小甜瓜安東尼的抉擇

The basketball artistry of Carmelo Anthony comes in two dominant forms.

梅羅-安東尼已經將試探步和跳投這兩種技術動作演繹到了極致。

The first is his jab-step — a horizontal arrangement of splayed limbs, spine approaching parallel with the floor, body moving one way, brain moving another.

四肢展開，背平行於地面，一個虛晃，過掉對手。

The second is his jump shot — a vertical, linear form, with shoulders in and toes pointed together, taking up as little space and time as possible in the flow from gather to release.

身體繃緊，垂直騰空而起，狹小的空間中抓住轉瞬即逝的機會。

At rest, Anthony lives somewhere between these two forms. He has slimmed down from his younger days. He is still strong but no longer the physical force he was in his youth.

同樣，安東尼的生涯也如他的假動作一樣充滿着不確定性。近年來，安東尼做了大量減重訓練，雖說仍然很強壯，但力量方面相比於生涯早期遜色不少。

The cherubic smile has been there for years but his entire basketball being seems a little lighter these days, a little more ethereal — which is remarkable considering the load he carries.

他天真甜美的笑容仍然掛在臉上，但是目前的籃球生涯不那麼盡如人意，一切變得虛無縹緲，人們可能無法想象他身上所承受的壓力。

For those sports fans who find offense in the athletic decisions of strangers, Carmelo Anthony is a special kind of monster. There is his propensity to highjack possessions with often ill-fated isolations.

對於那些在喜歡在進攻端獲得快感的球迷來說，卡梅羅-安東尼如同一隻野獸。安東尼更願意自己處理球，這或許也是一種不幸——他把自己孤立了起來。

But, in all honesty, nothing about Anthony seems to antagonize the masses as much as his choosing the New York Knicks as his hill to die on.

但事實上，安東尼似乎很樂意將紐約尼克斯作爲了他最後的橋頭堡。

The problem is that Anthony appears to control the future. The four-year, $124 million contract extension he signed in the summer of 2014 (which, again, to be fair, the Knicks offered) includes a no-trade clause.

過去和現在所發生的都不是某一個人的過錯，問題是安東尼現在想掌控未來。安東尼在2014年和尼克斯簽下了一份四年1.24億美元的續約合同，其中包含“交易否決權”。

The collective emotional consciousness of the Knicks, both fans and organization, may be ready to move on from Carmelo Anthony. But he's not ready to move on from them.

所有尼克斯人，無論球迷還是球隊上下都做好了並肩作戰的準備，但是安東尼卻沒有。

This is the impasse. By continuing to choose the Knicks every time a possible exit presents itself, Anthony is sealing his fate with theirs.

安東尼現在彷彿身處於一個迷宮，通往尼克斯的那條路有些光亮，但這條路只會越走越深，永遠沒有盡頭。

In the eyes of some, this is just another Carmelo Anthony hijacking, the waving off of a promising future as the clock winds down, in favor of another jab-step and fade-away.

一些人認爲，安東尼選擇尼克斯是想繼續享受這種聚光燈下的感覺，無拘無束地在這裏打球，但這也意味着他的未來不再光明。

The truth is there is no dignified way to end a basketball career.

以任何方式結束籃球生涯都無法令人昂首挺胸。

Kobe Bryant's big party was fun, but his willingness to soak in the moment and sop up every shot for the Lakers was also a reminder of the worst of his time in a Laker's uniform.

儘管科比-布萊恩特的退役演出贏得了歡呼，但是他願意永遠沉浸在那個時刻，不知疲憊地爲湖人投出每一個球，他仍然懷念身着紫金球衣的最後時光。

Tim Duncan, a bastion of dignity if there ever was one, held onto utility as long as he could.

蒂姆-鄧肯，盡他所能守護着尊嚴的堡壘

The story is that he walked away on his own terms, but I'm not sure getting steamrolled in the Western Conference Semifinals by the Oklahoma City Thunder was really the way he wanted his last game to go.

儘管在西部半決賽中被俄克拉荷馬雷霆擊敗後他決定離開，但是我不確定他是否真的想以這種方式告別。

Even that one-in-a-thousand player who finishes his career as a champion is either walking away from future accolades or less than he used to be.

即使一名傑出的球員在離開時榮譽滿身，未來迎接他的已不是熟悉的褒獎，而是令人手足無措的失落感。

When it comes to the end of the road, there is simply no way to have it all.

當走到路的盡頭，纔會想起途中的遺憾。

To be an aging basketball player is to slowly relinquish your talent and control. Anthony can still control where he plays, so does.

一名即將步入生涯末期的籃球運動員會慢慢喪失他們的天賦和控制力。

He can still control his jab-step and his jumper, so he does. Making decisions for himself and his family and, occasionally, where the ball is going to stop on a given possession is really the extent of his power.

而安東尼現在仍然可以用他的試探步和跳投掌控球場，爲他和他的家庭做打算，有時他已經做到了傾其所有。

He doesn't unilaterally decide the future of the Knicks, just like he's not entirely responsible for their present or their past.

而就像他不需要爲球隊的過去和現在的處境負全部的責任一樣，安東尼同樣不能決定尼克斯的未來。

Anthony is the highest paid player on the team and the guy how gets to call his own number whenever he wants, but in the grand scheme he is still just a high-usage, high-scoring cog in the machine.

安東尼是球隊中薪水最高的球員，他擁有獨一無二的特權，但是在這個商業聯盟中，他也只不過是機器中的一個閃閃發光、高速旋轉齒輪罷了。

Winning, losing, jab-steps and jumpers, blue and orange, or red and gold. It's all the same. Just basketball, as well as you can, for as long as you can.

或贏或輸，或成或敗，已不重要，籃球場上，盡力足矣。

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