『美刊快译』米勒，休斯敦，奥克利要复出了，下一个是谁？
转自“学英语，看NBA”，网址http://en4ch.tianya.cn，译者：bdmrg
在波士顿凯尔特人的敦促下，雷吉-米勒要复出了，接着阿兰-休斯敦也发表声明肯定要回来，便士-哈达威动作最快，已经和迈阿密热火签约，似乎要与奥尼尔结盟。这么多人要复出，老夫数得都喘不过气来了。
一连串的惊奇需要有人立刻做出解释，这背后到底是什么原因。毕竟我们不是在讨论这些即将回归的孩子。
为什么在这个夏天他们都从火山口里喷涌而出？
可能一个接一个的事件只是偶然而已，并非蓄势而发，但就单个事件来看还是不难看出，正是球队的需求导致了他们的复出。
现在，联盟越来越缺少两种人，一种是有极高命中率的投手，另一种是无所不能的老将。这让球队的高层管理不得不考虑，在退休的球员中是否还有谁能再出来打几年，比方说米勒。这听起来很让人感到绝望，但考虑到签如此大名鼎鼎的人物只需花小钱，管理层就可以对那些怀疑论者大声地说不，哪怕签到的是快40或更老的家伙，当然如果这些老家伙不好用，打发他们也很容易。
在他们身上要花多少钱并不难计算，老将工资就够了。他们往往是这样一些人，要么没有拿到总冠军，要么因为受伤或犯罪而提前离开NBA。在他们喜欢的领域再疯狂地玩最后一把真是很难抗拒，特别是他们都习惯于NBA这种令人陶醉的生活。
即使是贵族球队也急需外线专家和久经沙场的内线高手，哪怕只是一名经验丰富的季后赛老将也不错。哈达威回到了迈阿密，休斯敦在10月训练营开营之前也会不可避免签约，这就是说米勒几乎不可能落单了，只要他已经下定决心结束这种长期无所事事的日子，接受凯尔特人的邀请，和三巨头保罗-皮尔斯、雷-阿伦、凯文-加内特结盟。
那些离开NBA一个赛季以上的人中，谁会在这个时候再跳出来？而米勒－休斯敦－哈达威这一代的球员中，谁又会永远地离开？
阿兰-休斯敦，现年36，04－05赛季从尼克斯退役
尽管米勒的复出还停留在可能的层面上，因为他要考虑到底准备好了没有，是不是应该离开TNT的“洞察NBA”节目组，要知道对他来说这是一份很舒适的工作，不比拖着一把老骨头回波士顿打拼。但阿兰-休斯敦知道该怎么做，毕竟他年轻很多。
休斯敦像米勒一样也有2个赛季没打球了，但在ESPN干了一个赛季的电视工作以后，他已经下决心复出，星期四ESPN The Magazine记者Chris Broussard证实了这一点。
然而，对这些曾经光芒四射的重量级人物来说，挑战都是相同的。他们谁也别想回到球场上立马就撒开双手投篮，就像当年那样。他们要首先给自己这台生了锈的机器除锈，并尽快适应比赛的速度和强度，周围的人都这样打，你不能落后。经过长期放松，再重新找回状态可不是一件容易的事情。但如果不这样，他们就永远不能找回当年连珠炮似的投篮节奏。
当然，现在也没有谁在拼命抢球队的眼球。
就拿阿兰-休斯敦来说吧，对他有兴趣的尼克斯高管说，他被告知假如“休斯敦通过了尼克斯的各种检查”，就可以开始对他的复出进行运作。换句话说，尼克斯有望第一个获得和休斯敦重签的机会。2005年10月，休斯敦因左膝盖关节炎而不得不退役，之前2个赛季，关节炎使他的上场次数下降到70次。
然而，阿兰-休斯敦到底花落何家，据NBA消息灵通人士称，已经有一些强队如马刺和骑士对他青睐有加，而他对其中至少一家有意愿。
查尔斯-奥克利，现年44岁，2003－2004赛季退役。
7月底，奥克利告诉《多伦多星报》记者道奇-史密斯，说他想复出。不仅如此，奥克利还表现得非常慎重，宣称已经有好些球队对他表示了兴趣，并点出了小牛、热火、骑士、尼克斯。他们需要他来解决球队风格偏软的问题。
当然，奥克利还告诉他的加拿大同事，他不会“为了一份低薪而复出”，这可能会使得他的复出尚未跨出第一步就已胎死腹中。
如果不是老将工资，很难想象会有哪一支球队会付给一个退役3年的老将更多的工资。不过至少在西部赛区的一名主管说，奥克利会赢得他该得的工资。
“奥克利从来就是一名好射手，”他说。“如果他还能在球场上跑起来，我看他打得像科特-托马斯那么好也不为过。”
转自“学英语，看NBA”，网址http://en4ch.tianya.cn，译者：bdmrg
原文：
Miller, Houston, Oakley ... who else is planning a comeback?
Reggie Miller is urged to un-retire by the Boston Celtics. Allan Houston follows up with an announcement that he's definitely un-retiring. Penny Hardaway then trumps them both by signing with the Miami Heat, setting up an unlikely reunion with (gasp) Shaquille O'Neal.
It's a string of surprises that demands an immediate explanation, since we're not exactly talking about Comeback Kids here.
Why is this all happening in one summertime burst?
The one-after-another timing of these developments might prove to be coincidence more than full-fledged trend, but it's actually not too difficult in each case to understand the appeal from the team perspective.
Two commodities that have become increasingly scarce in this league -- quality shooting and veteran know-how -- are leading executives to wonder if recent retirees like Miller have any game left. Desperate as that sounds, factoring in the bargain prices at which you can sign such famous names gives teams an easy counter to the skepticism/criticism that will always greet the acquisition of a basketball player in his late 30s -- or older -- as well as an easy out if the gamble doesn't work.
The appeal for the players really isn't hard to figure, either, even at a veteran-minimum salary. These are comeback candidates who often A) left the game without a championship or B) were forced out prematurely because of injuries or misdeeds. One last shot to go out on happier terms can be hard to resist, especially when they're so used to the intoxicating NBA lifestyle.
It doesn't hurt that even the elite teams are desperate for an extra perimeter specialist, one more proven inside presence or just a dose of playoff-tested savvy. Hardaway's return with Miami and Houston's inevitable signing before camps open in October means Miller will hardly be alone if he decides to end his own lengthy layoff by accepting the Celtics' invitation to join the new Big Three of Paul Pierce, Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett.
Who else is likely to rebound to the big time after at least one full season in NBA exile? Who from the Miller-Houston-Hardaway generation is probably gone for good?
Allan Houston,Age: 36,
Last NBA job: New York (2004-05 season)
Whereas Reggie's comeback is still a maybe, as Miller weighs whether he's really prepared to leave the comfort of TNT's "Inside The NBA" studio and drag his 42-year-old bones to Boston, Houston is younger and knows what he wants to do.
Houston has missed the past two seasons, just like Miller, but has already committed to a comeback after a season of TV work at ESPN, as reported Thursday by ESPN The Magazine's Chris Broussard.
Yet the challenge for both of these decorated marksmen would be similar. Neither can expect to walk back onto the floor and make shots just because they always have. They'll have to shed the rust quickly to adjust to the speed and athleticism all around them -- not something easy to relocate after a long layoff -- or they'll never find the rhythm to consistently make shots.
Neither, though, is struggling to attract interest.
An executive from one interested team, in Houston's case, said he's been told to operate on the assumption that "everything goes through the Knicks." In other words, Houston is expected to give New York the first crack at re-signing him after an arthritic left knee limited the sharpshooter to 70 games over two seasons before his October 2005 departure.
Yet Houston's camp, according to NBA front-office sources, has already reached out to contenders such as San Antonio and Cleveland and is open to alternative destinations.
Charles Oakley Age: 44 in December Last NBA job: Houston (2003-04 season)
Oakley told the Toronto Star's Doug Smith in late July that he wants to play again. Not only that, Oak is apparently serious. He claims there are a handful of teams interested, and names Dallas, Miami, Cleveland and New York as clubs that need him to address their softness issues.
Of course, Oakley also told our Canadian colleague that he's "not coming back cheap." Which might end an Oak comeback before it starts.
It's difficult to imagine any team extending Oakley more than a veteran minimum deal to return after three seasons away from the game. Yet at least one Western Conference executive doesn't doubt that Oakley could still pull off the basketball part.
"Oak has always been a good shooter," he said. "If he can still get up and down the court, I could see him filling a Kurt Thomas-type role for someone."
|
