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All along, the Memphis Grizzlies could offer Mike Conley things that no other suitor could:
一直以来，孟菲斯灰熊队都能给康利其他追求者所不能媲美的条件：
More money and security through a five-year deal; the chance to build on a career—long investment in Memphis;
一份长达五年的合同，且合同的金额最高（鸟权）以及稳固的球队地位；可以在一支球队从一而终；
Friendships and equity throughout the Grizzlies organization and a competitive atmosphere enriched by both the familiar and the potential for growth.
遍布球队上上下下数不尽的友谊和权益；一个既熟悉又具有成长潜力，充满竞争力的球队环境。
The intersection of those factors made a return to Memphis likely but an agreement on the opening day of free agency confirmed the premise Conley will continue his career with the Grizzlies on a five-year, $153 million deal——a true max for his experience bracket and the richest overall contract in NBA history.
所有这些因素的交集都预示着康利将在交易期与灰熊队完成续约，但是直到自由市场开启的第一天，这个决定才最终证实了之前的猜测。康利与灰熊队签订了一份为期5年高达1.53亿的合同，因此他将在孟菲斯继续自己的职业生涯——在现有劳资协议架构下，以康利的资历能拿到的最大合同，也是NBA历史上单笔最昂贵的合同。
The specifics of Conley’s contract are understandably shocking.
康利合同的细节虽然容易理解，但还是令人惊叹。
Conley is a few tiers removed from the best players at his position and otherwise bears little resemblance to a conventional superstar.
康利是除去这个位置那几个最强的家伙以外最强的控球后卫之一了，在其他方面他和传统的超级巨星并无相似之处。
Yet he’ll be compensated above and beyond any of the league’s greats due to the intersection of his free agency and the NBA’s greatest financial boom.
然而这一次，由于他进入自由市场，以及NBA的工资帽飞涨，他将得到远远多于联盟其他巨星的补偿。
Do not see that as a reason to punish him or take his deal, in itself, as some indictment.
不要以此为理由来惩罚他，或者以此来控诉他这份超大的合同。
Prized free agents can only be paid what the Prized free agents can only be paid what their market allows.
被认为最有价值的自由球员也只能得到市场规则允许的报价。
Conley just happened to step into the richest, most uninhibited market the NBA has ever seen at a time when his game warranted the investment of a max contract.
康利只是恰好来到了这个联盟中前所未有的最为富有，最不受约束的交易期，而他的比赛表现又确保他值得这样一份顶薪合同而已。
Memphis was ultimately the team to pay it but not the only team to offer, Dallas, for example, very much wanted Conley but didn’t have enough to motivate his signing. Other teams, San Antonio among them, looked into what it might take to add Conley and just how interested he might be in moving.
孟菲斯是最终为康利买单的一支球队，可它并不是唯一一支愿意为他开出顶薪的球队。比如说，达拉斯小牛队也非常想签下康利，但是他们没有什么促使康利签约的强烈动机。其他球队，包括圣安东尼奥马刺队，他们仔细研究过签下康利所需付出的代价以及他到底有多大的出走意愿。
Nothing that Conley heard in his meetings with other teams or through his representation was enough to sway him.
然而在与诸多球队的会晤中，康利并没有听到什么令他动心的条件，从他的言谈中我们也没有什么听到什么动摇的迹象。
Memphis began as the frontrunner and ended as a closer.
于是孟菲斯既是最初的领跑者，也成了终结了这桩交易的最终买家。
Conley’s return cements this as the biggest and most expensive off-season in Grizzlies history.
康利的回归促成了灰熊迎来队史上最声势浩大，也是最所费不赀的一个夏天。
Chandler Parsons will join Conley in Memphis on another, smaller max deal—the third max that this notoriously cost-conscious organization has agreed to in the past year or so.
钱德勒-帕森斯也将以一份稍小的顶薪合同加盟灰熊，和康利并肩作战。这已经是这支以成本控制著称的球队去年以来开出的第三份顶薪合同了。
Memphis will still need to figure out how to invigorate its offense and activate its dormant defense while learning how to operate under a new coaching staff, though the fact that players like Conley and Parsons will be a central part of those efforts is reason for optimism.
灰熊还需要搞清楚应该怎样在新的教练体系下盘活他们的进攻，并如何激活他们处在沉睡状态中的防守，尽管康利和帕森斯参与其中可以给他们乐观的理由。
Change is a function of capability.
变革会导致能力的变化。
Conley’s return preserves much of it and enticed Parsons to add more, reinvigorating a franchise that was at risk of drifting from the league’s more competitive ranks.
康利的回归让球队元气未伤，为球队招揽帕森斯可以让球队实力增强，灰熊在竞争日益激烈的西部有掉队危险，康利和帕森斯将会帮助他们走向复兴。
Paying to keep Conley was both an act of preservation and a very necessary move for a franchise without much reasonable alternative.
花大价钱挽留康利不仅仅是保存实力的一种举动，更是在球队没有更多可行办法的情况下的一步必要之举。
Just last summer Conley helped entice Marc Gasol to return, as their partnership had become the functional centerpiece of Grizzlies basketball.
就在去年夏天，康利还帮助球队成功地留住了马克-加索尔，二人的组合也成为了目前灰熊篮球体系的功能核心。
For Memphis to turn around a year later and short Conley in a competitive market would compromise that foundational arrangement.
对孟菲斯而言，在大概一年之后，如果没能在火爆的自由球员市场中拿下康利，当前球队的建队基石也将随之动摇。
It’s natural to worry about the final years of Conley’s deal, in which he’ll make upwards of $30 million as a 31-, 32-, and 33-year-old.
很自然的，人们会担心康利最后几年合同的价值，因为那个时候他将会以31，32和33岁的“高龄”每年领到超过3000万美元的薪水。
It’s understandable to worry about what Conley’s recent injury history (a combination of freak accidents and more concerning ailments) might mean for this team as he ages and his salary climbs, all alongside two other highly-paid teammates who have missed time of late.
考虑到康利近期的伤病史可能会对球队造成影响（一次较大的意外以及接连不断的小伤小病），尤其是当他的年龄和薪酬都在日渐增长的时候，队中另外两位高薪球员也都因伤错过大量的比赛，所以这种担心也并非不无道理。
Yet we can’t pretend as if the Grizzlies could opt for half-measure replacements or a refusal of Conley’s contract on principle without it amounting to a franchise reset.
然而我们也不能假装灰熊会找个半吊子的替代品或者在不重建的前提下拒绝康利的合同吧。
That’s how much even a sub-superstar guard can mean in the right context.
康利的成功表明，对于一个准巨星级别的球员而言，如果能处在正确的位置上也能获得大额的顶薪合同。
The clever, jitterbug improvisations of Conley’s off-the-dribble work make the most of even simple basketball actions.
康利聪明，像舞步般的即兴运球表演能够让简单的篮球动作发挥它最大的价值。
Few can match the diversity of his in-between game.
很少有人能够匹敌康利在中距离的丰富进攻手段。
Defensively, Conley walks the fine line between pestering opponents and keeping good guarding position.
在防守端，康利能够很好地掌控好防守的分寸，既能骚扰对手又能保持住自己的防守位置。
Never does Conley need to be prompted to give up the ball, nor is he reluctant to shoot when the opportunity calls for it. Some aspects of Conley’s game will fade with age, as happens with all players and smaller guards in particular.
而且他从不独占球权，也不会在其他队友出现机会时选择勉强出手。康利的一些特质会随着岁月逐渐消退，这对所有的球员都适用，尤其是小个子的控球后卫尤为如此。
Yet as much as anything, the Grizzlies are paying for Conley as a leader, an intelligent operator on the floor, and a franchise institution.
然而，灰熊所付出的薪水更多则是因为康利是球队的领袖，是明智的球场指挥官，也是球队的象征。
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