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來源: The ESPN
網址: https://tinyurl.com/y85xsobf

The final days of the Butler saga, and why it could cost Thibodeau his job
JB大戲即將落幕  以及Thibodeau可能會工作不保的原因

by Adrian Wojnarowski


As Tom Thibodeau's plan disintegrated, owner Glen Taylor lost his last
remnants of belief in this crumbling regime. Taylor had delivered Thibodeau a
long and rich contract as the Minnesota Timberwolves president and coach,
control of basketball operations and the trust to be a steward of a franchise
forever in disrepair.


Taylor's judgment has been perpetually suspect, from a secret Joe Smith deal
that cost Minnesota draft picks to wasting Kevin Garnett's prime to the David
Kahn catastrophe. In getting things wrong, Taylor has been spectacular in his
mishaps.
灰狼老闆Taylor的判斷力始終是讓人懷疑的，從那樁Joe Smith的秘密交易讓灰狼丟掉了選
秀簽，浪費了Kevin Garnett的黃金年華，到David Kahn的災難。在敗事有餘這件事上，他

In the end, Taylor didn't sign off on a Jimmy Butler trade as much as he
surrendered to one of the most embarrassing episodes in franchise history.
到最後，把JB交易掉這件事的難堪遠不及讓他成為隊史上最難堪的幾個事件之一。

Thibodeau sold Taylor on trading a starry young core and a high lottery pick
to Chicago for Butler on draft night in 2017, sold him on waiting out
Butler's preseason trade demand for two months.
Thibodeau在2017年選秀日讓Taylor同意把他們的年輕核心跟高順位選秀給了公牛，換來了
JB，Thibodeau也讓Taylor買帳，讓JB在賽季開始前的吹密足足又等了兩個月才解決。

He sold him a strategy of publicly excusing Butler's disruptive behavior,
compromising his own credibility within his locker room, because Thibodeau
believed he could navigate the dysfunction and win games.
Thibodeau也讓Taylor相信他的策略，公開的抨擊JB搗亂的行為，讓他在球員休息室裡的信
用破產，因為Thibodeau相信他可以在撐過這樣混亂的局面，然後可以贏球。

Thibodeau sold Taylor on passing on a strong Miami trade package, because he
was sure Pat Riley would come back with a better offer, and the league would
chase in a bidding frenzy for Butler.
Thibodeau讓Taylor相信，放掉熱火提的交易包，因為他確信Pat Riley會提更大一包來，
然後聯盟其他各隊會瘋狂追逐JB。

Taylor kept doubling down, and when he hung up the phone with Philadelphia
owner Josh Harris on Saturday morning, Minnesota had lost everything -- the
four-time All-Star in his prime, the trade standoff, and ultimately, the
trust to stay with Thibodeau and GM Scott Layden beyond this season.


Even at the expense of sullying his professional standing, Butler played them
all in Minnesota -- and shamed the Timberwolves into trading him to a big
market contender. The Timberwolves couldn't find a team to bail them out of
this debacle, and Thibodeau couldn't sell Taylor on one more basketball game
with Butler in a Timberwolves uniform.
即使這會對他的職業生涯有所損害，JB還是演足了這場大戲--好好羞辱了灰狼，好讓他們
把他交易到大市場的爭冠隊伍去。在這混亂的情況，灰狼找不到其他球隊可以幫他們，
Thibodeau也沒辦法說服Taylor再次相信他，讓JB穿著灰狼球衣，讓他再為灰狼打一場球。

Eventually, Thibodeau had lost hope that he could convince Butler to stay for
the long term, but his ego still believed he could coach these Timberwolves
into playoff contention before the February trade deadline. He underestimated
this saga's impact on the rest of the team, especially his young max-contract
players, as they watched Thibodeau excuse behavior and beg Butler to play
games.
到最後，Thibodeau終於放棄了說服JB為球隊留下來的想念，但是他的自負仍讓他相信在二
月交易大限前他仍然能夠教導灰狼隊，可以有季後賽的機會。他低估了這場鬧劇對於球隊
裡其他球員的影響，尤其是那幾位年輕的頂薪球員，當他們看著Thibodeau為行為找藉口以

Minnesota desperately tried to cobble together trade offers in the past week,
including extensive discussions with New Orleans, league sources said. The
Pelicans are limited on tradeable assets, but desperate to find star power to
keep Anthony Davis for the long run. The Pelicans wouldn't include point
guard Jrue Holiday in its offer, nor multiple draft picks, league sources
said.


Minnesota passed on a Miami deal weeks ago that would've included guard Josh
Richardson, and the Heat never returned him into talks, sources said.
Washington wouldn't offer guard Bradley Beal, sources said.
消息來源說，灰狼在幾周前放掉了熱火提的交易包，裡面包括的後衛Josh Richardson，之
後熱火就沒在回電話了；來源也說，巫師不願意給後衛Bradley Beal。

Through it all, the 76ers lurked. When Philadelphia principal owner Josh
Harris talked with Taylor at the NBA's board of governors meeting in
September, Taylor made it clear that he hoped the 76ers would become part of
the trade process. Harris was eager to engage, but GM Elton Brand -- still
new to the job -- intentionally resisted for weeks as the Timberwolves
whiffed on unrealistic asks for Butler, including finding a third team for
Gorgui Dieng and the three years, $48 million left on his contract.

between Dario Saric or Robert Covington, sources said. Within the past 10 to
14 days, the deal finally included both players -- but no first-round pick.
Philadelphia's salary structure made the Sixers reluctant to pay Dario Saric
$16 to $20 million annually on his rookie extension next year, allowing them
to trade Robert Covington's four years, $46 million to clear the way to make
Butler the third major financial investment with Joel Embiid and the max
contract that will eventually come for Ben Simmons.
消息來源說，76人一開始給的東西很少，只讓灰狼選看是要Dario Saric或是Robert

Embiid之外也有空間給第三個頂級約，估計最後會給Ben Simmons。

The Sixers believe they're working out of a position of leverage with Butler.
They want to sign him to a long-term deal this summer, and Butler is hellbent
on a massive financial score. Philadelphia's locker room is a temperamental
mix, and Butler needs to discover the best way to grow his young teammates.
Based on his time in Chicago and Minnesota, that apsect of the game hasn't
been Butler's strongest resume line.


As one league executive who pursued a Butler trade told ESPN, "He has to be
on his best behavior [in Philly], and he knows it. If he screws up that team,
that'll be three straight teams. Someone will sign him in free agency, but he
won't get all that he's asking for."
據一位聯盟高層參予追求JB交易所說，「JB得要在76人有最佳表現，他自己也知道。若是
他又搞砸了，這會是連續三隊。這樣的話，在他FA開始後是會有球隊簽他，但是他不會拿

Only the Sixers can sign him to a fifth guaranteed year, and only they'll be
able to pay him the most on a four-year deal. The Sixers will get to study
his body, and get to measure the medical risks of signing him into his
mid-30s, too.
只有76人有能力可以簽他的第五年，也只有他們可以給他最高的4年約，76人將會有機會好
好觀察他的體能，好好評估這會跨到JB三十多歲的約上面的醫療風險有多少。

In a lot of ways, Butler is perfect for the Philadelphia marketplace:
tough-minded, fierce and unafraid. The fans will love him. As the Sixers fell
behind Boston, Toronto and Milwaukee in the standings -- and July free agency
offered no guaranteed solutions -- this deal made sense on every level for
the Sixers.


As Philadelphia ramps up its rise into contention, Minnesota is sorting
through what's left in Butler's wake. Taylor considered firing Thibodeau and
Layden in the summer -- well before the Butler situation escalated -- and has
continued to consider possibilities to eventually replace both of them,
league sources said. There's immense pressure on Minnesota's management
structure to see dividends on this trade.
隨著76人踩下油門衝入競爭行列，灰狼正要開始收拾JB離開後的殘局。消息來源說，
Taylor在過去這個夏天有考慮要開除Thibodeau跟Layden兩人--遠在JB鬧劇惡化之前--現在
仍持續考慮要更換這兩個人的可能性，這交易之後所衍生的效應將會對於灰狼管理階層有

Thibodeau gambled using every fiber of a coach's short-term sensibilities
over those of management's longer view -- and lost on them all. Butler
deserves his blame for an unseemly two months that dented the NBA brand, but
Thibodeau didn't trade for a stranger in June 2017. Butler was his guy, and
Thibodeau will be accountable for the fallout.


Commissioner Adam Silver disdained the optics of these past several weeks,
and that has left plenty of owners convinced Silver is a strong believer in
the separation of front office and coaching powers. Silver was one of several
league powerbrokers who Thibodeau visited in his season out between Chicago
and Minnesota. Back then, Thibodeau sold himself as a rejuvenated renaissance
man, promising to bring a different disposition to his next job.
聯盟主席Adam Silver在過去幾周對於這一連串的事件不屑評估，這讓許多球隊老闆認為
Silver是一個對於要分開制服組以及教練團權力的擁護者。在那時Thibodeau離開公牛還沒

Thibodeau the coach turned out to be Thibodeau the president and coach:
embroiled in turmoil, entangled in needless clashes and chasing today over
tomorrow.
教練Thibodeau變成了球隊營運長兼教練Thibodeau：把混亂的局面搞得更亂，糾結在原本
不必要的衝突，炒短線而輸掉長期的結果。

His big score as an executive turned out to be his undoing as a coach. Jimmy
Butler's gone now, but the price to get him, appease him and ultimately trade
him could cost Tom Thibodeau everything.
他成為球隊管理者是他的重要成就，但也是他成為失敗的教練的原因。JB離開了，但是當
初為了拿到他，後來安撫他，最後交易掉他，這代價將會讓Thibodeau失去所有。

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4、雙十 = 兩隊四節打完107比107進入延長賽
開獎結果: 雙十

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