小甜瓜安东尼的抉择

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

梅罗-安东尼已经将试探步和跳投这两种技术动作演绎到了极致。

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.

四肢展开，背平行于地面，一个虚晃，过掉对手。

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.

身体绷紧，垂直腾空而起，狭小的空间中抓住转瞬即逝的机会。

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.

同样，安东尼的生涯也如他的假动作一样充满着不确定性。近年来，安东尼做了大量减重训练，虽说仍然很强壮，但力量方面相比于生涯早期逊色不少。

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挂在脸上，但是目前的篮球生涯不那么尽如人意，一切变得虚无缥缈，人们可能无法想象他身上所承受的压力。

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.

对于那些在喜欢在进攻端获得快感的球迷来说，卡梅罗-安东尼如同一只野兽。安东尼更愿意自己处理球，这或许也是一种不幸——他把自己孤立了起来。

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.

但事实上，安东尼似乎很乐意将纽约尼克斯作为了他最后的桥头堡。

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.

过去和现在所发生的都不是某一个人的过错，问题是安东尼现在想掌控未来。安东尼在2014年和尼克斯签下了一份四年1.24亿美元的续约合同，其中包含“交易否决权”。

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，无论球迷还是球队上下都做好了并肩作战的准备，但是安东尼却没有。

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

安东尼现在仿佛身处于一个迷宫，通往尼克斯的那条路有些光亮，但这条路只会越走越深，永远没有尽头。

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.

一些人认为，安东尼选择尼克斯是想继续享受这种聚光灯下的感觉，无拘无束地在这里打球，但这也意味着他的未来不再光明。

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

以任何方式结束篮球生涯都无法令人昂首挺胸。

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.

尽管科比-布莱恩特的退役演出赢得了欢呼，但是他愿意永远沉浸在那个时刻，不知疲惫地为湖人投出每一个球，他仍然怀念身着紫金球衣的最后时光。

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

蒂姆-邓肯，尽他所能守护着尊严的堡垒

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.

尽管在西部半决赛中被俄克拉荷马雷霆击败后他决定离开，但是我不确定他是否真的想以这种方式告别。

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.

即使一名杰出的球员在离开时荣誉满身，未来迎接他的已不是熟悉的褒奖，而是令人手足无措的失落感。

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

当走到路的尽头，才会想起途中的遗憾。

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

一名即将步入生涯末期的篮球运动员会慢慢丧失他们的天赋和控制力。

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.

而安东尼现在仍然可以用他的试探步和跳投掌控球场，为他和他的家庭做打算，有时他已经做到了倾其所有。

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

而就像他不需要为球队的过去和现在的处境负全部的责任一样，安东尼同样不能决定尼克斯的未来。

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.

安东尼是球队中薪水最高的球员，他拥有独一无二的特权，但是在这个商业联盟中，他也只不过是机器中的一个闪闪发光、高速旋转齿轮罢了。

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.

或赢或输，或成或败，已不重要，篮球场上，尽力足矣。

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