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The "Showtime" Lakers that captured five championships had long lost their luster by the summer of 1996. The Houston Rockets had jettisoned the Lakers from the playoffs' first round. The dry spell between titles grated on Jerry West. As a player, West's nickname was "Mr. Clutch," for his penchant for playing well in crunch time.
在1996年夏天，湖人早已不复昔日“表演时刻”的5冠荣光。休斯顿火箭将这支湖人队遗弃在季后赛首轮。这样的冠军荒刺激了杰里-韦斯特。作为一名球员，韦斯特的绰号是“关键先生”，因为他总是热衷于在关键时刻主宰比赛。
His silhouette would eventually be used as the league's logo. West earned 14 All-Star selections in his playing career with the Lakers. Annually, his Lakers clashed with Bill Russell's Boston Celtics in the NBA Finals and West lost six times.
他的轮廓最终成为了联盟的Logo。韦斯特在他的湖人生涯中14次入选全明星。每一年，他的湖人都和比尔-拉塞尔的波士顿凯尔特人在NBA总决赛舞台上碰撞，而韦斯特输掉了6次。
West's Lakers also lost in the 1970 Finals to the Knicks. His long-awaited NBA title did not arrive until the Lakers finally triumphed over the Knicks in 1972. Winning did not necessarily alleviate West's pain and the frustration that accompanied losing.
韦斯特的湖人同样在1970年的总决赛中败给了尼克斯。他期待已久的NBA冠军直到湖人1972年击败尼克斯时才终于到来。胜利不一定能减轻失败给韦斯特带来的痛苦和沮丧。
But it at least stiff-armed those emotions until the next game, when winning and losing again decided his self-worth. He had a textbook jumper and played defense tenaciously, working himself into a pregame hysteria that left him physically ill.
但是当他的自尊再次系于胜败，它至少在下一场比赛前推开了这些情绪。他拥有教科书一般的跳投，打出顽强的防守，通过赛前的歇斯底里的激情赶走身体上的伤痛。
The transition to coaching when he could no longer control the games through his own play went about as smoothly as one could expect. West coached the Lakers for three short years and later turned to scouting.
当他再也不能通过自己的篮球技巧在场上掌控比赛时，便转而做起了教练。而这一转变和大家所期望的一样平滑。韦斯特在简短执教湖人三个赛季后成为一名球探。
He became general manager prior to the 1982-1983 season, a position where he could still outmaneuver his opposition but that left him a step removed from the taxing emotions that came with being on the court.
他在1982-1983赛季前成为总经理，这一位置让他仍然可以用自己的谋略打败他的对手，而且也让他从球场上令人窒息的情绪中脱身而出。
Vlade Divac had two years and $8.3 million left on his contract. He remained the biggest obstacle to extending O'Neal a gargantuan offer. West called several teams and offered Divac in trades. The cold market for a quality center – like the reaction he had received from John Nash – surprised him.
弗拉德-迪瓦茨的合同上还剩2年830万。他成为了给奥尼尔巨额合同的最大障碍。韦斯特给很多球队打电话交易迪瓦茨。但是对于这位有质量的中锋市场反应冷淡——就好像他从约翰-纳什那里收到的反馈——让他非常惊讶。
"It was amazing to me that people did not have an interest in doing something like that," West recalled. "People thought something must be wrong with him. There wasn't. He's a terrific player and a better person. Having said that, our eyes were on Shaquille."
“人们对于做这样的交易丝毫不感兴趣，这让我非常惊讶。”韦斯特说，“人们认为他肯定出了什么问题。其实并没有。他是个特别优秀的球员并且也是一个好人。不得不说的是，我们的注意力都在奥尼尔那里了。”
The Lakers possessed the draft's 24th pick. West expected Bryant to be gone by then. He allowed Bryant to join the workout almost as an afterthought.
韦斯特知道科比，但是并没有过多的关注他。湖人拥有24顺位的选秀权。韦斯特预计科比会在那之前被选走。在一番深思熟虑之后，他同意科比加入试训。
Jones had had one of the better college tournaments and spent the summer working out with NBA star Penny Hardaway in Memphis.
琼斯打出了一个杰出的大学锦标赛，并且花了一个夏天在孟菲斯和便士-哈达威一起训练。
Larry Drew, a Lakers assistant coach, monitored the workout. Jones, 21, figured the Lakers brass wanted to see how Bryant physically matched up against a more developed player. "I think they got exactly what they were looking for, because he was a load," Jones said. Drew instructed the pair to first play a fullcourt game of one-on-one to four.
拉里-德鲁，湖人助教，观看了这次训练。琼斯，21岁，认为湖人想看看科比能否在身体上匹配一个更加成熟的球员。“我想他们得到了他们在寻找的东西，因为他是个梦魇。”琼斯说。德鲁指示他们先进行一个全场的1对1，打4分。
Bryant won.
科比赢了。
"You could just tell," Jones remembered. "You could see what his future was going to look like. I was amazed by just playing against him. I did what I was supposed to do, but that's a seventeen-year-old kid. That dude was determined to do some of the things he couldn't do and I guess I was an obstacle right there for him to try to figure out a way to chop down."
“你只能这么说，”琼斯回忆道，“你可以看到他的未来会是什么样子。我仅仅是跟他对抗就已经惊呆了。我做了我应该做的事情，但是这是一个17岁的孩子。这家伙下定决心去做一些他不能做的事情，并且我想我成为了那个立在其中的障碍，所以他尝试挥起斧子从中砍出一条路。”
They played one-on-one to four from halfcourt. They played one-on-one, in which the offensive player had to go right and use only three dribbles before hoisting a shot. They transferred the same rules to a game on the left side of the floor. Jones got in a point and a game here and there.
他们在半场又进行了一次4分的1对1。他们的1对1要求进攻球员必须从右侧进攻，在出手投篮前只能运三次球。他们又在球场左侧重复了同样的规则。琼斯占据了上风。
Some of the drills catered to him and his size advantage over Bryant. But it was the established college player trying to hold his own against a high schooler. Bryant's footwork and finesse were already beyond those of anyone Jones had ever played in college.
有些回合对他更有利，因为他对于科比拥有身体优势。但是这是一个大学篮球手尝试在一个高中生面前保住自己的颜面。科比的步伐和技巧已然超过了琼斯在大学遇到的所有人。
Bryant generally found the shot he wanted within those three dribbles. "You don't realize a seventeen-year-old could do all the things he was even attempting to do," said Jones, who became a first-round selection of the Knicks. The workout only lasted about 45 minutes. A dismayed Jones stretched out on the floor afterward. Meanwhile, West watched it all.
科比一般在三次运球后就可以找到他想要的出手机会。“你没办法意识到一个17岁的孩子可以做到全部他想做的事情。”琼斯说，他后来在首轮被尼克斯选中。这次试训仅仅进行了45分钟。之后一个沮丧的琼斯躺倒在地板上。
"You saw the incredible skills that he had for a young kid," West said. "The one thing that we all saw was that he had an immense desire to compete. He just didn't want to stop competing, and in an [hour-long] workout it was something to see."
“你看到了他作为一个年轻孩子不可思议的技巧。”韦斯特说，“我们看到的一件事就是他拥有巨大的竞争欲望。他就是不想停下竞争。在一个小时的试训中这就是我们看到的。”
The performance piqued West's interest. He wanted another look, this one to confirm his gut feeling. He approached John Black and Raymond Ridder, members of the team's public relations staff, and asked if they wanted to attend another of Bryant's workouts.
这样的表现引发了韦斯特的兴趣，他想再看看，以确认他的直觉。他联系了湖人公关部的两名职员，约翰-布莱克和雷蒙德-莱德尔，并且问他们是否想参加科比的另一次试训。
Mitch Kupchak, West's assistant general manager, piled into West's car, along with Black and Ridder. Bryant's second Lakers workout figured to be more challenging. Bryant would play against Michael Cooper at Inglewood High School.
米奇-库普切克，韦斯特的总经理助理，也同布莱克和莱德尔一道坐进了韦斯特的轿车。科比的第二次试训将会更有挑战。因为他将在英格尔伍德高中对抗迈克尔-库珀。
Cooper, 40, had been retired from the NBA for five years, but maintained a slim, agile frame. He was a key part of the Lakers' "Showtime" championship teams and an in-your-face defender, described by Larry Bird as the best he had ever faced. Cooper did not think much of the workout entering the gym.
40岁的库珀已经在NBA退役5个年头，但是仍然维持了苗条的身材和敏捷的身手。他是湖人“表演时刻”冠军队的重要组成部分，并且是一个贴身防守专家，被拉里-伯德称为他面对的最好防守者。进入球馆时库珀并没有对这次试训有太多的想法。
West had requested it, telling Cooper that he wanted to see how a high school kid named Kobe would fare against him. Cooper learned that Bryant was actually Joe Bryant's son only a couple of hours before squaring off against him. Cooper and Joe Bryant had matched up before in games. "I almost had a flashback," Cooper said. "Now, if I would have done that, it would have been a different thing."
韦斯特对其有所要求，告诉库珀他想要看看这个叫做科比的高中生如何在他的防守下发光发热。库珀在这次试训开始前几小时才得知科比实际上是乔-布莱恩特的儿子。库珀和乔-布莱恩特曾经在比赛中有过对位。“我有了一点回忆。”库珀说，“现在，如果我完成这个，这段经历就与众不同了。”
He arrived at a dark gym, almost gloomy. No matter. Bryant lit Cooper up.
他到达了这件昏暗的球馆，几乎看不见。但是不要紧，科比会将库珀点燃。
They spent nearly the whole session playing one-on-one. Cooper played defense the bulk of the time. He tried using his physicality over Bryant. Bryant scored at will. He unleashed a full repertoire of fadeaway jump shots and drives to the baskets with reverse layups and dunks.
他们几乎花了整个阶段进行1对1。库珀在大部分时间防守。他尝试用自己的身体压倒科比。而科比则随心所欲的得分。他完美释放了自己的后仰跳投，并且冲击篮筐，通过上反篮和扣篮终结。
"He was playing like he had just graduated from college, twenty-one, twenty-two years old, and I think that was the most impressive thing about it," Cooper said. "All of us were very, very impressed with him and Jerry has that innate ability to see beyond what other people see at the moment and obviously, he saw greatness."
“他打得就像刚从大学毕业的球员一样，21或者22岁，这是我认为最让我印象深刻的事情。”库珀说，“我们中的所有人都对他印象非常非常深刻，杰里拥有那样天生的能力去看到未来，看到当下其他人看不到的东西。显然，他看到了伟大。”
West turned to Black and Ridder about 25 minutes into the workout. "OK, I've seen enough," he said. "Let's go. He's better than anyone we have on our team right now." The trio rose from their seats. "Best workout I've ever seen," West continued.
韦斯特在试训进行了25分钟之后转向布莱克和莱德尔，“OK，我看够了。”他说，“我们走吧。他比我们现在队里拥有的任何人都要好。”他们三个人从座位上站起来。“我看过的最棒的试训。”韦斯特补充道。
West walked past Cooper on his way out. "I thought you were supposed to guard him," West quipped.
韦斯特离开的途中路过库珀身边，“我想你本应该防住他的。”韦斯特打趣道。
The group returned to the Inglewood Forum. "We've got to do everything we can to get this guy," West said during the drive back, almost to himself.
考察团队返回英格尔伍德论坛，“我们要尽一切努力确保我们能得到这个孩子。”韦斯特在回程的路上喃喃自语。
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