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Kevin Durant is going to make 25 million American dollars in 2017-18. That's a lot of money. It's also significantly less than Durant could be making. And that's totally fine.
凯文-杜兰特2017-18赛季将赚到2500万美元。这笔钱可不少。但这也比他能赚到的少得多。不过这也完全没毛病。
Durant is taking a sizable pay cut to apply an extra layer of superglue to any potential fissures in the Golden State Warriors' superteam, and, if hundreds of angry people on the internet are to believed, this further solidifies his status as a villain.
杜兰特为了巩固金州勇士队的超级阵容选择大幅减薪，消除球队任何潜在的裂痕。如果网络上真的有成百上千人因此愤怒的话，杜兰特此举彻底坐实了他反派的角色。
That anger not only represents a ludicrous double-standard in an age when players are often criticized for prioritizing money over other motives; it's also just silly. Durant can do what he wants. He's earned that right. He has now taken advantage of it multiple times. And that's totally fine.
这种怒火不仅代表了这个时代一种荒诞的双重标准：人们常常批评球员把金钱置于一切其它目的之前；而且也很蠢。杜兰特想干什么就干什么。他有权这么做。他现在多次使用了这种权利而已。这也完全没毛病。
It's important to get that out of the way, because this column will argue that what Durant is doing is dangerous; that it threatens the NBA and the ideals the league has acted upon, namely that competitive balance is good. It's important to clarify that Durant is not at fault for any of that.
很重要的一点是，我们要把上述这种想法抛之脑后，因为本专栏就是要说明杜兰特的行为是很危险的；它给NBA和联盟一直在打造的理想状态带来了威胁，就是说各方竞争达到平衡是好事。但也要澄清，杜兰特没有责任维护这些。
But his decision does imperil every single mechanism the NBA and NBPA have collectively bargained into place to curb superteams and foster parity.
但他的决定的确危害了NBA体制的方方面面，球员工会也开始集体讨论约束超级球队的出现，促进实力平等化。
Tuesday is the one-year anniversary of Durant's decision, his "My Next Chapter" announcement that rocked the NBA and eventually changed it. His leap to Golden State irritated many around and within the sport. "I don't think it's good for the league," opined commissioner Adam Silver, and he wasn't alone.
这周二是杜兰特离开俄城决定的1周年，他的声明“我的下一站”让联盟轰动，也最终引起变化。他加盟勇士的决定激怒了很多身边的人，包括体育圈内人士。“我认为这对联盟不是一件好事，”总裁亚当-萧华表示。并不是只有他一个人这么想。
So he and the NBA's 30 owners did something about it. They went to the bargaining table with the goal of stamping out superteams in the new CBA. They targeted them with mechanisms such as the Designated Player extension that they hoped would entice stars to stay at home; that they hoped would dissuade stars from emulating Durant.
因此他和NBA30支球队的老板确实有了新举措。他们走到谈判桌前希望在新劳资协议下阻止超级球队的诞生。为此他们设计了新机制，比如特定球员续约条款，希望能籍此促使球星留队；也希望这样的条款能阻止其他球星效仿杜兰特。
But there was nothing they could do about this. And, at least for the foreseeable future, there is nothing they can do. The entire CBA is predicated on players seeking out and getting what they are worth, within the confines of team-wide and individual salary caps. It does not, and probably cannot, answer a simple question: What if players don't do that?
但对此他们也无能为力。至少在可预见的未来，他们做不了什么。整个劳资协议就是在球队范围内和球员工资帽的限制中假设球员们追求得到自己价值的年薪。它没有，估计也不能，回答一个简单的问题：如果球员们不这么做怎么办？
Durant didn't. He prioritized winning and lifestyle over money. He was financially unselfish. He took less money to fortify his superteam. And there's nothing stopping other superstars from doing the same.
杜兰特就没有。他把胜利和生活方式放在金钱之前。在金钱上，他是很无私的。为了巩固超级球队他自己减薪。而这并没有阻止其他超级巨星也这么做。
That doesn't mean others will. Steph Curry wasn't going to take a discount after being criminally underpaid for four years. LeBron made it clear in 2014 that he wanted the max after he himself took a pay cut in 2010. Chris Paul, the president of the players' union, has fought for bigger contracts for players like himself; you think he'll be taking anything less than the max next summer?
当然也不是说其他球员就一定会这么做。斯蒂芬-库里的4年童工合同结束后肯定不会让自己的合同再打折扣。詹姆斯早在2014年就说清楚了，2010年他降薪之后现在他想要顶薪合同。克里斯-保罗身为球员工会主席，为球员们、包括他自己争取大合同；你觉得他明年夏天会签比顶薪少1个子的合同吗？
But the potential cause-and-effect here could alter the landscape of the league. Will others feel more comfortable eschewing their market value to take pay cuts of their own?
但这里潜在的因果关系会改变联盟的风气。其他球员会不会因为减少了自己的市场价值以实现降薪而感到更舒服呢？
Or, even more ominous for Silver and the league: Will some players feel like they have to?
或者，对于萧华和NBA更不幸的是：会不会有些球员觉得自己必须降薪？
Durant set the precedent, and the Warriors will set the pace. The rest of the league must keep up. We've seen how that pressure has affected front office decision making and risk taking. We've seen how teams like the Rockets and Thunder have made drastic moves to try to keep up, and how others feel they must follow suit.
杜兰特开了先河，而勇士队带起了军备竞赛的节奏。联盟里的其他球队必须得跟上。我们已经看到这种压力是如何影响制服组的决策和风险承担的，也看到了像火箭队和雷霆队这样的球队是怎么大动干戈试图跟上勇士队的脚步的，其他球队又是如何自觉必须有样学样的。
But what if it's not enough? What if the Warriors are still head and shoulders above the James Harden-Chris Paul backcourt? What if they sweep through the West again, and roll over a retooled Cavaliers team in the Finals once more?
但如果这还不够呢？要是即便有了詹姆斯-哈登和克里斯-保罗这样一对后场组合，勇士队仍然更高一筹怎么办？要是勇士队再次横扫西部，在总决赛中又一次碾压了重装上阵的骑士队怎么办？
If general managers can't solve the Golden State problem, the onus shifts to the players. Taking less might be the only solution. And if Durant can do it, why can't others? Why won't others?
若是总经理们无法解开勇士队这道谜题，责任就传一代转移到球员们身上了。坚信减薪可能是唯一的出路。而且如果杜兰特能降薪，其他球员就降不得？其他球员就不会降？
And if one or two others do, will the arms race begin to spiral out of control? Could pay cuts become an essential aspect of building a championship contender? Could these ripple effects extend beyond the era of Warriors dominance and have a lasting effect on the league?
然后，如果有一两名成员这么做了，军备竞赛会不会再次失去控制？想打造冠军之师，减薪是否会成为必不可少的一方面？这些连锁效应会在勇士主宰的时代过去之后继续延续，给联盟带来长久的影响吗？
Now we're getting ahead of ourselves. But Durant has brought the idea to our attention. He has opened eyes, and if some of those eyes belong to other superstars, the bodies connected to those eyes could soon open doors. The possibility is real, even if unlikely. And it's a threat to a league that champions parity, even if it often fails to achieve it.
现在说这些有些言之过早。但是是杜兰特把这个主意带进了我们的视野里。他的脑筋很活络，如果某些其他超级巨星脑子也很灵活，他们可能就要溜之大吉了。虽然可能性很小，但它确实存在。这也对联盟冠军的雨露均沾是个威胁，即便很少能做到这一点。
And the scary part is that there is no obvious counter for Silver or the NBA. When Durant made his initial decision, Silver and the owners conveniently had a collective bargaining agreement that they could opt out of within the year. If there is a similar reaction to this Durant decision, they will have no such luck.
另外，可怕的一点在于，萧华和NBA没有明显的应对之策。当杜兰特做出最初的决定加盟金州勇士队时，萧华和球队老板们轻松地达成了一份能在一年内作废的集体商讨协议。如果他们想对杜兰特的这个降薪决定有所反应就没有那么幸运了。
And they would have trouble writing a reaction into the next CBA anyway. In theory, they could draft some sort of provision that prevents All-NBA players from signing a contract that pays them less than, say, 80 percent of their previous annual salary.
他们要是想把他们的反应写进下一份劳资协议里也很麻烦。理论上他们能起草一些所谓的条款限制全明星球员签下一份年薪少于上份合同，比如说80%的合约。
That could be adjusted for cap inflation, and amended in other ways to close loopholes. But such a rule, or any rule intended to prevent players taking pay cuts to form superteams, would likely carry problematic side effects.
这些条款也可以为了工资帽的上涨随之调整，通过其他的方法修订后起到堵漏的效果。但这样一项条例，或者任何意图想阻止球员们减薪以组成超级球队的规定都很可能带来棘手的副作用。
Tens of thousands of words could be written about other potential solutions to the NBA's parity problem. (Side note: Parity is not inherently necessary, nor is a lack of it necessarily a problem; the NBA, however, clearly thinks it is.) But the bottom line is that almost all those solutions hinge on players desiring more money rather than less.
对于NBA平衡性的问题，我们能写出长篇大论来阐述其它潜在的解决方案。（旁注：平衡性并非天生必要的，没有它也不一定会带来问题；但在NBA，显然平衡性就是必要的）但底线在于几乎所有的方法都基于球员们只求更高的薪金而非降薪。
For example, you could eliminate max contracts and allow LeBron James to make $70 million per year, leaving LeBron's team with, in 2017-18 cap terms, only $29 million to fill out the rest of a roster. Durant and Steph Curry could make over $50 million each. What would that do to superteams?
比如说，你可以取消顶薪合同的限制，允许勒布朗-詹姆斯每年拿5000万美元，他所在的球队就只有2900万美元填补阵容了，这是按照2017-18赛季工资帽计算得出的。杜兰特和斯蒂芬-库里每个人都能拿5000万美元。这对于超级球队意味着什么呢？
Nothing, if stars don't accept contracts that pay them what they're worth. Durant took a $9.5 million pay cut. There is nothing stopping a player from taking a $25 million pay cut. There just isn't.
如果球星们不愿意接受符合自己身价的合同的话，就没有什么用。杜兰特减薪950万美元。没有什么能阻止一名球员降薪2500万美元的。就是没有。
Players wield tremendous power in the NBA, and that's generally a good thing, both in theory and in practice. It's part of what makes the NBA so wildly entertaining. But the players haven't even realized the full extent of their power. That's what could ultimately begin keeping Adam Silver up at night.
在NBA里球员们能呼风唤雨，无论是理论上还是实际上都大体是件好事。这是让NBA如此好看的部分原因。但球员们还没有意识到他们的全部能量。最终这件事开始让亚当-萧华昼思夜想，绞尽脑汁。
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