Bogut’s dirty tricks， the funky lineups， and the ever-present sense that Curry could transform the team into one giant fireball at any moment.
勇士的比赛乐趣丛生，原因很明显——他们有史上投篮最强的后场组合，斯蒂芬·库里的疯狂急停三分，全队的传球能力，安德鲁·博古特肮脏的小伎俩，华丽的阵容，以及前所未有的库里，他随时能把球队变成巨大的火球。
But Golden State is also fun because the players make you believe in the larger spiritual underpinnings of team sports. They are so in tune with each other， and that synchronization guides them on both ends of the floor.
勇士的比赛乐趣多多的另一个原因还在于，他们的球员让你相信，这支团队有更广大的精神力量。他们彼此之间极为协调，而这种同步性一直在攻防两端引导着球队。
The Warriors are a legit title contender if healthy. That question is over. But almost every team that makes the playoffs in the West will be a legit title contender. Matchups will be of paramount importance， and the West offers a gantlet of massive front lines. Dallas brings the Nowitzki/Tyson Chandler combination. Memphis has its old-school “brother from another mother” postup bullies. Blake Griffin eviscerated David Lee on the block in last season’s first round， and DeAndre Jordan can outleap anyone.
如果保持健康，勇士是一支拥有争冠实力的球队，当然，每支打进西部季后赛的球队都有争冠实力。所以，他们彼此间的对位将变得无比重要，而西部球队的前场都无比强大。达拉斯有诺维茨基/泰森·钱德勒的组合。孟菲斯是老派的“非亲生兄弟”背身巨无霸组合。上赛季季后赛第一轮，布雷克·格里芬打傻了大卫·李，而德安德烈·乔丹比谁都能跳。
The Spurs’ bigs aren’t as fearsome on the surface， but both their starters can protect the rim， and Boris Diaw comes off the bench to poke at small-ball mismatches. Portland’s size forced Houston to scramble its entire rotation in the playoffs and bring back the Omer Asik/Dwight Howard front line that failed so badly early in the season.
马刺的大个子们表面上看着不怎么吓人，但他们的两个首发都有保护篮筐的能力，替补的鲍里斯·迪奥还能带着小个阵容打错位。波特兰的身高迫使火箭在季后赛里打破了他们的常规轮换，换回了赛季初效果无比差的欧米尔·阿西克/德怀特·霍华德组合。
The Warriors have done well playing Barnes as a small-ball power forward on bench units， and that’s fine when Barnes is guarding Jon Leuer， AlFarouq Aminu， Joel Freeland， or some other backup big who can’t hurt Golden State. They’ve even risked going small in short stretches against the RandolphGasol and Nowitzki-Chandler combinations in recent games.
勇士用巴恩斯做替补小前锋的效果很不错，当巴恩斯防守琼·洛伊尔、艾尔-法鲁克·阿米奴、乔尔·福里兰德以及其他无法对勇士造成伤害的替补内线时也不错。在最近的比赛里，他们甚至在短时间内冒险用小个阵容应对兰多夫/加索尔和诺维茨基/钱德勒这样的组合。
But they’ll lose that battle on some nights in the playoffs， and that brings us to the elephant in the room： Lee is coming back soon. He won’t start； that question is also over. But his fit off the bench is unclear. Playing him with both Barnes and Speights shifts Barnes to the wing and pushes Golden State away from small ball. 不过他们仍会在季后赛里输掉一些比赛，这也为我们带来了不得不注意到的一个问题：李很快复出了。他不会首发，这个问题没什么可讨论的。可他是否能融入板凳，这尚不清楚。让他和巴恩斯、斯贝茨一起上场，这就会把巴恩斯推到小前锋，勇士就不再能打小个阵容。
It could also create spacing issues for bench units that already struggle to score. The Warriors can play the bricky Iguodala and Livingston together off the bench in part because Barnes gives them some extra spacing at power forward. And even then， things can get tight for the Dubs’ second unit.
这同样还会给本来得分就很困难的替补阵容制造空间问题。勇士能够让“铁匠”伊戈达拉和利文斯顿一起打替补，部分原因在于巴恩斯能在大前锋位置上为他们带来额外的空间。但即便如此，勇士的第二阵容打得也并不轻松。
Golden State still can’t produce points when Curry sits， a long-standing issue that killed its winning streak in Memphis and bolsters Curry’s MVP case； the Warriors have scored 112.6 points per 100 possessions with Curry on the floor and clanked away to a Sixers-esque 93.7 when he sits， per NBA.com.
库里休息时勇士无法得分，这个长久以来一直存在的问题让他们的连胜记录终结在了孟菲斯，同时也为库里赢得了更多MVP的呼声；据NBA官网的统计，库里在场时，勇士每100回合得分为1 12.6分，他休息时，这个数字就掉到了76人水准的93.7分。
The second unit doesn’t have a consistent pick-and-roll player. The Warriors in the half court have relied on basic motion offense， Livingston’s post-up game， and some other stuff that just hasn’t worked without Curry’s spacing.
勇士的替补阵容没有一个稳定的挡拆型球员。打半场进攻时，勇士靠的是基础的动态进攻，利文斯顿的背身单打，还有其他没有库里拉开空间就玩不转的战术。
That’s the appeal of Lee here： He can work as an offensive hub for the bench， facilitating from the elbows and posting up backup bigs. Golden State will need his size at some point in the playoffs， but playing Lee cannibalizes either its small-ball weaponry or Speights’s playing time.
这就是需要李的地方：他能成为替补阵容的进攻助推器，在肋部策动进攻，背身单打内线。季后赛的某些时候，勇士需要李的身高，但让他上场要么会打破勇士犀利的小个阵容，要么他会蚕食斯贝茨的上场时间。
Perhaps it’s just something Kerr can play by matchup； he ditched small ball during segments of the Memphis game， reinserting Green alongside Speights when he felt the team needed more size and defense. He wants to use a nine-man rotation once Golden State has its full roster， meaning we’ll eventually wave good-bye to Leandro Barbosa， Brandon Rush， and Festus Ezeli.
也许，科尔通过对位就能解决这问题；在和灰熊的比赛里他曾在一段时间里放弃了小个阵容，当他觉得球队需要更多身高和防守时，科尔让格林和斯贝茨一起上场。当勇士全员健康时，科尔使用九人轮换，这意味着我们最终要和莱昂德罗·巴博萨、布兰顿·拉什和费斯图斯·伊泽利说再见了。
Kerr can mix and match the pieces night to night. Curry and Livingston have played together more of late， an arrangement that compensates for Livingston’s shooting issues and frees Thompson to lead bench units when Curry rests. Speights will slump at some point， leaving some minutes at center for Lee. But when Speights is rolling， there might be times when the Warriors simply don’t need Lee much. 科尔可以随时调整他的阵容。库里最近和利文斯顿一起上场的时间比较多，这个安排弥补了利文斯顿的投篮问题，并且解放了汤普森，让他在库里休息时领导替补阵容。斯贝茨状态不好时，会给李在中锋位置上留出一些时间。不过当斯贝茨状态正佳时，那时候勇士就基本不需要李了。
“Guys will have to sacrifice，” Kerr says. “And that’s hard.”
“大家必须做出牺牲。”科尔说，“这很难。”
In a theoretical world in which Golden State doesn’t need Lee， it absolutely has to look into trading him. Green is a free agent this summer， and though he’s only a fourth or fifth starter， he’s a perfect puzzle piece on a good team； someone is offering him $10 million. If Golden State retains him at that rate， it could rocket about $10 million over the projected tax line1 if it also keeps Lee and Iguodala.
现在有这样一种理论，勇士不需要李，所以他们只能选择交易。今年夏天格林是自由球员，尽管他只是第四或第五首发，但他却非常适合好球队，会有人给他开出1000万美元的年薪。如果勇士用这个价位留下他，那如果还留下李和伊戈达拉，勇士的薪金总额就会超出奢侈税1000万美元。
The Warriors have never paid the tax and in recent seasons have made small last-minute deals to duck under it. Their owners are swimming in money， but are they really willing to pay more than $100 million just to field a team next season？ It would seem they have to trade someone in the interim.
勇士从没有交过奢侈税，最近几个赛季他们总是在最后时刻做出小交易将薪金总额降到线下。他们的老板是土豪，但他们真的愿意在下赛季掏出超过1亿美元？看起来他们会在这段时间做出交易。
If I were a betting man， I’d bet on this： Golden State rides it out this season and waits until the offseason to cut payroll. The Warriors are not in the tax this season， and they think they can win the title. They are not going to harm the roster now to settle next season’s payroll issues. This is not Oklahoma City.
如果要我打赌，我会赌这个：这个赛季勇士就这么过去，他们会等到休赛季降低薪金总额。本赛季勇士没在奢侈税线上，他们认为自己能赢得总冠军。他们不会为了下赛季的薪金问题而损害现在阵容，这可不是俄克拉荷马城。
This is not to say the Warriors won’t chase deals in which they might dump Lee， or even Iguodala. They will make calls. If they can find trades that tidy up next year’s books without handicapping the current team — and without sending more first-round picks away — they’ll of course do them.
但这并不等于勇士不会寻求甩掉李、甚至交易伊戈达拉的机会。他们会询价。如果他们能在不危害球队现状的前提下找到清理明年薪金空间的交易——而且不用送出更多的首轮签——他们当然会做出这样的交易。
Those deals will be hard to find. Lee earns more than $15 million per year on a contract that runs through next season. No one is eager to swallow that contract without getting some sweetener in return， and the Warriors are already out one future first-round pick and four second-rounders.
这样的交易很难找到。李的年薪超过1500万美元，直到下赛季才会结束。没人会在没有甜头的情况下吞下这个合同，而勇士已经送出了未来的一个首轮签和四个二轮签。
And they’ll need everyone to chase the title. The 2011 Mavs needed Peja Stojakovic and J.J. Barea. The Heat needed Mike Miller at the right moments. The Spurs might not have gotten by Oklahoma City last season without some scintillating minutes from Cory Joseph. 他们需要让每一个人都投身争夺总冠军的行动中。201 1年的小牛有佩贾·斯托贾科维奇和JJ·巴里亚。热火在适当的时候有了麦克·米勒。去年如果没有科里·约瑟夫的优异表现，马刺也许过不了雷霆这关。
Golden State clearly doesn’t need Lee to be great. We know that. But that’s different than saying it doesn’t need him to win the title. He might be a hair less expendable than Iguodala， which sounds weird， since the Warriors are 21-3 without Lee — and have a long history of excelling without him.
勇士显然不需要李成为伟大的球员，我们懂。但这并不等于他们不需要他去赢得总冠军。他也许只比伊戈达拉便宜一些，这听起来有些奇怪，因为勇士在李缺阵时打出了21胜3负——而且历史上李缺阵时的战绩一向很好。
Look at their front line. Ezeli is working on that righty jump hook， but it’s awkward， and he can’t catch the ball. Bogut is hurt again. It’s easy to say the Warriors can’t win the title without Bogut. Duh. But what if he’s nicked up for two weeks in May， and the Warriors need to win one round without him before he returns healthy？
看看他们的前场。埃泽利练习着右手投篮，但感觉很奇怪，而且他接不住球。博古特又受伤了。说出没有博古特勇士就拿不了冠军的话并不难。可如果他五月的时候缺席两周，勇士能在他恢复健康前赢下一个季后赛系列赛？
You’ll need Lee for that. They damn near beat the Clippers last season by going super-small， sticking Lee or Green at center， and spreading the floor for a lethal drive-and-kick attack.①
这时就需要李了。上赛季他们差一点就用超小个阵容击败快船，他们坚持用李或格林做中锋，用致命的突破分球拉开球场空间。
You probably can’t do that without Lee， meaning that if you deal him for cap relief， you better be damn confident in Ezeli and/or net a quality big man back somehow. That could be a buyout guy. Maybe it’s a big on an expiring contract， with the other team willing to take on Lee’s deal for just a single future second-rounder. You could construct workable Lee/Brook Lopez and Lee/Amar’e Stoudemire scenarios， but those deals come with obvious pitfalls.
没有李你大概做不到这一点，这意味着如果为了释放薪金空间交易走李，你最好对埃泽利的水平有着极大的信心，以及/或者搞来一个真正有实力的内线。这可能是一个被买断的球员，也许是一个合同到期的内线，对方球队愿意为一个未来的二轮签吃下李的合同。你可以设想李/布鲁克·洛佩斯和李/小斯搭配的情景，但这样的交易都存在明显的陷阱。
Most league executives expect Lopez to exercise his player option for next season， meaning he offers no certain cap relief. Stoudemire is a true expiring who is scoring well， but he makes Lee look like Bill Russell on defense.
联盟绝大多数的管理人员预计洛佩斯会执行下赛季合同的球员选项，这意味着他无法清理薪金空间。小斯是在合同期，而且他目前的得分很不错，可他让李的防守看上去和比尔·拉塞尔一样。
Losing Iggy might hurt less， since the Warriors are stacked on the wing. But he’s a versatile piece who is key to what they do on both ends， especially on defense. They could at least chip away at next season’s tax bill over the summer by dealing Livingston， whose contract is only 50 percent guaranteed in 2016-17. He’s a good player but something of a luxury for a team with so much wing and guard talent.
失去伊戈达拉的危害可能小一些，因为勇士的侧翼人手充足。但伊戈达拉能力全面，在攻防两端对勇士都有关键作用，尤其是防守。他们至少可以在夏天交易利文斯顿躲过奢侈税，利文斯顿的合同在2016-17赛季只有50%的保障额。他是个好球员，但是对于一个侧翼和后卫好球员太多的球队，利文斯顿太奢侈了。
That would hurt next season， but plenty of teams chasing titles have absorbed a less-than-ideal fiscal year. That’s the price of drafting and signing good players. The Warriors have a chance to win the whole thing this season. It’s way too early to declare them favorites， but they’re in the inner circle. That’s precious territory. Tread carefully.
这会伤害到下赛季，但很多追逐总冠军的球队都会出现财政状况不那么好的时候。这是征募和签约好球员的代价。勇士今年有机会拿到总冠军。现在就选择他们是最热门的球队还为时尚早，不过他们就在核心竞争圈。这是造价高昂的领域，小心前进。
①drive-and-kick：drive在篮球中指的是持球突破，kick指的是分球。
金州勇士如何成为了一支具有争冠能力的球队。
Golden State is fun to watch for all the obvious reasons — the best shooting backcourt ever， Stephen Curry’s preposterous pull-up 3s， the splendid passing dotted across the roster， Andrew Bogut’s dirty tricks， the funky lineups， and the ever-present sense that Curry could transform the team into one giant fireball at any moment.
勇士的比赛乐趣丛生，原因很明显——他们有史上投篮最强的后场组合，斯蒂芬·库里的疯狂急停三分，全队的传球能力，安德鲁·博古特肮脏的小伎俩，华丽的阵容，以及前所未有的库里，他随时能把球队变成巨大的火球。
But Golden State is also fun because the players make you believe in the larger spiritual underpinnings of team sports. They are so in tune with each other， and that synchronization guides them on both ends of the floor.
勇士的比赛乐趣多多的另一个原因还在于，他们的球员让你相信，这支团队有更广大的精神力量。他们彼此之间极为协调，而这种同步性一直在攻防两端引导着球队。
The Warriors are a legit title contender if healthy. That question is over. But almost every team that makes the playoffs in the West will be a legit title contender. Matchups will be of paramount importance， and the West offers a gantlet of massive front lines. Dallas brings the Nowitzki/Tyson Chandler combination. Memphis has its old-school “brother from another mother” postup bullies. Blake Griffin eviscerated David Lee on the block in last season’s first round， and DeAndre Jordan can outleap anyone.
如果保持健康，勇士是一支拥有争冠实力的球队，当然，每支打进西部季后赛的球队都有争冠实力。所以，他们彼此间的对位将变得无比重要，而西部球队的前场都无比强大。达拉斯有诺维茨基/泰森·钱德勒的组合。孟菲斯是老派的“非亲生兄弟”背身巨无霸组合。上赛季季后赛第一轮，布雷克·格里芬打傻了大卫·李，而德安德烈·乔丹比谁都能跳。
The Spurs’ bigs aren’t as fearsome on the surface， but both their starters can protect the rim， and Boris Diaw comes off the bench to poke at small-ball mismatches. Portland’s size forced Houston to scramble its entire rotation in the playoffs and bring back the Omer Asik/Dwight Howard front line that failed so badly early in the season.
马刺的大个子们表面上看着不怎么吓人，但他们的两个首发都有保护篮筐的能力，替补的鲍里斯·迪奥还能带着小个阵容打错位。波特兰的身高迫使火箭在季后赛里打破了他们的常规轮换，换回了赛季初效果无比差的欧米尔·阿西克/德怀特·霍华德组合。
The Warriors have done well playing Barnes as a small-ball power forward on bench units， and that’s fine when Barnes is guarding Jon Leuer， AlFarouq Aminu， Joel Freeland， or some other backup big who can’t hurt Golden State. They’ve even risked going small in short stretches against the RandolphGasol and Nowitzki-Chandler combinations in recent games.
勇士用巴恩斯做替补小前锋的效果很不错，当巴恩斯防守琼·洛伊尔、艾尔-法鲁克·阿米奴、乔尔·福里兰德以及其他无法对勇士造成伤害的替补内线时也不错。在最近的比赛里，他们甚至在短时间内冒险用小个阵容应对兰多夫/加索尔和诺维茨基/钱德勒这样的组合。
But they’ll lose that battle on some nights in the playoffs， and that brings us to the elephant in the room： Lee is coming back soon. He won’t start； that question is also over. But his fit off the bench is unclear. Playing him with both Barnes and Speights shifts Barnes to the wing and pushes Golden State away from small ball. 不过他们仍会在季后赛里输掉一些比赛，这也为我们带来了不得不注意到的一个问题：李很快复出了。他不会首发，这个问题没什么可讨论的。可他是否能融入板凳，这尚不清楚。让他和巴恩斯、斯贝茨一起上场，这就会把巴恩斯推到小前锋，勇士就不再能打小个阵容。
It could also create spacing issues for bench units that already struggle to score. The Warriors can play the bricky Iguodala and Livingston together off the bench in part because Barnes gives them some extra spacing at power forward. And even then， things can get tight for the Dubs’ second unit.
这同样还会给本来得分就很困难的替补阵容制造空间问题。勇士能够让“铁匠”伊戈达拉和利文斯顿一起打替补，部分原因在于巴恩斯能在大前锋位置上为他们带来额外的空间。但即便如此，勇士的第二阵容打得也并不轻松。
Golden State still can’t produce points when Curry sits， a long-standing issue that killed its winning streak in Memphis and bolsters Curry’s MVP case； the Warriors have scored 112.6 points per 100 possessions with Curry on the floor and clanked away to a Sixers-esque 93.7 when he sits， per NBA.com.
库里休息时勇士无法得分，这个长久以来一直存在的问题让他们的连胜记录终结在了孟菲斯，同时也为库里赢得了更多MVP的呼声；据NBA官网的统计，库里在场时，勇士每100回合得分为1 12.6分，他休息时，这个数字就掉到了76人水准的93.7分。
The second unit doesn’t have a consistent pick-and-roll player. The Warriors in the half court have relied on basic motion offense， Livingston’s post-up game， and some other stuff that just hasn’t worked without Curry’s spacing.
勇士的替补阵容没有一个稳定的挡拆型球员。打半场进攻时，勇士靠的是基础的动态进攻，利文斯顿的背身单打，还有其他没有库里拉开空间就玩不转的战术。
That’s the appeal of Lee here： He can work as an offensive hub for the bench， facilitating from the elbows and posting up backup bigs. Golden State will need his size at some point in the playoffs， but playing Lee cannibalizes either its small-ball weaponry or Speights’s playing time.
这就是需要李的地方：他能成为替补阵容的进攻助推器，在肋部策动进攻，背身单打内线。季后赛的某些时候，勇士需要李的身高，但让他上场要么会打破勇士犀利的小个阵容，要么他会蚕食斯贝茨的上场时间。
Perhaps it’s just something Kerr can play by matchup； he ditched small ball during segments of the Memphis game， reinserting Green alongside Speights when he felt the team needed more size and defense. He wants to use a nine-man rotation once Golden State has its full roster， meaning we’ll eventually wave good-bye to Leandro Barbosa， Brandon Rush， and Festus Ezeli.
也许，科尔通过对位就能解决这问题；在和灰熊的比赛里他曾在一段时间里放弃了小个阵容，当他觉得球队需要更多身高和防守时，科尔让格林和斯贝茨一起上场。当勇士全员健康时，科尔使用九人轮换，这意味着我们最终要和莱昂德罗·巴博萨、布兰顿·拉什和费斯图斯·伊泽利说再见了。
Kerr can mix and match the pieces night to night. Curry and Livingston have played together more of late， an arrangement that compensates for Livingston’s shooting issues and frees Thompson to lead bench units when Curry rests. Speights will slump at some point， leaving some minutes at center for Lee. But when Speights is rolling， there might be times when the Warriors simply don’t need Lee much. 科尔可以随时调整他的阵容。库里最近和利文斯顿一起上场的时间比较多，这个安排弥补了利文斯顿的投篮问题，并且解放了汤普森，让他在库里休息时领导替补阵容。斯贝茨状态不好时，会给李在中锋位置上留出一些时间。不过当斯贝茨状态正佳时，那时候勇士就基本不需要李了。
“Guys will have to sacrifice，” Kerr says. “And that’s hard.”
“大家必须做出牺牲。”科尔说，“这很难。”
In a theoretical world in which Golden State doesn’t need Lee， it absolutely has to look into trading him. Green is a free agent this summer， and though he’s only a fourth or fifth starter， he’s a perfect puzzle piece on a good team； someone is offering him $10 million. If Golden State retains him at that rate， it could rocket about $10 million over the projected tax line1 if it also keeps Lee and Iguodala.
现在有这样一种理论，勇士不需要李，所以他们只能选择交易。今年夏天格林是自由球员，尽管他只是第四或第五首发，但他却非常适合好球队，会有人给他开出1000万美元的年薪。如果勇士用这个价位留下他，那如果还留下李和伊戈达拉，勇士的薪金总额就会超出奢侈税1000万美元。
The Warriors have never paid the tax and in recent seasons have made small last-minute deals to duck under it. Their owners are swimming in money， but are they really willing to pay more than $100 million just to field a team next season？ It would seem they have to trade someone in the interim.
勇士从没有交过奢侈税，最近几个赛季他们总是在最后时刻做出小交易将薪金总额降到线下。他们的老板是土豪，但他们真的愿意在下赛季掏出超过1亿美元？看起来他们会在这段时间做出交易。
If I were a betting man， I’d bet on this： Golden State rides it out this season and waits until the offseason to cut payroll. The Warriors are not in the tax this season， and they think they can win the title. They are not going to harm the roster now to settle next season’s payroll issues. This is not Oklahoma City.
如果要我打赌，我会赌这个：这个赛季勇士就这么过去，他们会等到休赛季降低薪金总额。本赛季勇士没在奢侈税线上，他们认为自己能赢得总冠军。他们不会为了下赛季的薪金问题而损害现在阵容，这可不是俄克拉荷马城。
This is not to say the Warriors won’t chase deals in which they might dump Lee， or even Iguodala. They will make calls. If they can find trades that tidy up next year’s books without handicapping the current team — and without sending more first-round picks away — they’ll of course do them.
但这并不等于勇士不会寻求甩掉李、甚至交易伊戈达拉的机会。他们会询价。如果他们能在不危害球队现状的前提下找到清理明年薪金空间的交易——而且不用送出更多的首轮签——他们当然会做出这样的交易。
Those deals will be hard to find. Lee earns more than $15 million per year on a contract that runs through next season. No one is eager to swallow that contract without getting some sweetener in return， and the Warriors are already out one future first-round pick and four second-rounders.
这样的交易很难找到。李的年薪超过1500万美元，直到下赛季才会结束。没人会在没有甜头的情况下吞下这个合同，而勇士已经送出了未来的一个首轮签和四个二轮签。
And they’ll need everyone to chase the title. The 2011 Mavs needed Peja Stojakovic and J.J. Barea. The Heat needed Mike Miller at the right moments. The Spurs might not have gotten by Oklahoma City last season without some scintillating minutes from Cory Joseph. 他们需要让每一个人都投身争夺总冠军的行动中。201 1年的小牛有佩贾·斯托贾科维奇和JJ·巴里亚。热火在适当的时候有了麦克·米勒。去年如果没有科里·约瑟夫的优异表现，马刺也许过不了雷霆这关。
Golden State clearly doesn’t need Lee to be great. We know that. But that’s different than saying it doesn’t need him to win the title. He might be a hair less expendable than Iguodala， which sounds weird， since the Warriors are 21-3 without Lee — and have a long history of excelling without him.
勇士显然不需要李成为伟大的球员，我们懂。但这并不等于他们不需要他去赢得总冠军。他也许只比伊戈达拉便宜一些，这听起来有些奇怪，因为勇士在李缺阵时打出了21胜3负——而且历史上李缺阵时的战绩一向很好。
Look at their front line. Ezeli is working on that righty jump hook， but it’s awkward， and he can’t catch the ball. Bogut is hurt again. It’s easy to say the Warriors can’t win the title without Bogut. Duh. But what if he’s nicked up for two weeks in May， and the Warriors need to win one round without him before he returns healthy？
看看他们的前场。埃泽利练习着右手投篮，但感觉很奇怪，而且他接不住球。博古特又受伤了。说出没有博古特勇士就拿不了冠军的话并不难。可如果他五月的时候缺席两周，勇士能在他恢复健康前赢下一个季后赛系列赛？
You’ll need Lee for that. They damn near beat the Clippers last season by going super-small， sticking Lee or Green at center， and spreading the floor for a lethal drive-and-kick attack.①
这时就需要李了。上赛季他们差一点就用超小个阵容击败快船，他们坚持用李或格林做中锋，用致命的突破分球拉开球场空间。
You probably can’t do that without Lee， meaning that if you deal him for cap relief， you better be damn confident in Ezeli and/or net a quality big man back somehow. That could be a buyout guy. Maybe it’s a big on an expiring contract， with the other team willing to take on Lee’s deal for just a single future second-rounder. You could construct workable Lee/Brook Lopez and Lee/Amar’e Stoudemire scenarios， but those deals come with obvious pitfalls.
没有李你大概做不到这一点，这意味着如果为了释放薪金空间交易走李，你最好对埃泽利的水平有着极大的信心，以及/或者搞来一个真正有实力的内线。这可能是一个被买断的球员，也许是一个合同到期的内线，对方球队愿意为一个未来的二轮签吃下李的合同。你可以设想李/布鲁克·洛佩斯和李/小斯搭配的情景，但这样的交易都存在明显的陷阱。
Most league executives expect Lopez to exercise his player option for next season， meaning he offers no certain cap relief. Stoudemire is a true expiring who is scoring well， but he makes Lee look like Bill Russell on defense.
联盟绝大多数的管理人员预计洛佩斯会执行下赛季合同的球员选项，这意味着他无法清理薪金空间。小斯是在合同期，而且他目前的得分很不错，可他让李的防守看上去和比尔·拉塞尔一样。
Losing Iggy might hurt less， since the Warriors are stacked on the wing. But he’s a versatile piece who is key to what they do on both ends， especially on defense. They could at least chip away at next season’s tax bill over the summer by dealing Livingston， whose contract is only 50 percent guaranteed in 2016-17. He’s a good player but something of a luxury for a team with so much wing and guard talent.
失去伊戈达拉的危害可能小一些，因为勇士的侧翼人手充足。但伊戈达拉能力全面，在攻防两端对勇士都有关键作用，尤其是防守。他们至少可以在夏天交易利文斯顿躲过奢侈税，利文斯顿的合同在2016-17赛季只有50%的保障额。他是个好球员，但是对于一个侧翼和后卫好球员太多的球队，利文斯顿太奢侈了。
That would hurt next season， but plenty of teams chasing titles have absorbed a less-than-ideal fiscal year. That’s the price of drafting and signing good players. The Warriors have a chance to win the whole thing this season. It’s way too early to declare them favorites， but they’re in the inner circle. That’s precious territory. Tread carefully.
这会伤害到下赛季，但很多追逐总冠军的球队都会出现财政状况不那么好的时候。这是征募和签约好球员的代价。勇士今年有机会拿到总冠军。现在就选择他们是最热门的球队还为时尚早，不过他们就在核心竞争圈。这是造价高昂的领域，小心前进。
①drive-and-kick：drive在篮球中指的是持球突破，kick指的是分球。