---

其實原文有點偏長，這邊翻譯 ESPN 當初報導的版本，供各位參考：


Ben Simmons and the Philadelphia 76ers: The evolution of the offseason's most
complex saga
(西門和七六人：休賽季期間最複雜事件的演化史)

https://www.espn.com/nba/insider/story/_/id/32401328/

作者：Ramona Shelburne


開頭備註：以下發生時間都是以「美國時間」為準


第一部分：

AT FIRST GLANCE there was nothing out of the ordinary about the call
Philadelphia 76ers general manager Elton Brand received a few minutes before
7 p.m. on Monday night. Agent Rich Paul was on the line, for probably the
third time that day.

乍看之下，在星期一晚間七點前數分鐘時、七六人總經理Elton Brand 接到的電話中，沒
有什麼不尋常的地方。富保羅當時在（電話）線上，是當天的第三通（電話）。

That had become standard as the Sixers and Paul's client, Ben Simmons, played
out one of the longest, most frustrating games of poker between a franchise
and its disgruntled superstar the NBA has seen in years.

當七六人（特許經營權對象）跟富保羅的客戶——西門（對球團積怨深厚的球星）正在上
演在近年來歷時最久、最令人煩惱的撲克把戲時，這些（電話）已經成為常態。

After months of a mostly unproductive staredown, Brand received a call and
text message from Paul, informing him that Simmons had ended his two-week,
unpaid staycation in Los Angeles and was outside the door of the team
facility, reporting for a COVID-19 test.



Simmons had shown up to face an organization and a city he'd let down in the
playoffs last season -- something many in the organization doubted he'd ever
do.

西門正式露臉，面對在上賽季的季後賽中讓人感到失望的球隊及城市——也就是先前球隊
內多位人員懷疑他是否真的會這樣做的時候。

"I don't know if he can face the team or the fans after everything that
happened last year," one source close to the situation puts it.

一位清楚事發情形的消息人士表示：「我不知道在遭遇去年發生的這一切之後，他是否
還能（有勇氣）面對球團或球迷。」

But there he was in Philadelphia on Monday night, this transcendent player
whose confidence had unraveled to such an extent he has sworn all summer he'd
do just about anything except face the people who witnessed it.

但到了星期一晚上，這位具超越性、信心已經崩解到整個夏天發誓，除了面對見證這一切
的人之外，要不惜代價做任何事之程度的球員就出現在費城了。

The Sixers didn't have time to ask questions. They had to hastily arrange for
the testers to come back to the facility, according to sources close to the
situation.

根據清楚事發情形的消息人士之說法，七六人沒有時間質問他。該隊要快速地在設施內安
排檢測人員前來。

Simmons wasn't giving away any answers, either.

西門也沒有給予任何答案。

Was he actually back? Or was he just reporting to stem his financial losses?

他是否真的回來了？還是只是為了減少財務損失，而報到？

Simmons' side had been dealt a blow the previous week when the NBA and
players' union issued a memo stating a player without a "reasonable excuse"
will not be paid for games he does not play. Previously, the collectively
bargained league memos had used slightly softer language, like "would not" be
paid, which Paul's agency believed left room to argue Simmons could ask to be
paid for the salary he lost if and when he was traded, sources said.



That memo -- issued while Simmons was across the country, hunkering down for
a protracted absence he thought would create leverage, or at least incentive
for the team to trade him -- had felt like the kind of small event that could
have a giant ripple effect.

這份在西門準備長期缺戰，並認為能為自己被交易一事增添槓桿或至少激勵的期間內發出
的備忘錄，感覺上像是能產生巨大漣漪效應的小事件。

But in a meeting with Brand, head coach Doc Rivers and president of
basketball operations Daryl Morey on Tuesday, Simmons offered little insight
-- and has offered his teammates even less.

但在跟 Brand、總教練老河及球團營運總管莫雷於星期二的會面中，西門鮮少提供本身的
見解，對自己的隊友甚至是更少。

The only explanation he has offered them throughout this process came months
ago, when Paul invited everyone to his house in Beverly Hills.

針對這整個過程，他給予的唯一解釋是在數個月前，富保羅邀請大家到他在比華利山之住
家的時候。

Much has been made about that August meeting. Snippets of the Sixers' message
to Simmons have been revealed and dissected.

關於在八月的會面，已經作了最大的努力。多條七六人給西門的信息片段已經被揭露、解
析了。

But it's what Simmons said to them that mattered most.

但最重要的，是西門向他們的說明內容。


第二部分：

ON THE MORNING of June 20, less than 10 hours before the Sixers were due to
host the Atlanta Hawks in Game 7 of their second-round playoff series,
Simmons was in limbo.

在06月20日早上，也就是在七六人準備於主場進行對陣老鷹的東部半決賽第七戰前不到十
個小時的那一刻，西門陷入了迷茫。

"They're not letting me play," he told his brother Sean Tribe and several
teammates via text message.

西門向哥哥 Sean Tribe 及多位隊友傳了簡訊，聲稱「他們不讓我上場」。

Simmons was being held out of the team's shootaround, he told them, due to a
possible exposure to a team masseuse, who'd returned an inconclusive COVID-19
test.

西門向他們表示，他因為可能曾經接觸出現無法判定的 COVID-19 檢測結果之球團女按摩
師，因此無法參與投籃訓練。

Several players were questioned about whether they'd seen her that morning,
but only Simmons said that he had.

多位球員被問到是否曾在當天早上見過她，但只有西門表示「有」。

"He answered the question honestly, without thinking of the implications,"
says one source close to Simmons.


Simmons had actually seen the masseuse -- or was just trying to get out of
playing as he battled the basketball version of the yips. Simmons had taken
just 10 shots combined in Games 5 and 6 -- he'd averaged 11.6 shots a game
over his career -- and had missed 16 of his previous 23 free throws.



"If you're trying to prepare for Game 7, you don't really want to be dealing
with that in the morning," a source close to Simmons says. "Especially when
the spotlight is already on you."

「如果要嘗試備戰第七戰，你應該不會想要在早上時處理這問題，」一個親近西門的消息
人士稱，「尤其是當焦點都投注於你的時候」。

His confidence had already been shaken. The skepticism from within made
everything worse.

他的信心已經遭受動搖。來自內部的質疑使一切變得更加糟糕。

Later in the day, the staffer and Simmons' test results came back negative,
according to sources, and he was cleared to play in the game. But he wasn't
in a good place, and neither were the Sixers.

據消息人士，當天稍晚時，該位按摩師及西門的檢測結果都呈陰性反應，因此他獲准上場
比賽。但不論是西門，或者是七六人本身，都不在最佳狀態中。

"He was thrown," the source says.

該消息人士稱：「他被抛棄了。」

Simmons was tentative all game, taking just four shots. But he contributed in
other areas to help Philadelphia keep it close.

整場比賽中，西門感到非常緊張，僅僅出手四次。但他在其他方面協助七六人，將比分拉
近。

Then, The Play.

然後是真正的戲碼。

With 3:35 remaining and the Sixers down 88-86, Simmons took the ball in the
right post. Backing down Hawks forward Danilo Gallinari with three power
dribbles with his left hand, Simmons spun baseline, leaving Gallinari
off-balance and leaning in the opposite direction. He took one more dribble.
There was four feet of distance between him and the basket. Trae Young, who'd
been guarding Matisse Thybulle on the other side of the baseline, faked a
contest -- but barely.


The 6-foot-10 Simmons was wide open for a game-tying slam over the 6-foot-1
Young, whose only choices were to let him dunk it or foul him.

六尺十寸高的西門有大好機會，能在選擇上只剩讓他投進去或對他犯規、六尺一寸高的吹
楊身上，製造了投籃機會。

Instead, Simmons passed.

但實際上，西門傳球了。

An audible gasp roared through the Well Fargo Arena. The unexpecting
recipient, Thybulle, went up for his own dunk but was fouled by a rotating
John Collins and Gallinari.

一陣陣喘氣聲響徹 Well Fargo 球場。意料之外的接球球員 Thybulle 上前投籃，但遭到
正在輪替上場的 John Collins 及 Gallinari 犯規了。

"That's when you know the game is in your head," said color commentator and
former player Jim Jackson. "That's a dunk for Ben Simmons right there. ...
You gotta shoot that shot. Be confident."

前球員兼現場邊評論員Jim Jackson 表示：「那就是你該知道比賽在腦海中的時候了。那
是西門投籃的最好機會……你本應該投中的。要有自信點。」

Thybulle went 1-for-2 at the line.

Thybulle 在罰球線上二投一中。

The Sixers lost 103-96. Simmons, who ended the game with five points -- on
2-for-4 shooting -- 8 rebounds and 13 assists, didn't play for the final 54
seconds.

七六人最後以 96:103 吃下敗仗。只拿到五分（投籃上四投二中），並取得八個籃板及十
三次助攻的西門，在最後五十四秒不在場上。

After the game Rivers, who'd repeatedly praised Simmons and had long tried to
minimize the impact of his shooting woes, demurred when asked whether the
team could win a championship with Simmons at point guard.

賽後，不斷表彰西門表現、長時間努力減少他在投籃失誤上之影響的老河，在被問到球隊
能否在西門擔當得分後衛的情況下贏得總冠軍時，猶豫了。

"I don't know that question or the answer to that right now," Rivers said.
"So I don't know the answer to that."


Year, despite his own desire to win it, was asked if there was a turning
point to the game.

雖然自己也想要贏得年度最佳防守球員，但也公開為西門站台、讓他贏得該獎項的鉛筆，
被問到該場比賽是否有轉折點。

"I thought the turning point was when we -- I don't know how to say it -- but
I thought the turning point was just, we had an open shot and we made one
free throw," Embiid said.

鉛筆回應：「我認為轉折點是當我們——我不知道怎麼說——但我認為的轉折點是，我們
有一個空位投籃的機會，而我們投中一個罰球。」

There was no camouflaging what happened. Everyone saw the play and the series.

發生的事情是無法掩蓋的。每個人都看到了這場比賽和這一系列事件。

Simmons faced the cameras after the game with stoicism. "I had a bad series,"
he said. "I expect that [criticism]. It's Philly."

西蒙斯在賽後面對鏡頭時表現得很謙虛。他說：「這系列賽真糟糕。我預料到那些批評了
。這就是費城。」

The quotes from Rivers and Embiid have been cited all offseason as a tipping
point. But those close to Simmons acknowledge they were more of a final gut
punch.

整個休賽季期間，老河與鉛筆的引言都被作為一個轉折點來引用。但那些親近西門的消息
人士認同，這些更像是壓倒駱駝的最後一根稻草。

Just like his confidence, his relationships within the Sixers had been
eroding for some time.

就像他的信心一樣，他在七六人隊中的關係已經被侵蝕了一段時間。


第三部分：

EMBIID AND SIMMONS are the only constants remaining from the period known as
the "The Process," but their journey together has been anything but.

鉛筆和西門是在被稱為「過程」的時期中，唯二不變的定性，但他們在一起的旅途卻不是
如此。

They've fallen in and out of favor depending on who was in charge. Former
president of basketball operations Sam Hinkie and Embiid were close on and
off the court. Bryan Colangelo, who led the team from 2016 to 2018, seemed to
prefer to build around Simmons, according to multiple team sources. Former
coach Brett Brown and Brand tried to help Embiid and Simmons coexist -- with
mixed results. Morey and Rivers hoped a different voice and approach would
unlock their immense potential together.



But as much as Morey said he believed in the Simmons-Embiid pairing, one of
the first things he did upon taking over the Sixers' front office was explore
a trade for Rockets star and former MVP James Harden, who'd grown disgruntled
in Houston.



Word eventually made its way to Simmons, who didn't initially run toward the
idea of being traded to Houston, but didn't run away from it either.
According to sources close to Simmons, early last season he started wrapping
his mind around the idea, even looking at real estate in Houston. He imagined
what it would be like to have his own team, built around him and his playing
style.



When negotiations fizzled and Harden was instead traded to the Brooklyn Nets,
Simmons seemingly moved past it -- he even made the All-Star team. But his
comfort in the organization had diminished, according to confidantes.

當談判破裂，哈登被交易到籃網隊時，西門似乎已經不在意了——他甚至進入了全明星隊
。但據知情人士表示，他在球隊中的舒適感已經逐漸減弱了。

"It was too far gone before Doc even got there," a source close to Simmons
says. "They were trading the kid before Doc even had a chance to coach him."

親近西門的消息人士表示：「在老河行到那一步之前，這已經走得太遠了。在老河還沒有
機會訓練到他之前，他們已經將該小子交易出去了。」

Then in April, his older sister Olivia posted a series of tweets accusing his
brother Sean Tribe of molesting her as a child. Tribe issued a statement on
Instagram, strongly denying the allegations, and filed a defamation lawsuit
against his sister.



An Australian court awarded Tribe $550,000 in damages in August after Olivia
Simmons repeatedly failed to appear in court or provide evidence to support
her allegations.

在 Olivia 據報拒絕出庭或提供支持她指控之證明的情況下，澳洲一間法院判決Tribe 能
獲得五十五萬美元的賠償金。

Simmons has never commented publicly on the situation. But he was close to
his sister, and also close to Tribe, who lived with him earlier in his career
and has become his manager.

西門從未對此發表過任何評論。但他對他的姐姐跟在生涯初期跟他同住並成為他的經紀人
的Tribe 都一樣親近。

Everyone understood what he was dealing with, and the organization decided to
give Simmons space.

每個人都清楚瞭解他需要面對的是什麼，而球隊已經決定給西門一些空間處理。

Simmons' only message to the team, according to sources close to the
situation, was that he appreciated his teammates' support and would prefer
none of them comment on it publicly either.

根據清楚該事發情況的消息人士之說法，西門給球隊的唯一訊息是他感恩隊友的支持，但
希望不要對該事情作任何公開評論。

Privately, a family source said, it weighed on him deeply.

在西門家族的消息人士則表示，這事在私底下對他形成沉重的負擔。

"How could it not?" another person close to the situation says.

另一位消息人士也表示：「這怎能不算是呢？」


第四部分：

CONFIDENCE IS A fickle flame. One day a player has it, the next he's
searching the depths of his soul for it.

自信心是一個善變的火焰。球員一旦有了這把火焰，下一步就會去靈魂深處尋求自信。

Sports psychologists give athletes tools to handle the moments that trigger
these crises in confidence. Shooting coaches give them specific mechanical
adjustments to work on, so when the pressure builds, they can trust in their
muscle memory.

運動心理學家為運動員提供工具，以處理引發這些信心危機的時刻。投籃教練則給他們具
體的機能調整，讓他們在建立壓力時，可以相信自己的肌肉記憶。

The Sixers had given Simmons all of these resources. He had worked with
renowned shooting coach John Townsend during his first three years in the
NBA, both in Philadelphia and during offseason workouts in Australia. They
had hired Damian Lillard's shooting coach, Phil Beckner, to work with him
this season. They had a leading sports psychologist available to consult.



Initially, sources said, Simmons was receptive to specialists like Townsend.
While he didn't turn Simmons into a marksman, he at least got Simmons to
shoot, and keep shooting no matter how many he made.

起初，消息人士表示，西門能接受類似 Townsend 的專家。雖然沒能讓西門轉型成為神投
手，至少 Townsend 能讓西門不管投中多少次，都能不斷投籃。

In his rookie season, Simmons took 230 shots of 10 feet or farther from the
basket. He also got better with his free throw shooting that 2017-18 season
under Townsend, improving to 70.7% in the playoffs after hitting just 56% in
the regular season.



It was something to build on, people within the team believed. The
organization wanted Simmons to continue on with Townsend in the offseason and
into the following season. Instead, Simmons decided to work with his brother
Liam Tribe.

球隊內的人員認為，這是一個值得借鏡的事。該隊希望西門在休賽季期和下一個賽季時，
繼續與 Townsend 合作。但事實恰恰相反，西門決定與他的哥哥 Liam Tribe 合作。

According to sources close to the situation, the Sixers were disappointed in
the choice, and that they were given scant explanation. Last season, Simmons'
fifth, he took just 55 shots beyond 10 feet. He shot 61.3% from the free
throw line in the regular season and 34.2% in the playoffs.



The past two summers Simmons has been working with Chris Johnson, a
well-known and respected NBA trainer whose website lists more than 40 NBA
clients, including LeBron James, Jimmy Butler, Rajon Rondo and Chris Paul.

在過去的兩個賽季，西門跟隨在網站上寫明曾為超過四十位球員提供訓練的著名且備受敬
重的訓練師 Chris Johnson 進行訓練。

None of this is out of the ordinary for NBA superstars.

這一切，對於球星來說，是再也正常不過的事了。

But the lack of connectedness only exacerbated the organization's
disappointment when Simmons issues' worsened

不過，正當西門的問題惡化時，球團內的失望感隨著聯繫上的缺乏而加深。

There is frustration on Simmons' side, too. Even his strongest supporters
can't always defend him.

在西門一邊，也有一定的挫敗感。更何況，他最堅定的支持者也沒辦法力挺他。

"When you go rafting and you fall out, there ain't no lifeguards," one source
close to Simmons says. "You've got to be a willing participant in your own
survival. Right?"

一位親近西門的消息人士說：「當你在泛舟時掉下去時，沒有救生員的情況下，你自己就
是主宰自己存亡的自願參與者。對嗎？」

Says another, "If you fall out of the raft you've got to swim. You have to
participate in your own rescue. ... I think that's very true to this."

另一人則表示：「如果你從木筏上掉出去時，你就要游泳了。你必須參與自己的拯救工作
……我舉得這一點非常正確。」


第五部分：

THE BEN SIMMONS that Kevin Goorjian knew back in Australia needed no rescuing
at all. He was preternaturally gifted physically and with basketball
intelligence.

對於當初在澳洲相識時的西門，Kevin Goorjian 覺得他根本不需要救援。西門有著超常
的體能天賦與籃球指揮。

"As soon as you saw Ben," says Goorjian, who coached Simmons at Box Hill
Senior Secondary College in Melbourne. "You knew it was something special --
once in a lifetime."

「當你看到西門時，」在墨爾本博士山高中指導西門的 Goorjian 表示，「你知道這是一
件特別的事情——一生中只有一次。」

He was 6-foot-6 as a ninth grader, and he was so physically skilled and such
a gifted passer, nobody could stay in front of him, much less slow him down.

他在九年級時，身高是六尺六寸，且身體技巧非常棒、是具有天賦的傳球者。沒人能守得
住他，更不用說減緩他的速度。

"He could shoot the ball then, too," Goorjian says. "Fifteen, 17 feet, he'd
knock those down. You had to guard him. For me, he didn't go a whole game and
not take a [3-pointer]. If [the opponent] didn't respect it, he took it and
he made his fair share."



After tenth grade, Simmons had outgrown Australian basketball. He wanted to
be in the NBA, the No. 1 pick, and to do that he needed to play in the United
States, so he enrolled at Montverde Academy in Montverde, Florida -- one of
the United States' top prep basketball programs.



Coach Kevin Boyle has worked with dozens of NBA players over the years.
Embiid actually played at Montverde two years earlier. D'Angelo Russell
attended one year before Simmons.

在過去數年間，教練 Kevin Boyle 曾經跟數十名 NBA 球員合作過。鉛筆曾（在西門進入
學院）的兩年前就進入了蒙特沃德，而 D'lo 則早一年進入該學院。

"There is a good argument for him as the best high school player in the last
10 years," Boyle says. "And one of, if not the best high school player ever
in terms of productivity and value to a team."

Boyle 說：「有充分的理由表明，他是過去十年中最好的高中球員。如果不是有史以來最
好的高中球員，至少也是在生產力和對球隊的價值上最好的球員之一。」

Like Goorjian, Boyle said he never noticed anything alarming about Simmons'
free throws or outside shooting. He hit 68% from the line and took 15- to
17-footers whenever he was open.



Other than a mechanical flaw in his shot -- he thinks Simmons' elbow is
splayed out too wide now -- Boyle said there was nothing that would portend
the way Simmons' shot and confidence have unraveled. The only thing Boyle can
find by way of explanation is this:



"In high school, he dominated and people weren't able to stop him," Boyle
says. "In high school, you can drive, miss, usually get your rebound and put
it back in.

「在高中時期，他占據主導地位，沒人能組織他。在高中時期，你可以往前衝、無法命中
，在正常得到籃板後再放回去。」

"But at the next level, that advantage in strength, size and speed is now
reduced greatly."

「但在下一個層次上，這種力量、體型和速度的優勢現在被大大削弱了。」

The players to whom Simmons was most often compared earlier in his career --
Magic Johnson and James -- faced similar challenges upon entering the league.
Johnson shot 22.6% from deep his rookie season; James 29%.



But both players eventually worked their way through those challenges and
evolved their games.

但這兩位球員成功以自己的方式克服這些挑戰，並將比賽進化到下一層次。

Simmons has not.

至於西門，沒有。


第六部分：

THE SCRUTINY FROM NBA scouts began almost as soon as Simmons arrived in Baton
Rouge, Louisiana. He'd come to LSU as the consensus No. 1 prospect in his
draft class and was determined to make good on his promise.

在西門抵達路易斯安那州巴頓魯治的同時，NBA 球探對他的批判就開始出現了。作為所在
選秀級別中公認的狀元，西門來到路易斯安那州立大學，並決心兌現他的承諾。

There are a lot of ways people react to such a rating. Some draw confidence
from it and grow their games. Others get overconfident and think they've made
it, before they ever have. Simmons just didn't want to screw it up.


says one Simmons confidante.

西門的其中一位知己說：「我認為他只是不想給任何人一個不選他為狀元的理由。」

So he played to his considerable strengths -- passing ability, vision, speed,
size and strength -- and did everything he could not to expose his lack of
confidence in his shot.

因此，他發揮了相當大的優勢——傳球能力、視野、速度、體型和力量——並儘其所能，
避免暴露自己缺乏投籃信心的缺點。

In "One and Done," a documentary chronicling Simmons' lone season at LSU, it
was clear, even then, that Simmons was struggling with his confidence in
shooting.

在紀錄西門在路易斯安那州立大學唯一賽季的「一次就夠」紀錄片中，西門很明顯地仍在
為自己的投籃信心掙扎不已。

In one such example, with LSU down by a basket late in the game against
Marquette on November 23, 2015, Simmons passed the ball to teammates twice on
the final possession instead of looking for his own shot.


rebounds, 7 assists and 2 steals. He'd even attempted a game-high 14 shots
(making six) and a game-high 11 free throws (making nine).


to take over, Simmons passed not once, but twice.

但在比賽快要結束時，當未來的狀元選手有望控制比賽時，西門不只是傳球一次，而是兩
次。

A prominent scout who had watched Simmons warm up before that game at
Barclays Center in Brooklyn says it wasn't aggressiveness Simmons lacked. It
was confidence.

一位在布魯克林巴克萊中心看過西門當時賽前熱身的著名球探說，西門缺乏的不是攻擊性
，而實際上是自信。

"I showed up two, three hours early to watch him warm up," the scout says.
"I'd been critical of him, so he definitely knew who I was. And as soon as he
saw me up there, he went back in the locker room."

「我提早兩、三個小時進場，看他熱身，」這位球探說，「我一直在批評他，所以他肯定
知道我是誰。他一看到我在上面，就馬上回到了更衣室。」

This was a common refrain from NBA scouts who'd watched Simmons at LSU. An
NBA general manager who scouted him in college said he went to practice to
see Simmons and never saw him work on his shot.

這是觀察過西門在路易斯安那州立大學的NBA 球探們之共同心聲。一位在大學時考察過他
的NBA 總經理說，他去訓練場看西蒙斯，但從未看到他在練習投籃。

"They were camouflaging him," says another league source.

另一位聯盟消息人士說：「他們只是為他進行掩飾。」

LSU assistant coach Brendan Suhr offers a different frame.

路易斯安那州立大學助理教練 Brendan Suhr 則有不同看法。

"We made sure he could handle the ball because he had such great eyesight,"
Suhr says. "If he got a rebound, and he was a great rebounder, he would take
the ball and go on the fast break with it and then make a great pass.

Suhr 說：

「我們確保他能處理好球，因為他的視力有如此的好。如果他得到一個籃板，且還是偉大
的籃板手，他會拿著球去快速進攻，然後做出一個非常棒的傳球。」

"His vision and his basketball IQ, to me, I'd never seen anyone at that level
to be able to do that. And as I told the NBA guys who came to watch him back
then, 'There ain't no one that can stay in front of the guy.'"

「他的視野與籃板智商，於我而言，我從來沒有見過任何人在這個水平上，能夠做到這一
點。正如我當時對前來觀看他的NBA 人員說的那樣，『沒有人能夠守住他』。」

In the documentary, Simmons acknowledges that the constant scrutiny over his
aggressiveness and shooting bothered him.

在紀錄片中，西門承認，對他的攻擊性與出手之持續性批判，使他感到不安。

LSU had just suffered its third straight defeat, this time to the College of
Charleston. Simmons, just 19 years old at the time, reclines into a couch,
watching Skip Bayless criticize his star potential on ESPN's First Take.


of like on my shoulders."

西門在紀錄片說：「我感覺到我們吃敗仗時，是我的錯。一切都像是落在我的肩膀上。」

"I'm sick of losing. I'm not a loser. I'm a winner. I don't want to be a part
of something like that."

「我對失敗感到非常嚴雋。我不是失敗者。我是勝利者。我不想要成為類似那種事的一部
分。」

He puts his hands on his head and tilts his head up, staring into the
distance.

他把雙手放在頭上，仰起頭、盯著遠處。

"S---."

「Ｘ。」（某硬限制用詞）


第七部分：

FOR ALL THE mystery surrounding Simmons' predicament, he has been consistent
about his endgame.

儘管圍繞西門的困境，仍有者很多謎團，但他對自己的結局一直保持一致。

When his agent, Paul, organized the meeting in August, the Sixers prepared
like they were pitching a superstar free agent, not a 25-year-old who had
been with the organization for five years. If they could just get in a room
with Simmons, the Sixers figured, maybe they could start to change his mind.



It took place in a special room -- across the pool area at Paul's house --
filled with cigars, sports memorabilia and expensive liquor.

這場會面在一個特殊的房間裡進行——位於富保羅家中的游泳池對面——且擺滿了雪茄、
體育紀念品和貴酒。

Simmons was there waiting, ready to hear them out.

西門在那裡等待，準備聽他們說完。

Morey went first, presenting him with a detailed statistical case showing how
good Simmons and Embiid were together defensively -- the top duo in the NBA
since they entered the league -- and even argued they weren't nearly as bad
together offensively as Simmons' might feel. Their combined offensive
efficiency of 118.2 points per 100 possessions, Morey outlined, would have
led the NBA among all teams.



Rivers then appealed to Simmons' professionalism and competitiveness,
reminding him that he'd signed a five-year, $170 million contract extension
just two years ago and the team hoped he'd honor it.

接著，里弗斯對西門的職業精神和競爭力作出表態，提醒他兩年前剛剛簽署了一份五年、
總值一億七千萬美元的續約合約，球隊希望他能謹守該合約。

The overarching message was clear: No matter what had happened at the end of
last year's disastrous playoff run, they wanted him back. They still saw him
as a great player. They believed they could help him through the shooting and
confidence woes that had derailed his career. And frankly, they said, there
were no trades out there that made sense for them.



When it was Simmons' turn to speak, he was focused on something entirely
different.

來到西門發言的回合，他關注的是全然不同的事。

He didn't dwell on Rivers' or Embiid's quotes from after the Sixers' Game 7
loss to the Hawks. He didn't say he felt betrayed by being included in the
Sixers' attempts to trade for Harden last fall.

他沒有糾纏於老河或鉛筆在七六人隊於第七戰中輸給老鷹隊後的發言。他沒有表示感覺到
因為在去年秋季被列入七六人隊交易哈登的原定計劃而感到被背叛。

His first three years in the league, the Sixers had such a bright spotlight
on them and so much early success, he told them, that he didn't feel like he
could make the mistakes other top draft picks were afforded. His growing
pains were too public and consequential.



He needed to start over, he said, in a place where he "could make mistakes."

他說，他需要重新開始，在一個他「可以犯錯」的地方。

Simmons and his supporters believe the Sixers tried to protect him in those
years by doing things like having him inbound the ball at the end of a game,
rather than be put in a position where a team might foul him. Or by
challenging him to shoot more behind closed doors -- in heart-to-heart chats
with then-coach Brown -- rather than through the media.



"I appreciate you guys coming out here," Simmons said, according to multiple
sources at the meeting. "I understand how you feel. But I feel how I feel.
And it's just time for a change."

根據在場邊的消息人士的說法，西門表示，「我很感謝你們來這裡，我理解你們的感受。
但我也清楚我的感受。而且現在是改變的時候了。」

The Sixers have let those statements marinate for months. They believe they
can salvage the relationship with Simmons and reintegrate him into their
team. He does not.

七六人隊已經讓這些聲明醞釀了幾個月。他們相信他們可以挽回與西門的關係，讓他重新
融入他們的團隊。但他不這麼認為。

He wants a change of scenery. They want to help him change.

他想換個環境。而他們想幫助他改變。


短評：

這一整套「戲劇」的內幕，看來來頭不小……


備註：

花了三小時半翻譯的文章，如有錯誤，麻煩協助指正，感恩！

----
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