Jared Zwerling

In the world of Sin City， there are many different fast forms of dating. But none are like the speed dating that took place inside the Vinoly Grand Ballroom at the Vdara hotel during Vegas Summer League.

罪惡之城里有著太多閃電約會的形式，但沒有一個(gè)能跟夏季聯(lián)賽期間在Vdara酒店的維諾里大廳進(jìn)行的快速“約會”一樣。

Twenty-one current and retired NBA players， as well as former WNBA All-Star Adrienne Goodson， interacted with 11 front office personnel during a one-of-a-kind speed dating exercise to pitch themselves for future positions. It was part of the NBPAs fifth annual Leadership Development Program （LDP） for players interested in working one day in the NBA front office， which includes scouting， coaching， player development and general management.

21個(gè)現(xiàn)役及退役NBA球員，包括前WNBA全明星艾德麗娜·古德森在一個(gè)獨(dú)一無二的閃電面試中與11名職場人士進(jìn)行互動(dòng)，為未來的工作進(jìn)行自我推銷。這是NBA球員工會為有意進(jìn)入NBA管理層的球員舉辦的第五屆領(lǐng)導(dǎo)力發(fā)展項(xiàng)目（LDP）的一部分，這些工作包括球探、教練、球員發(fā)展和總經(jīng)理。

“I never knew what speed dating was until that，” NBA veteran Drew Gooden said. “It was an opportunity for GMs and guys who are in the front office to finally get in front of players they never had a conversation with， but theyve seen play for years. So that was a great opportunity for both sides.”

“在那之前我從來不知道閃電約會是什么樣的?！盢BA老將德魯·古登說，“對總經(jīng)理和管理層來說這是個(gè)機(jī)會，他們有機(jī)會和看了多年比賽、但又沒有真正溝通過的球員面對面交流。所以對兩邊來說，這是非常好的機(jī)會?！?/p>

“Its very unique，” said Garrett Temple， who signed with the Kings earlier this month. “You get to meet 11 club executives and sit down face to face and look them in the eye and explain to them what your aspirations are. You can really understand and learn about a person in three minutes about how they carry themselves and the questions they ask.”

“這非常獨(dú)特。”加雷特·坦普爾表示，本月早些時(shí)候他剛與國王隊(duì)簽約，“你需要和11個(gè)球隊(duì)管理人員見面，面對面坐下，看著他們的眼睛，向他們說明自己的志向。在三分鐘時(shí)間里，你確實(shí)可以理解并學(xué)習(xí)到一個(gè)人如何表現(xiàn)，如何提問?！?/p>

Added Blazers assistant coach David Vanterpool， who was one of the 11 front office personnel， “I never thought Id be part of speed dating at all， much less speed dating with basketball players. It was really fun and interesting.”

11名管理人員之一的開拓者隊(duì)助理教練大衛(wèi)·范特普爾補(bǔ)充道，“我完全沒想過自己會參與閃電約會，更別提和籃球運(yùn)動(dòng)員閃電約會了。這真的很有趣，很有意思?！?/p>

The first two days of the LDP were headlined by panel discussions involving team GMs （Dell Demps， Masai Ujiri and former 76ers head Sam Hinkie） and former players who joined front offices （Calvin Booth， Jared Jeffries， Trajan Langdon and Anthony Parker）. The program invitees learned about the CBA， salary cap and how NBA agents， like Leon Rose who represents NBPA President Chris Paul， collaborate with front offices. In addition， the attendees scouted at Vegas Summer League games and conducted a mock draft featuring the players they watched.

LDP前兩天的重點(diǎn)，是有總經(jīng)理（戴爾·鄧普斯、馬薩伊·烏杰里和前76人總經(jīng)理薩姆·辛基）和加入球隊(duì)管理層的前球員（卡爾文·布斯、賈里德·杰弗里斯、特雷杰·蘭頓及安東尼·帕克）參加的小組討論。項(xiàng)目的被邀請人會學(xué)習(xí)勞資協(xié)議、工資帽以及NBA經(jīng)紀(jì)人、比如球員工會主席克里斯·保羅的經(jīng)紀(jì)人里昂·羅斯如何與球隊(duì)管理層合作的方式。此外，參會人員還會考察拉斯維加斯夏季聯(lián)賽，在考察球員中進(jìn)行模擬選秀。

On the final day， the LDP culminated with the speed dating exercise， putting the players three days of new knowledge to the test and giving them a face-to-face business-like opportunity to sell themselves quickly to different front office personnel.

LDP最后一天的高潮部分就是閃電面試聯(lián)系，對球員在三天學(xué)到的新知識進(jìn)行檢驗(yàn)，給他們一個(gè)面對面的商務(wù)式機(jī)會，快速將自己推銷給球隊(duì)的管理人員。

“It was absolutely the most powerful moment of the program and in my lifes transitionary period，” said Goodson， the only female in the LDP who dreams of working for the NBPA developing programs for players. “To get one-on-one advice from directors， scouts and VPs was priceless.”

“那絕對是整個(gè)項(xiàng)目和我的人生轉(zhuǎn)化階段最有力的一個(gè)瞬間。”古德森表示，她是LDP中唯一一個(gè)夢想為球員工會球員發(fā)展項(xiàng)目工作的女性，“能得到主管、球探和總裁們的一對一指導(dǎo)，這個(gè)經(jīng)歷是無價(jià)的?！?/p>

“This is probably my favorite event of summer league by far，” said Suns assistant general manager Pat Connelly.

“這大概是夏季聯(lián)賽截至目前我最喜歡的環(huán)節(jié)。”太陽隊(duì)助理總經(jīng)理帕特·康納利表示。

The setup was as follows： while half of the players stood and waited， the other half sat down in front of each of the respective front office members. Three minutes were on the clock， tracked in front of the room by the LDP director， Pops Mensah-Bonsu， who joined the NBPAs Player Programs department last fall after a nine-year NBA and overseas career. When time was up， Mensah-Bonsu shouted， “Rotate！”， and the players next in line would take a seat.

這個(gè)環(huán)節(jié)的安排如下：一半球員站著等待時(shí)，另一半坐在每一個(gè)管理人員對面。三分鐘計(jì)時(shí)開始，負(fù)責(zé)計(jì)時(shí)的是LDP的主管博普斯·門薩-邦蘇，去年秋天，結(jié)束了九年NBA生涯和海外生涯后，門薩-邦蘇加入了球員工會球員項(xiàng)目部門。三分鐘到后，門薩-邦蘇會喊道“換人”，排在后面的球員會坐下準(zhǔn)備。

The current players included Gooden， Temple， Alan Anderson and Beno Udrih， and the retirees included Keith Bogans， Greg Buckner， Derrick Byars， Brian Cook， Michael Hall， Junior Harrington， David Hawkins， Darnell Jackson， DerMarr Johnson， Fat Lever， George Lynch， Bostjan Nachbar， Mamadou NDiaye， Milt Palacio， Sean Singletary， Awvee Storey and James White.

現(xiàn)役球員包括古登、坦普爾、阿倫·安德森和本諾·尤德里，退役球員包括基斯·博甘斯、格雷格·巴克納、德里克·拜爾斯、布萊恩·庫克、邁克爾·豪爾、朱諾·哈靈頓、大衛(wèi)·霍金斯、達(dá)尼爾·杰克遜、德瑪爾·約翰遜、法特·萊沃、喬治·林奇、波斯津·納克巴、馬馬杜·恩迪耶、米爾特·帕拉西奧、肖恩·辛格特里、奧威·斯托里和詹姆斯·懷特。

The front office personnel included Vanterpool， Connelly， his brother Tim （Nuggets general manager）， Dotun Akinwale （Hawks manager of scouting）， David Booth （Pelicans director of player personnel）， Trevor Bukstein （Suns assistant general manager）， Marc Eversley （76ers vice president of player personnel）， Matt Lloyd （Magic assistant general manager）， Malik Rose （Hawks manager of basketball operations）， Brendan Suhr （former Pistons assistant coach and current LSU mens basketball associate coach） and Ed Tapscott （Wizards vice president of player programs）.

管理人員包括范特普爾、康納利、他的兄弟蒂姆（掘金總經(jīng)理）、多頓·阿金維特（掘金球探主管）、大衛(wèi)·布斯（鵜鶘球員事務(wù)主管）、特雷沃·巴克斯坦（太陽助理總經(jīng)理）、馬克·埃弗斯利（76人球員事務(wù)副總裁）、馬特·勞埃德（魔術(shù)助理總經(jīng)理）、馬利克·羅斯（老鷹球員事務(wù)主席）、布蘭登·蘇爾（活塞前助理教練，現(xiàn)路易斯安那州大男籃助理教練）和艾德·塔普斯科特（奇才球員部門副總裁）。

“The speed dating part was cool because it forces you to develop your pitch in several different ways，” said Rose， a former participant of the LDP. “It makes you more prepared for that one moment when you do get a decision-makers attention. You have three minutes to either sell yourself to him or be forgotten the minute you leave him. That part helped a great deal when I did it.”

“閃電面試部分很酷，因?yàn)樗仁鼓阌枚喾N方式推銷自己。”曾經(jīng)參與過LDP的羅斯表示，“當(dāng)你真的得到管理人員的關(guān)注時(shí)，這能讓你做好更多的準(zhǔn)備。你有三分鐘時(shí)間，要么成功推銷自己，要么一離開就被人忘記。這個(gè)練習(xí)那時(shí)對我的幫助很大?！?/p>

In addition to Rose， five other players landed positions after attending the LDP. They include Jarron Collins （Warriors assistant coach）， Royal Ivey（Oklahoma City Blue assistant coach）， Coby Karl （Westchester Knicks assistant coach）， Eduardo Najera （Texas Legends head coach） and Luke Walton （Lakers head coach）.

除羅斯外，還有五名球員在參加了LDP項(xiàng)目后也獲得了好的職位。這些人包括賈倫·科林斯（勇士助理教練）、洛約爾·艾維（俄克拉荷馬城藍(lán)色隊(duì)助理教練）、考比·卡爾（韋斯切斯特尼克斯隊(duì)助理教練）、愛德華多·納胡拉（德克薩斯傳奇隊(duì)主教練）和盧克·沃頓（湖人主教練）。

To tip off the speed dating exercise， the players extended handshakes and some handed out their personal business cards， including Gooden， Nachbar and Udrih， who created his own thick-stock one with “NBA Player” on the front as his job title and an image of a basketball court on the back.

面試開始后，球員先伸手握手，有人還會遞上名片，比如古登、納克巴和尤德里，他們印制的個(gè)人名片正面的職位上寫著“NBA球員”，背面是一張球場的圖片。

“We talked to the players about looking at them in the eyes and introducing themselves，” Mensah-Bonsu said. “Youd be surprised but professional athletes are not used to introducing themselves. Even though its three minutes， you can get a lot accomplished. Its a first impression and its a lasting one. Small talk is everything in this business.”

“我們對球員說，要直視對方的眼睛，做自我介紹。”門薩-邦蘇說，“你可能會吃驚，但職業(yè)運(yùn)動(dòng)員不習(xí)慣做自我介紹。盡管只有三分鐘，但你卻能做到很多事情。這是第一印象，也是持久印象。在這個(gè)行業(yè)，寒暄就是一切?！?/p>

The front office individuals opened up the conversations. Tapscotts first questions were： “Where would you like to start？ And where do you want to be five， 10 years from now？” As the players talked， he wrote down key words on a notecard， highlighting strengths and weaknesses of what they were saying. Tapscott， a longtime executive who previously served with the Bobcats and Knicks， said that the two most important assets are leadership and communication.

管理人員開始對話。塔普斯科特的第一個(gè)問題是，“你想從哪個(gè)職位開始？五年、十年后你希望自己在什么位置？”球員作答時(shí)，他會在便簽本上記下關(guān)鍵詞，尤其是球員談到的個(gè)人優(yōu)點(diǎn)和缺點(diǎn)。曾常年在山貓和尼克斯工作的塔普斯科特說，最重要的兩個(gè)素質(zhì)是領(lǐng)導(dǎo)力和溝通能力。

“Think of your positives，” Tapscott told the players. “I want to hear what you are passionate about， like， ‘I want to teach fundamentals. Have an idea of what you want to do and sell yourself.”

“想想你的優(yōu)勢?！彼账箍铺貙η騿T說，“我想聽到你熱愛什么，比如我想教基本功。知道自己想做什么，然后推銷?！?/p>

As for Vanterpool， who was involved with the speed dating for the first time， his initial question to the players was： “What would your dream entrylevel position look like？”

第一次參見閃電面試的范特普爾向球員提出的第一個(gè)問題是，“你理想中的初始崗位是什么？”

“I wanted the beginning-stage thought more than anything. I wanted where the passion lies right now first，” he said. “I got destination answers from some guys， ‘I want to be a GM， I want to be a coach， I want to do player development. But its like saying， ‘I want to win a championship. But what happens now？”

“我最想知道他們的起點(diǎn)是什么，我想知道他們一開始的興趣點(diǎn)在什么地方?！彼f，“從一些球員那里我聽到的是他們的最終理想?！蚁胱隹偨?jīng)理，我想做教練，我想做球員發(fā)展的工作。但這就好像在說，‘我想贏得總冠軍?？赡悻F(xiàn)在想干什么？”

Vanterpool stressed understanding the process， telling the players，“Youre basically starting over from ground zero from that eight， nineyear-old kid again.” He noted that working in the front office is “much more intricate” than playing， presenting an example of having to draw up offensive sets in front of a team and then explaining the plays accurately with confidence and clarity.

范特普爾強(qiáng)調(diào)了理解過程的重要性，他對球員說，“你們基本上就像八九歲的孩子一樣再次從零開始?！彼赋?，在球隊(duì)工作比打球“復(fù)雜得多”，然后舉出了在全隊(duì)面前畫出戰(zhàn)術(shù)、自信且清楚準(zhǔn)確地講解戰(zhàn)術(shù)這個(gè)例子。

“Its really difficult for some guys，” he said. “Being able to relay that information and getting other people to understand exactly what you see is something that you have to learn.”

“對有些人來說難度確實(shí)很大?！彼f，“傳達(dá)信息、讓其他人準(zhǔn)確理解你的想法，這是需要學(xué)習(xí)的技能。”

Temple， a three-year participant of the LDP， has recently been fielding front-office information from Suhr and Tapscott. Suhr coaches at LSU and Tapscott works for the Wizards， where Temple played since 2012. Looking ahead， hes planning to do an apprenticeship with Kings assistant general manager Ken Catanella.

參加了三年LDP的坦普爾從蘇爾和塔普斯科特那里學(xué)到了不少管理層的知識。蘇爾在路易斯安那州大做過教練，塔普斯科特在奇才工作過，而坦普爾從2012年開始就在奇才打球。展望未來，他計(jì)劃跟著國王助理總經(jīng)理肯·卡塔尼拉學(xué)習(xí)。

“I feel pretty good about the salary cap and things of that nature， but I want to learn even more as much as I can before I get into this arena，”Temple said.

“我對工資帽什么的掌握得不錯(cuò)，但我想在進(jìn)入這個(gè)行業(yè)前盡量學(xué)到更多東西?！碧蛊諣栒f。

Booth shared a story about how in the days before Sean Rooks passed away in June， he had two coaching job offers on the table from the Knicks and Sixers， as well as another in the D-League. As it turns out， he got his start by working for free for the Bakersfield Jam， now called the Northern Arizona Suns.

布斯分享了肖恩·盧克斯六月去世前的故事，后者得到了尼克斯和76人的工作邀請，還有一份發(fā)展聯(lián)盟的工作。他最后選擇從免費(fèi)為貝克斯菲爾德果醬隊(duì)工作開始起步，這支球隊(duì)現(xiàn)在改名北亞利桑那太陽隊(duì)。

“He was willing to sacrifice in the short term for a long-term gain，”Booth said.

“他愿意為了長遠(yuǎn)收益犧牲短期利益?！辈妓拐f。