LEBRON WASN’T 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.勒布朗并非第一个精心策划加入湖人的传奇巨星。杰里·韦斯特，埃尔金·贝勒及鲍勃·莱恩讲述了篮球历史上最伟大球员之一的张伯伦的交易，是如何为如今我们熟悉的巨星更换球队的时代奠定基调的。
　　What’s 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 didn’t throw the NBA’s 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.
　　哪種情况更难理解：勒布朗·詹姆斯创建了职业生涯中的第二支超级强队，还是勒布朗在没有超级球队保证的情况下与某支球队签订长约？尽管已经33岁，但他仍然处于职业生涯巅峰，自由球员市场开启时，他仍有能力改变任何一支球队的命运。当他与洛杉矶湖人签下4年1.533亿美元的合时，勒布朗并没有进一步加剧NBA不平衡的竞争，但他的行为仍然让人感到困惑：作为现今最有实力的球员之一，他加入了一支历史强队。
　　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—couldn’t 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年从明尼阿波利斯搬迁至洛杉矶时，湖人带走了五面总冠军旗帜。作为篮球城市的洛杉矶——如今拥有永久的历史和盛名——在威尔特·张伯伦出现前，总也无法从波士顿凯尔特人手中抢得一个总冠军。1968年7月9日，费城76人用张伯伦换回了三名湖人球员：比杰里·韦斯特低一顺位的中锋达雷尔·艾姆霍夫，前锋杰里·钱博斯和天赋满满的双能卫阿奇·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 basketball’s 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.
　　但这只是表面标准正规的NBA交易。实际上，当时比现在的勒布朗还小两岁的张伯伦拥有足够的影响力，他在非受限自由球员制度确立的20年前，暗地做出了自由球员操作——通过这个操作，他创造了最早的超级强队。在凯文·杜兰特，斯蒂芬·库里，德雷蒙德·格林和克莱·汤普森（还有德马库斯·考辛斯……）之前；在勒布朗，德怀恩·韦德和克里斯·波什之前；在凯文·加内特，保罗·皮尔斯，拉简·朗多和雷·阿伦之前，就有了威尔特，杰里·韦斯特和埃尔金·贝勒。 　　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 didn’t mean the front office was required to listen."Owners didn’t particularly care about that， dealing with the agents，" said Baylor， because unlike today， they didn’t have to.
　　在1976年奧斯卡·罗伯特森提起诉讼要求联盟确立受限自由球员制度前，工作变动在联盟很少存在。“你在某支球队，你就是他们的财产。他们可以选择留下或者抛弃你。”6月电话和贝勒交流时，他对我说。那时的合同中存在“保留条款”——也就是让球队老板在球员合同到期后留住他们的标准条款——这使得球员在自己的去留问题上毫无发言权。经纪人的数量少之又少；即便球员有经纪人，球队管理层也没有义务必须听取他们的意见。“老板并不在意和经纪人的交流。”贝勒表示。因为和现在不一样，他们不必和经纪人接触。

　　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 NBA’s most notable stars， and a few， like Rick Barry， went for it. Barry， who was taken to court by the Warriors after joining the ABA’s 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.
　　最接近自由球员市场的情况出现在1967年，那时，ABA（美国篮球协会）成立了。在那之前，球员能做的只是威胁退役。可ABA出现后，他们至少可以选择换一个联盟打球。ABA向NBA最知名的球星递出橄榄枝，包括里克·巴里在内的一些人选择更换联盟。因为选择奥克兰橡树队被勇士告上法庭的巴里确立了合法更换球队的先例：即便如此，球员也需要休息一年，等待保留条款失效。
　　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 city’s history up to that point—and from there， he was off. Wilt holds 72 NBA records to this day， and he didn’t 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. 　　他的第一场表演赛在洛杉矶纪念体育馆举行，之前的炒作得到了兑现——他吸引了12443名观众，那是洛杉矶当时观众人数最多的篮球赛——从那后，张伯伦便开始了一路狂奔。时至今日，张伯伦拥有72项NBA纪录，职业生涯起步晚对他来说根本不构成障碍。赢得人生第一个MVP时，他还赢下了当年的最佳新秀；第二个赛季，他在一场比赛里抢下55篮板；第三个赛季，他拿到了50.4分的场均得分。现存的纪录就像一个个排队等待的婴儿一样，等待张伯伦这个教宗的“亲吻”。
　　If Wilt’s 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 Wilt’s rookie season in 1960， he threatened to retire.（In exchange for more money， he didn’t.） And after the Philadelphia Warriors were moved to San Francisco in 1962， Wilt again threatened to retire. （In exchange for more money， he didn’t.） 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 didn’t.
　　如果說张伯伦作为花花公子的名声超越了他作为超级巨星的名声，那么他的超级球星身份，也让人们逐渐忘记了他无法战胜比尔·拉塞尔的事实。可这些都无法与他反抗权威的历史相提并论。比方说，1960年张伯伦的新秀赛季结束后，他威胁退役。（为了换取更多收入，他当然没有退役。）1962年费城勇士搬到旧金山后，张伯伦再次威胁退役。（为了换取更多收入，他没有退役。）终于，到了1965年，忍无可忍的勇士新老板富兰克林·梅乌里将张伯伦交易给了费城，另一个财团买下了锡拉丘兹的球队，并且搬到费城，还给球队起了76人这个新名字。张伯伦再次威胁退役，但由于一个名叫艾克·里奇曼的人，和为了换取更多的收入，他还是没有退役。
　　Richman was Chamberlain’s 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 Wilt’s retirement.（Philadelphia’s 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 Richman’s promise for 25 percent ownership and wasn’t going to honor it.
　　里奇曼是张伯伦的密友兼律师，张伯伦在1973年的自传里称其“就像第二个父亲”，里奇曼恰好拥有76人50%的股份。根据张伯伦的说法，里奇曼承诺在张伯伦退役时将自己拥有的一半76人股份交给他，也就是球队25%的股份（76人的另一个股东艾利·克斯罗夫拥有另外50%的股份）。这个条款显然违反联盟规定——现在也不合法——所以双方只是口头达成了协议。里奇曼1965年在场边观看76人与凯尔特人的一场比赛时，因心脏病突发去世，这个协议因此也就无法继续维持。接下来那个赛季，张伯伦和76人终于击败拉塞尔和凯尔特人，突出东部。击败勇士后，张伯伦终于给家乡带回了一座冠军奖杯。但这中间存在一个问题：克斯罗夫表示他不知道里奇曼承诺25%股份的事，他也不会遵守这个协议。

　　"Kosloff and I argued about that through the whole summer after we won the championship，" Chamberlain wrote， "and I finally decided that I couldn’t play for the man any more if that’s 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 Wilt’s 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.
　　“赢下总冠军后，克斯罗夫和我整个夏天都在争论这件事。”张伯伦写道，“我最终决定，如果他决定这么对我，我不能再为他打球。”他们达成了一个相当奇特的协议：为了解决争端，克斯罗夫需要支付一大笔钱，放弃张伯伦的三年合同，与他再签一份新的一年合同——而且他明确知道，合同到期后张伯伦会自由离开。没有保留条款。

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，張伯伦集球员，经纪人，球队高管众多角色于一身。整个职业生涯，他声称自己在签订合同时从未使用过经纪人，而是更喜欢与球队老板面对面谈判。

　　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."I’d pretty much decided I’d 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 Cooke’s home in Los Angeles. Wilt’s personal free-agency season had opened.
　　克斯罗夫同意这些条款前，张伯伦就开始四处打探；1967年3月，即将成为NBA总冠军的张伯伦说，他让洛杉矶的体育记者梅里·哈里斯告诉湖人老板杰克·肯特·库克，他可能很快就会离开费城。（库克给克斯罗夫打去电话，但克斯罗夫拒绝了库克与自己的超级明星交流的请求。）一年后，在张伯伦一年合同即将到期时，他在这方面继续发力。“如果可能的话，我基本决定自己下赛季想为湖人效力了。”张伯伦写道。1968年常规赛最后一周对湖人，他用53分向对方献上了一个飞吻。两个月后的五月，他来到了库克位于洛杉矶的家。张伯伦的个人自由球员季就这样开始了。
　　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 Cooke’s. 　　那年夏天，张伯伦集球员，经纪人，球队高管角色于一身。整个职业生涯，他声称自己在签订合同时从未使用过经纪人，而是更喜欢与球队老板面对面谈判。不过在1968年，张伯伦寻求与各队见面的计划。当与库克的谈判深入到开始敲定合同细节时，张伯伦说，他要告诉西雅图超音速老板萨姆·舒尔曼，自己是自由球员。这种情况太反常了，舒尔曼和库克一样，起初有些犹豫。但他很快反应过来，并向张伯伦开出了比库克薪金高出35%的合同。
　　Ever the businessman， Chamberlain then decided he’d be wearing green next season. He called Cooke to decline the Lakers’ offer， saying， "I won’t tell you where I’m going or how much they’re 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）.
　　作为生意人，张伯伦这时决定，下赛季他想穿绿色的球衣。他给库克打去电话，拒绝了湖人的报价，并且说：“我不会告诉你我去哪，也不会告诉你他们给我多少钱。”湖人高管查出了数额，库克匹配了对方报价。就这样，张伯伦更换了球队（在那之前他还与ABA球队联系，要价100万美元）。
　　"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.
　　“根本没有议论。”贝勒说，“每个人都很惊讶。”另一方面，韦斯特却说他“听到了一些风声”，但对双方来说，张伯伦加入湖人的消息就像现在球迷看Woj爆料一样。讽刺的是，张伯伦后来写道，当他被旧金山第一次交易时，梅乌里曾经接触过湖人。但张伯伦说，由于自己的名声，那时湖人老板鲍勃·肖特决定先打听一下球员的态度。湖人球员进行了投票，其中包括他未来的队友贝勒和韦斯特。球员最终以9比2做出了否决。
　　By the time Wilt arrived， Baylor’s 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 wouldn’t 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.
　　张伯伦加入湖人时，贝勒的膝盖情况日渐恶化，而张伯伦自己也有伤病问题。“我是最年轻的。”韦斯特说，“如果我们都年轻，我们本可以真的成为超级球队。不幸的是，伤病和年龄挡住了我们。”张伯伦效力湖人期间，球队四次打进总决赛；而76人直到多年后拥有朱利叶斯·欧文时才重新进入总决赛。而那個赛季，因为改变，他们打出了9胜73负的历史最差战绩。