Telephones Rang in Favor of Bitadze
那些为了Goga Bitadze而响起的电话声
Source: https://www.nba.com/pacers/news/telephones-rang-favor-bitadze
Some of the social media and professional media criticism has been harsh,
while most of the national draft analysis has been mildly positive. But to
Kevin Pritchard's way of thinking, the most meaningful feedback regarding his
draft decision on Thursday was the jangling telephones.
尽管一些社群与媒体上的批评有些严厉，但多数的全国性选秀分析对于溜马的选秀结果普
遍抱持着正面的评价。不过对于Kevin Pritchard来说，这次选秀结果最有意义的回馈就
是在确认了选秀人选后那些纷纷响起的电话声。
Moments after it was announced the Pacers had dedicated their 18th overall
selection in the NBA draft in Goga Bitadze, the phones in their war room
began clamoring for attention. Teams were calling, wanting to investigate the
possibility of acquiring the 6-11 center from the Republic of Georgia.
溜马正式公布#18的人选是Goga Bitadze的不久之后，在会议室中响起的众多电话十分地
引人注目。许多球队打了电话来探询交易这位6' 11"的乔治亚中锋的可能性。
"You know how we know it's a good pick?" Pritchard asked on Friday, when
Bitadze was introduced at a press conference in Bankers Life Fieldhouse.
“你知道我们如何得知这是一个好的选择吗？”周五在Bankers Life Fieldhouse为了
Goga Bitadze所举行的媒体会议上，KP如此问了与会的媒体们。
"The phone rings the second you pick him. I've never had it ringing like I
had it yesterday. Maybe some of the ex-teams I've been with were pretty hotly
in pursuit. Not a little bit, but hotly in pursuit. I've never seen it like
that."
“昨天从我们确定选下他的那一秒起所打来的电话是我看过最夸张的。一些我曾经待过的
其他球队也做了非常热切的询问，我从来没见过这样的情景。”
One of Pritchard's former employers, San Antonio, drafted one spot behind the
Pacers, and had worked out Bitadze. Another, Portland, drafted 25th.
Pritchard said there were others as well.
Pritchard曾经的雇主，圣安东尼奥马刺队，就在溜马的后一个顺位，有试训过Bitadze。
另一个球队则是25顺位的波特兰拓荒者队，Pritchard说还有其他队伍也有打来。
"Let's just say more than three or four teams were getting aggressive to get
him," he said.
“有3、4支以上的球队非常激进的想要把他(Bitadze)弄到手。”
The Pacers had no expectation of landing Bitadze before the draft began,
according to Pritchard and coach Nate McMillan. He didn't appear on their
ranking of realistic prospects because they thought he would be taken by one
of the lottery teams. But as the evening proceeded and his name wasn't
called, their interest perked up.
根据Pritchard和总教练Nate McMillan的说法，溜马队在选秀前并没有预期有机会能拿到
Bitadze。他被前面的乐透球队带走的机会很大所以溜马并没有把他列为一个实际的选项，
但是随着时间过去而Goga还在待选清单中时，这引起了溜马管理层的兴趣。
Pritchard said he was considering making a deal to move up a few spots to get
his man, but when Bitadze fell past Boston at 14 and Detroit at 15, he was
confident of being able to snag the 19-year-old center at 18. If the reaction
in the outside world was mixed, the feedback within the front office was
consistent.
Pritchard说他本来在考虑进行交易来往上几个顺位去弄到他想要的人选，但是当14顺位的
赛尔提克不选、15顺位的活塞也没选Bitadze时，他就有信心可以在18顺位拿到这位19岁
中锋。尽管外界的反应有些混乱，但是FO内部的想法是一致的。
译按：该不会本来打算硬换Romeo吧！？
"Very rarely do you get to a point where the scouts and the consultants and
Larry (Bird) and Donnie (Walsh) agree on anything," Pritchard said.
“非常罕见的，我们的球探们、顾问们、Larry Bird和Donnie Walsh的意见完全一致。”
"It was the easiest decision I've ever made in the draft. There was more
consensus than I've ever seen."
“这是我在选秀中所做过最简单的决定，是我见过最有共识的一次。”
Negative reaction to the selection of Bitadze related to the fact the Pacers
already have a pair of young and established 6-foot-11 players in Myles
Turner and Domantas Sabonis. With a widespread desire for Sabonis to receive
more playing time, why add a third similar player?
外界对于选择Bitadze的负评源自于溜马阵中已经有了两位杰出长人，Myles Turner和
Domantas Sabonis。当已经确定会给Sabonis更多上场时间的时候，为什么还要再补上
第三位类似的球员？
Pritchard swatted that one away quickly. Turner and Sabonis both have shown
signs of being able to play either center or power forward. Bitadze is
expected to back up either one of them at center. And if it turns out Turner
and Sabonis can play together more often next season, perhaps even as
starters, then the need for a supplement grows.
Pritchard快速地对此观点进行了回击：Turner和Sabonis都展现了可以担任中锋或大前锋
的能力，Bitadze预计会与他们任一人搭配并负责中锋的位置。而且如果Turner和Sabonis
要以先发组合的方式在下一季共同上场更多时间的话，会有增加替补人手的需要。
Ninety-six combined minutes are available at power forward and center, so it
doesn't seem likely Bitadze will be left out of the rotation. And however it
plays out, Pritchard emphasized he's not looking to move any of the three big
men anytime soon.
大前锋与中锋合起来有96分钟的上场时间，而Bitadze不太可能会在轮替名单之外。不论
结果如何，Pritchard强调了他最近并不打算移出三位长人中的任何一位。
"Can all three of these guys exist?" Pritchard said. "There's no doubt. I'm
not in the business of making a pick to move that guy. I want him as a Pacer
and I want to see how he turns out.
“他们三个能够一起共存吗？这是毫无疑问的。我希望Goga能够成为一个溜马人，我想看
他能够如何成长。”
"I love the fact that Domas has grown up a Pacer, except for one year (in
Oklahoma City). Myles has grown up a Pacer and has become a really good
player. And they're both 23. I want this kid to be a Pacer. I did not pick
him to gather an asset."
“我非常荣幸能够让Domas除了第一年在雷霆以外，都能以溜马人的身份成长；Myles一直
以来都是溜马人，而且也成为了很棒的球员，他们都才23岁而已。我想让这孩子(Goga)
也成为溜马人，我并不是把他选来当成资产的。”
Coach Nate McMillan, meanwhile, is pondering ways to keep them all involved.
与此同时，教练Nate McMillan正在不断的思考该如何使用这三位球员。
"I've been thinking about it all night long, and will continue to think about
it throughout the summer," he said.
Nate：“我已经想这件事想了一整个晚上了，而且会继续想一整个夏天。”
For Pritchard, it boiled down to choosing for talent rather than need. With
so many roster spots to fill once the free agency signing period begins in
July, the Pacers weren't in a position to focus on need on draft night. It's
too early to know their greatest needs. Besides, Pritchard has learned some
hard lessons from some of his past mistakes.
对于Pritchard来说，选择天赋比选择位置更重要。尽管在轮值名单上有许多需要在7月开
市后补上的空缺，溜马并不打算在选秀夜去满足这些需求，因为现在就想弄清楚最迫切的
需求的话言之过早。除此之外，Pritchard已经从他过去的错误中学到教训。
"If you get caught up in, 'I've got to get a position there,' you can make a
lot of mistakes," he said. "Free agency is where you can plug some holes."
“如果你陷入了‘啊我这里有个缺需要补’的迷思时，你会犯下很多错误；自由市场才是
你该拿来补洞的地方。”
Given the acquisition of another big man, Pritchard and McMillan say they're
willing to buck the NBA trend of going small and leaning mostly heavily on
the 3-point shot for offense.
又拿下了一位长人以后，Pritchard和McMillan说他们乐意去反抗目前NBA潮流的小球风格
以及极度倚重三分投射的进攻方式。
Finding shooters will be a primary goal in free agency, but they believe they
can win with two big men on the court at the same time and posing matchup
problems for opponents.
找到射手会是FA的一大目标，但是他们相信可以靠着双塔去给对手制造对位上的难题。
"Everybody thinks it's all about going small; I'm not sure that's the way,"
Pritchard said. "I want somebody who plays hard and protects the rim, and
Goga does that."
Pritchard：“所有人都想着就是该打小球，但我并不这么认为；我想要有打得强硬而且能
护框的人手，Goga就是这样的球员。”
"We're going to play to our strengths," McMillan said. "If that's two bigs
out there on the floor and pounding inside, we'll take advantage of that.
McMillan：“我们会善用我们的长处去打球；如果我们场上有两位能够强打内线的长人，
就会靠着这点去取得优势。”
"Some teams are not cut out (to shoot a lot of 3-pointers). Last night it
changed for us."
“有些球队并不会一直传导到外线投一堆三分，昨晚这件事改变了我们。”
译按：这句话是乱翻的，求高手帮助
Bitadze has an impressive personal story worth telling, and one that will be
told in the days ahead. He grew up in Georgia when it was occupied for a
short time by Russia, amid poverty. Basketball became a refuge, and he took
to it quickly. He turned professional the summer he turned 16 and had to grow
up quickly away from his close-knit family.
Bitadze有个令人印象深刻、值得一提的成长背景：他在乔治亚，这个一度被俄罗斯所占据
的国家长大，生活在贫穷之中。篮球成为了他的避难所，而他很快的打出了名堂。在他满
16岁的那个夏天，Bitadze开始了他的职业生涯，远离了他亲近的家庭并且快速成长。
He watched NBA highlights when he could, and took particular notice of the
Pacers two years ago, when they lost to Cleveland in the first round of the
playoffs. Asked by Pritchard what he knew of the franchise when they had
lunch before Thursday's press conference, Bitadze brought up the lack of a
goaltending call against LeBron James late in Game 5 that assisted the
Cavaliers' victory.
他尽其所能的去看NBA的Highlight，在两年前开始注意到了溜马，就在那个输给骑士队的
第一轮季后赛。在周四媒体会面前的午餐间，Pritchard问了他是否知道溜马的任何事，
而Bitadze想到的就是那个让骑士拿下G5的Goal tending。
"They caught my eye because they were playing like one team; like a family,"
Bitadze said of the Pacers. "I could see that in their games they were
playing really tough and were out there competing and having fun. It was
great series and it was really disappointing, because refs I think made bad
call. It was heartbreaking.
Bitadze：“他们(溜马)引起了我的注意因为他们打得很像一支球队、一个家庭；我可以从
比赛中看到他们打得十分强悍、充满竞争并且从比赛中获得乐趣。那是一个很棒的系列赛
但是结果令人失望，因为裁判一堆乱吹，这让人心碎。”
"I watch a lot of NBA but they caught my eye, definitely."
“我看了很多NBA比赛，而这绝对吸引了我的目光。”
Bitadze proved his background knowledge of the Pacers at the end of the press
conference, when forward Alize Johnson, who spent most of last season playing
for the Fort Wayne affiliate in the G League, grabbed a microphone while
seated in the front row.
Bitadze在媒体会面的结尾时证明了他对溜马的背景有所认识；上一季大多数时间在溜马的
G League，Fort Wayne出赛的Alize Johnson坐在第一排拿了麦克风对他提问：
"Have you heard anything about Alize Johnson?" he asked, smiling.
“你知道任何关于Alize Johnson的事情吗？”他笑着问道。
Bitadze played into it.
Bitadze抓住机会开了点玩笑。
"Actually, yeah, he's a legend in (Indianapolis), EuroLeague also," he said.
"Everywhere you go you see his jersey over there."
Goga：“事实上呢... 当然，他是个(印第安纳)传奇，也是EuroLeague的传奇，你去的每
个地方都能看到他的球衣。”
译按：此处为记者笔误，Goga说的是ABA League(Goga打的联赛)而非印第安纳
Should the Pacers' trend-bucking move pay off, sightings of Bitadze Pacers
jerseys will become common, too.
如果溜马对抗联盟潮流的尝试能够获得成功，想必Bitadze的球衣真的会变得到处都是吧！