Haley OShaughnessy

LEBRON WASNT THE FIRST GREAT TO ORCHESTRATE A MOVE TO THE LAKERS. JERRY WEST， ELGIN BAYLOR， AND BOB RYAN ON HOW THE TRADE OF ONE OF THE BEST PLAYERS IN BASKETBALL HISTORY PRESAGED THE GREAT ERA OF SUPERSTAR MOVEMENT WE ARE LIVING THROUGH TODAY.勒布朗并非第一個精心策劃加入湖人的傳奇巨星。杰里·韋斯特，埃爾金·貝勒及鮑勃·萊恩講述了籃球歷史上最偉大球員之一的張伯倫的交易，是如何為如今我們熟悉的巨星更換球隊的時代奠定基調(diào)的。

Whats more unfathomable： LeBron James creating the second superteam of his career or LeBron signing somewhere， long-term， without the security of having a superteam in place？ At 33 years old and still in his prime， he entered free agency fully capable of changing the course of any franchise he chose. LeBron didnt throw the NBAs competitive balance further off its axis when he inked a four-year， $153.3 million deal with the Los Angeles Lakers， but it was disorienting： a current powerhouse， LeBron， dovetailed with a historic one.

哪種情況更難理解：勒布朗·詹姆斯創(chuàng)建了職業(yè)生涯中的第二支超級強隊，還是勒布朗在沒有超級球隊保證的情況下與某支球隊簽訂長約？盡管已經(jīng)33歲，但他仍然處于職業(yè)生涯巔峰，自由球員市場開啟時，他仍有能力改變?nèi)魏我恢蜿牭拿\。當(dāng)他與洛杉磯湖人簽下4年1.533億美元的合時，勒布朗并沒有進(jìn)一步加劇NBA不平衡的競爭，但他的行為仍然讓人感到困惑：作為現(xiàn)今最有實力的球員之一，他加入了一支歷史強隊。

The Lakers sent five championship banners to L.A. when the franchise moved from Minneapolis in 1960. But Los Angeles as a basketball city—the reputation of tradition and prominence that it has now—couldnt buy a ring from the Boston Celtics until Wilt Chamberlain showed up. On July 9， 1968， the Philadelphia 76ers exchanged Chamberlain for three Lakers： center Darrall Imhoff， who had been drafted a spot after Jerry West； forward Jerry Chambers； and a talented combo guard in Archie Clark.

1960年從明尼阿波利斯搬遷至洛杉磯時，湖人帶走了五面總冠軍旗幟。作為籃球城市的洛杉磯——如今擁有永久的歷史和盛名——在威爾特·張伯倫出現(xiàn)前，總也無法從波士頓凱爾特人手中搶得一個總冠軍。1968年7月9日，費城76人用張伯倫換回了三名湖人球員：比杰里·韋斯特低一順位的中鋒達(dá)雷爾·艾姆霍夫，前鋒杰里·錢博斯和天賦滿滿的雙能衛(wèi)阿奇·克拉克。

But the move had only the veneer of a standard NBA trade. In actuality， it was Wilt， then two years younger than LeBron is now and with comparable influence， pulling off a shadow free-agency move， 20 years before unrestricted free agency existed—and in doing so， simultaneously creating basketballs earliest superteam. Before Kevin Durant， Steph Curry， Draymond Green， and Klay Thompson （…and DeMarcus Cousins）； before LeBron， Dwyane Wade， and Chris Bosh； and before Kevin Garnett， Paul Pierce， Rajon Rondo， and Ray Allen， there was Wilt， West， and Elgin Baylor.

但這只是表面標(biāo)準(zhǔn)正規(guī)的NBA交易。實際上，當(dāng)時比現(xiàn)在的勒布朗還小兩歲的張伯倫擁有足夠的影響力，他在非受限自由球員制度確立的20年前，暗地做出了自由球員操作——通過這個操作，他創(chuàng)造了最早的超級強隊。在凱文·杜蘭特，斯蒂芬·庫里，德雷蒙德·格林和克萊·湯普森（還有德馬庫斯·考辛斯……）之前；在勒布朗，德懷恩·韋德和克里斯·波什之前；在凱文·加內(nèi)特，保羅·皮爾斯，拉簡·朗多和雷·阿倫之前，就有了威爾特，杰里·韋斯特和埃爾金·貝勒。

Until 1976， when a lawsuit filed by Oscar Robertson forced the league into a form of restricted free agency， there was very limited occupational freedom of movement. "You were with a certain team，" Baylor said when I talked to him over the phone in June， "and if you were with that team， you were their property. And they had the option of keeping you or getting rid of you." At that time， contracts included a "reserve clause"—a standard provision that gave owners the right to retain their players after contracts expired—giving the men playing no say in whether they wanted to stay or leave. Agents were few and far between； even if a player had representation， it didnt mean the front office was required to listen."Owners didnt particularly care about that， dealing with the agents，" said Baylor， because unlike today， they didnt have to.

在1976年奧斯卡·羅伯特森提起訴訟要求聯(lián)盟確立受限自由球員制度前，工作變動在聯(lián)盟很少存在?！澳阍谀持蜿牐憔褪撬麄兊呢敭a(chǎn)。他們可以選擇留下或者拋棄你?！?月電話和貝勒交流時，他對我說。那時的合同中存在“保留條款”——也就是讓球隊老板在球員合同到期后留住他們的標(biāo)準(zhǔn)條款——這使得球員在自己的去留問題上毫無發(fā)言權(quán)。經(jīng)紀(jì)人的數(shù)量少之又少；即便球員有經(jīng)紀(jì)人，球隊管理層也沒有義務(wù)必須聽取他們的意見。“老板并不在意和經(jīng)紀(jì)人的交流?！必惱毡硎?。因為和現(xiàn)在不一樣，他們不必和經(jīng)紀(jì)人接觸。

The closest players came to something resembling free agency came in 1967， when the American Basketball Association formed. Before， all a player could do was threaten to retire， but with the ABA， they at least had the option to hop leagues. The ABA recruited the NBAs most notable stars， and a few， like Rick Barry， went for it. Barry， who was taken to court by the Warriors after joining the ABAs Oakland Oaks， set the precedent for how to legally jump ship： Even then， the player would have to sit out a year for the reserve clause to expire.

最接近自由球員市場的情況出現(xiàn)在1967年，那時，ABA（美國籃球協(xié)會）成立了。在那之前，球員能做的只是威脅退役?？葾BA出現(xiàn)后，他們至少可以選擇換一個聯(lián)盟打球。ABA向NBA最知名的球星遞出橄欖枝，包括里克·巴里在內(nèi)的一些人選擇更換聯(lián)盟。因為選擇奧克蘭橡樹隊被勇士告上法庭的巴里確立了合法更換球隊的先例：即便如此，球員也需要休息一年，等待保留條款失效。

In his first exhibition game， hosted in Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena， the hype materialized—he drew 12，443 fans， the largest basketball crowd in the citys history up to that point—and from there， he was off. Wilt holds 72 NBA records to this day， and he didnt wait on something as trivial as a career to set them. He won his first MVP the same season he won Rookie of the Year； during his sophomore campaign， he snatched 55 rebounds in a single game； by Year 3， he was averaging 50.4 points a game. Existing records were just babies lined up， waiting to be kissed.

他的第一場表演賽在洛杉磯紀(jì)念體育館舉行，之前的炒作得到了兌現(xiàn)——他吸引了12443名觀眾，那是洛杉磯當(dāng)時觀眾人數(shù)最多的籃球賽——從那后，張伯倫便開始了一路狂奔。時至今日，張伯倫擁有72項NBA紀(jì)錄，職業(yè)生涯起步晚對他來說根本不構(gòu)成障礙。贏得人生第一個MVP時，他還贏下了當(dāng)年的最佳新秀；第二個賽季，他在一場比賽里搶下55籃板；第三個賽季，他拿到了50.4分的場均得分。現(xiàn)存的紀(jì)錄就像一個個排隊等待的嬰兒一樣，等待張伯倫這個教宗的“親吻”。

If Wilts reputation as a ladies man was trumped by his reputation as a superstar， his reputation as a superstar was trumped by his inability to beat Bill Russell in front of the world. And all three were trumped by his defiance. For example， after Wilts rookie season in 1960， he threatened to retire.（In exchange for more money， he didnt.） And after the Philadelphia Warriors were moved to San Francisco in 1962， Wilt again threatened to retire. （In exchange for more money， he didnt.） Eventually， in 1965， the Warriors new owner， Franklin Mieuli， wanted so badly to cut ties that he traded Wilt back to Philadelphia， where a new ownership group had purchased the franchise in Syracuse， moved it to Philly， and dressed it up with a new moniker， the 76ers. Wilt threatened to retire， and because of a man named Ike Richman， in exchange for more money， he didnt.

如果說張伯倫作為花花公子的名聲超越了他作為超級巨星的名聲，那么他的超級球星身份，也讓人們逐漸忘記了他無法戰(zhàn)勝比爾·拉塞爾的事實?？蛇@些都無法與他反抗權(quán)威的歷史相提并論。比方說，1960年張伯倫的新秀賽季結(jié)束后，他威脅退役。（為了換取更多收入，他當(dāng)然沒有退役。）1962年費城勇士搬到舊金山后，張伯倫再次威脅退役。（為了換取更多收入，他沒有退役。）終于，到了1965年，忍無可忍的勇士新老板富蘭克林·梅烏里將張伯倫交易給了費城，另一個財團(tuán)買下了錫拉丘茲的球隊，并且搬到費城，還給球隊起了76人這個新名字。張伯倫再次威脅退役，但由于一個名叫艾克·里奇曼的人，和為了換取更多的收入，他還是沒有退役。

Richman was Chamberlains close friend and personal lawyer—"like a second father，" Wilt wrote in his eponymous 1973 autobiography—and he also happened to own half of the Sixers. According to Chamberlain， Richman promised him half of his share of the Sixers， which would have given him a 25 percent stake in the team， upon Wilts retirement.（Philadelphias other owner， Irv Kosloff， shared a 50-50 split with Richman.） The terms were clearly against league rules—and still would be today—so it was a verbal agreement only. It died along with Richman， who passed away from a heart attack in the stands of a Sixers-Celtics game in 1965. The following season， Wilt and Philly finally passed Russell and Boston clear out of the East. And after Philly beat the San Francisco Warriors， he finally brought a championship to his hometown. But there was other losing to account for； Kosloff said he had no knowledge of Richmans promise for 25 percent ownership and wasnt going to honor it.

里奇曼是張伯倫的密友兼律師，張伯倫在1973年的自傳里稱其“就像第二個父親”，里奇曼恰好擁有76人50%的股份。根據(jù)張伯倫的說法，里奇曼承諾在張伯倫退役時將自己擁有的一半76人股份交給他，也就是球隊25%的股份（76人的另一個股東艾利·克斯羅夫擁有另外50%的股份）。這個條款顯然違反聯(lián)盟規(guī)定——現(xiàn)在也不合法——所以雙方只是口頭達(dá)成了協(xié)議。里奇曼1965年在場邊觀看76人與凱爾特人的一場比賽時，因心臟病突發(fā)去世，這個協(xié)議因此也就無法繼續(xù)維持。接下來那個賽季，張伯倫和76人終于擊敗拉塞爾和凱爾特人，突出東部。擊敗勇士后，張伯倫終于給家鄉(xiāng)帶回了一座冠軍獎杯。但這中間存在一個問題：克斯羅夫表示他不知道里奇曼承諾25%股份的事，他也不會遵守這個協(xié)議。

"Kosloff and I argued about that through the whole summer after we won the championship，" Chamberlain wrote， "and I finally decided that I couldnt play for the man any more if thats the way he was going to treat me." They finally came to an alternative agreement， equally unique： Kosloff would settle the dispute by paying a lump sum and tearing up Wilts three-year contract to sign him to a new oneyear deal—with the understanding that after it expired， Wilt was free to go. No reserve clause.

“贏下總冠軍后，克斯羅夫和我整個夏天都在爭論這件事?！睆埐畟悓懙溃拔易罱K決定，如果他決定這么對我，我不能再為他打球?！彼麄冞_(dá)成了一個相當(dāng)奇特的協(xié)議：為了解決爭端，克斯羅夫需要支付一大筆錢，放棄張伯倫的三年合同，與他再簽一份新的一年合同——而且他明確知道，合同到期后張伯倫會自由離開。沒有保留條款。

CHAMBERLAIN WAS EQUAL PARTS PLAYER， AGENT， AND FRONT-OFFICE EXECUTIVE THAT SUMMER. THROUGHOUT HIS CAREER， HE CLAIMED TO HAVE NEVER USED REPRESENTATION WHEN IT CAME TO NEGOTIATING CONTRACTS， PREFERRING TO GO FACE-TO-FACE WITH THE OWNER HIMSELF INSTEAD.

那年夏天，張伯倫集球員，經(jīng)紀(jì)人，球隊高管眾多角色于一身。整個職業(yè)生涯，他聲稱自己在簽訂合同時從未使用過經(jīng)紀(jì)人，而是更喜歡與球隊老板面對面談判。

He was sending out feelers even before Kosloff agreed to those terms； in March 1967， Chamberlain， the soon-to-be NBA champion， said he asked L.A. sportswriter Merv Harris to tell Lakers owner Jack Kent Cooke that he would probably be leaving Philadelphia soon. （Cooke called Kosloff， who， at that time， denied him permission to speak with his superstar.） A year later， near the end of his oneyear contract， Wilt doubled down."Id pretty much decided Id like to play for the Lakers the next season， if possible，" he wrote， and he blew the franchise a kiss by dropping 53 points on them in the final week of the 68 regular season. Two months later， in May， he was in Cookes home in Los Angeles. Wilts personal free-agency season had opened.

克斯羅夫同意這些條款前，張伯倫就開始四處打探；1967年3月，即將成為NBA總冠軍的張伯倫說，他讓洛杉磯的體育記者梅里·哈里斯告訴湖人老板杰克·肯特·庫克，他可能很快就會離開費城。（庫克給克斯羅夫打去電話，但克斯羅夫拒絕了庫克與自己的超級明星交流的請求。）一年后，在張伯倫一年合同即將到期時，他在這方面繼續(xù)發(fā)力。“如果可能的話，我基本決定自己下賽季想為湖人效力了?！睆埐畟悓懙?。1968年常規(guī)賽最后一周對湖人，他用53分向?qū)Ψ将I(xiàn)上了一個飛吻。兩個月后的五月，他來到了庫克位于洛杉磯的家。張伯倫的個人自由球員季就這樣開始了。

Chamberlain was equal parts player， agent， and front-office executive that summer. Throughout his career， he claimed to have never used representation when it came to negotiating contracts， preferring to go face-to-face with the owner himself instead. But in 1968， he was also seeking out prospective meetings. Once talks had advanced enough with Cooke that both sides accountants were hammering out contract details， Chamberlain said he let Seattle SuperSonics owner Sam Schulman know he was on the market. It was so unorthodox that Schulman， like Cooke， was hesitant at first—but he eventually came around with a recruiting pitch of his own， an offer that was 35 percent more than Cookes.

那年夏天，張伯倫集球員，經(jīng)紀(jì)人，球隊高管角色于一身。整個職業(yè)生涯，他聲稱自己在簽訂合同時從未使用過經(jīng)紀(jì)人，而是更喜歡與球隊老板面對面談判。不過在1968年，張伯倫尋求與各隊見面的計劃。當(dāng)與庫克的談判深入到開始敲定合同細(xì)節(jié)時，張伯倫說，他要告訴西雅圖超音速老板薩姆·舒爾曼，自己是自由球員。這種情況太反常了，舒爾曼和庫克一樣，起初有些猶豫。但他很快反應(yīng)過來，并向張伯倫開出了比庫克薪金高出35%的合同。

Ever the businessman， Chamberlain then decided hed be wearing green next season. He called Cooke to decline the Lakers offer， saying， "I wont tell you where Im going or how much theyre paying me." The Lakers brass found out the number， Cooke matched it， and just like that， Chamberlain flipped （though not before meeting a couple of times with the ABA， of whom he asked $1 million salary）.

作為生意人，張伯倫這時決定，下賽季他想穿綠色的球衣。他給庫克打去電話，拒絕了湖人的報價，并且說：“我不會告訴你我去哪，也不會告訴你他們給我多少錢。”湖人高管查出了數(shù)額，庫克匹配了對方報價。就這樣，張伯倫更換了球隊（在那之前他還與ABA球隊聯(lián)系，要價100萬美元）。

"There was no talk about it， or anything else，" Baylor said."Everybody was sort of surprised." West， on the other hand， said he had "heard some speculation，" but that was as close to a Woj bomb that either side would get. Ironically， Chamberlain later wrote that when he was getting traded the first time， from San Francisco， Mieuli had approached the Lakers to gauge interest. But because of his reputation， Chamberlain said， their owner at the time， Bob Short， decided first to float the idea with the players. A vote was cast， participants including his future teammates Baylor and West. It ended in a 9-2 no vote.

“根本沒有議論?！必惱照f，“每個人都很驚訝?！绷硪环矫?，韋斯特卻說他“聽到了一些風(fēng)聲”，但對雙方來說，張伯倫加入湖人的消息就像現(xiàn)在球迷看Woj爆料一樣。諷刺的是，張伯倫后來寫道，當(dāng)他被舊金山第一次交易時，梅烏里曾經(jīng)接觸過湖人。但張伯倫說，由于自己的名聲，那時湖人老板鮑勃·肖特決定先打聽一下球員的態(tài)度。湖人球員進(jìn)行了投票，其中包括他未來的隊友貝勒和韋斯特。球員最終以9比2做出了否決。

By the time Wilt arrived， Baylors knees were going， while Chamberlain also had injury issues."I was the youngest，" West said，"and if we were all in our younger years， we could have really been a superteam， but injuries and age unfortunately got in the way." The Lakers made four Finals appearances while he was there； Philadelphia wouldnt make it again until Julius Erving arrived years later， eventually declining to a 9-73 record， the worst in history—the wrong kind of record， for a change.

張伯倫加入湖人時，貝勒的膝蓋情況日漸惡化，而張伯倫自己也有傷病問題。“我是最年輕的?！表f斯特說，“如果我們都年輕，我們本可以真的成為超級球隊。不幸的是，傷病和年齡擋住了我們?！睆埐畟愋Я似陂g，球隊四次打進(jìn)總決賽；而76人直到多年后擁有朱利葉斯·歐文時才重新進(jìn)入總決賽。而那個賽季，因為改變，他們打出了9勝73負(fù)的歷史最差戰(zhàn)績。