WC总经理

General manager, a frequent target ofcriticism from fans, media and even his starplayer, just rolled with the punches, until onegreat trade revitalized the team and of course,his reputation.

总经理总是球迷、媒体甚至明星球员指责的对象。不过忍气吞声，直到一次伟大的转会让整支球队重新焕发了活力，当然还有他的名誉。

The first time Mitch Kupchak wasmentioned for one of the most glamorous jobsin sports, general manager of the Lakers, hewas standino at a urinal.

米奇・库普切克第一次被人提及担任湖人总经理――体育界最出风头的职位之一时，他正站在小便池旁。

An All-American at North Carolina whobecame a starting power forward for theShowtime-era Lakers, Kupchak's career wascut short after an injury in 1981 that shatteredhis left knee. After a limited comeback,KUpchak agreed to move over to the frontoffice in 1986 to serve an apprenticeship underthen-general manager Jerry West

他来自北卡，曾入选全美最佳阵容，在湖人“表演时刻”的那个年代，他是首发大前锋。不过1981年的一次伤病让他的左膝受到了粉碎性的打击，他的职业生涯也过早终结了。经过_次不成功的复出后，1986年库普切克同意转至前台，担任当时湖人总经理杰里・韦斯特的学徒。

"About the second week I was there,I'm standing in the bathroom at the Forum… when the door flies open and Jerrywalks in, face red, smoke shooting out of hisears, every other word a four-letter word."Kupchak recalled recently. "He's ranting andraving, talking to me, but not really talking tome even though there's nobody else in there.I'm petrified.

“大概是我上任的第二周，我正站在论坛球馆的沐浴间里……门突然开了，杰里走了进来，脸色通红，两支耳朵似乎都要冒烟了，每说一个单词，后面就跟着一个四个字母组成的单词，”库普切克最近回忆说，“他不断地咆哮乱叫，和我说话，却似乎又没有和我说话，尽管当时那里没有别人，我惊呆了。”

"'You know, I've had enough. I'm tellingDr. Buss i'm quitting and I'm recommendingyou for the job.' And then he walked out,"Kupchak recalled West saying. "I'm stillstaring straight ahead at the wall, saying tomyself, '1 don't know if I'm ready for this job.'"

“‘你知道，我受够了。我告诉(杰里)巴斯博士我不干了，我还推荐你干这份差事。’随后他就出去了，”库普切克回忆着韦斯特当时说的话。“我还是……直勾勾地盯着前面的墙，对自己说，‘接手这份工作，我还没做好准备。’”

Kupchak need not have worried. Westwasn't going anywhere for 14 years, althoughhe would periodically threaten to bolt as his jobanxiety continued to dse.

库普切克并没必要担心，韦斯特在湖人总经理的位置上一干就是14年，尽管随着这份工作压力的不断增大，他还是时不时威胁离开。

When West finally stepped aside in2000, Kupchak felt he was qualified to takethe reins from the front-office legend. Othersweren't so sure. There was a perception thatWest continued to pull the strings, first as aLakers consultant, then from the golf coursein retirement, and even, want the uninformedchatter, from Memphis after West went therein 2002 to revive the Grizzlies.

2000年，当韦斯特最终卸任后，库普切克感觉到自己已经足以胜任从这位管理层的传奇人物手中接过执掌球队的大权。其他人并没有如此肯定。当时有一种观点是韦斯特以三种不同的身份继续垂帘听政，首先是作为球队顾问，其次是彻底离开湖人后以业余高尔夫球手的身份，最后也是最夸张的――在2002年担任灰熊总经理时继续掌控湖人。

"That is so grossly unfair," said West,once again retired. "Mitch is his own men."

“这实在太不公平了，”韦斯特说，2007年他再次退休了，“米奇可是个很有主见的人。”

West left a smoothly running dynasty thatinitially required Kupchak to do little more thanadd a few role players as the team want on to

complete a three-year title run.

韦斯特留下了一个足以平稳过渡的王朝，起初库普切克除了为球队增添几个角色球员之外，几乎不用多做什么就让这支球队完成了连续三年夺得总冠军的伟业。

Then came some heavy lifting. KarlMalone and Gary Payton came and went,Shaquille O'Neal was traded, and Kobe Bryant,apparently horrified at the prospect of wastinghis prime years on a not-ready-for-prime-timeteam, began to question the front office, quietlyat first and then very publiclv.

随即而来的则不那么容易。卡尔・马龙和加里・佩顿来来去去，沙奎尔・奥尼尔被交易离队，而科比・布莱恩特明显被吓坏了，因为他很可能要把自己职业生涯的巅峰期浪费在一支尚未为巅峰期做好准备的球队里。他开始质疑管理层，一开始还是私下小声议论，但随后渐渐公开。

There was the 2005 trade of Caron Butlerto Washington. "My best friend gets shippedout without me knowing," Bryant said. 2005年巴特勒被送到华盛顿。“我最好的朋友被交易离队，我却一无所知，”布莱恩特说。

There were questions about the draftingof Andrew Bynum and Jordan Farmar. Therewas the failure to consummate a deal with theMinnesota Timberwolves for Kevin Garnettand Kupchak's refusal to part with Bynum ina possible deal for Jason Kidd - a decisionBryant ripped in a fan's notorious video.

选中拜纳姆和法马尔这样的新秀受到质疑，与明尼苏达森林狼交换凯文-加内特的交易又宣告流产，库普切克拒绝将拜纳姆作为可能换来贾森-基德的筹码――在一名球迷的臭名昭著的录像中，科比对这个决定进行了猛烈的攻击。

"I was on Mitch's [butt]," Bryant conceded."It was just rough for me… not havinganything done. It was extremely frustrating. Wehad talks privately about trying to do somethingto be more aggressive and make changes andstill nothing got done."

“我被米奇气疯了，”科比承认，“对我来说难以接受，实在太让人沮丧了。我们私下里曾谈过，尽力做到一些对于球队来说有益的事情并做出改变，但他什么事都没做。”

All the while, Kupchak had the support ofBuss, the only man who really matters.

从头至尾，库普切克都得到了巴斯的支持，而后者也是唯一执掌大权的人。

That support was rewarded with two keydeals. In November, Kupchak obtained TrevorAriza, a solid defender, from the Odando Magicfor Maurice Evans and Bdan Cook.

这种支持在两笔重要交易后得到了回报。去年11月，库普切克用莫里斯・伊文斯和库克从魔术换来了阿里扎，一位强悍的防守型球员。

Than came the move that turned arounda season and Kupchak's image. On Feb. 1, heobtained forward/center Pau Gasol from theGrizzlies for Brown, Javaris Crittenton, twodraft picks and other considerations.

接下来的这笔交易改变了整个赛季的进程，也大大改善了库普切克的形象。2月1日，他用布朗，贾瓦里斯・克莱滕顿、两个选秀权和其他一些条件从灰熊换来了前锋/中锋保罗，加索尔。

"[Kupchak] had the patience to sit onthe Kwame piece and pulled off the coup degrace," Bryant told reporters recently. "He goesfrom an F to an A-plus."

“《库普切克》拥有足够耐心，将赌注压在夸梅身上，用致命一击取胜，”近日布莱恩特告诉记者，“他(作为总经理)的得分从F变成了A+。”

A first-round draft choice of theWashington Bullets in 1976, Kupchak, by then6-9 and 230 pounds, spent five seasons there.

1976年，身高6尺9寸(2.05米)，体重230磅(110公斤)的库普切克在选秀大会第一轮被华盛顿子弹队选中，他在那里一呆就是5个赛季。

But his life changed because of a picnicheld in a Palm Springs park. Buss had invitedMagic Johnson to share a basket of food afterthe Lakers had been upset in the first round ofthe 1981 playoffs. "You tell me what I have todo to win," Buss recalled saying to Johnson.

但是棕榈泉公园的一次野餐，却改变了他的人生的轨迹。湖人刚刚在1981年季后赛第一轮遗憾出局，巴斯请“魔术师”约翰逊一同分享一篮食物。“你告诉我，要赢球我该做些什么呢，”巴

斯回忆起曾对“魔术师”说过的话。

"If we could get Mitch Kupchak, I knowwe could win," Johnson replied. So the Lakersacquired Kupchak and signed him to a 14-yearcontract (seven playing years, seven inmanagement) for neady $ 8 million.

“如果我们能得到米奇・库普切克，我知道我们就能赢，”约翰逊答道。随即湖人得到库普切克，用接近800万美元与他签了14年的合同(7年球员，7年管理层)。

The final piece of the Showtlme puzzle?It seemed that way until the 26th game ofKupchak's first Lakers season. Facing the SanDiego Clippers, Kupchak drove the middle,found Clipper Jos blocking his path,and planted his left leg in an attempt to pull upand avoid the charge. Instead, the leg buckled,fracturing his knee and causing cartilage andligament damage.

他是湖人“表演时刻”拼图中的最后一块拼板吗?在他加盟湖人第一个赛季的前26场比赛似乎让人觉得确实如此。面对圣迭戈快艇，库普切克中路突破，发现快艇的乔・布莱恩特(科比的老爹)挡住他的前进线路，他用左腿支撑，试图跳起避免冲撞。但是他的左腿扭了一下，膝盖骨折，同时也造成了软骨与韧带的损伤。

As he began the long road to recovery,Kupchak took a detour to UCLA to pursue amaster's deoree in business.

在他康复的漫漫长路中，他“绕道”加州大学洛杉矶分校，取得了商科的硕士学位。

Kupchak retired at the end of the 1985-86season and became West's assistant.

库普切克在1985－86赛季结束之后退役，成了韦斯特的助手。

"From day one, all Jerry West did wasgive me responsibility," Kupchak said. "Hechallenged me……He wasn't trying to protecthis turf. He wasn't questioning what mymotives were. He was great, a true mentor".

“从第一天起，杰里所做的就是让我承担责任，”库普切克说，“他给予我挑战……他没有试图保护自己的权力范围，他没有对我做事的动机有所猜疑。他很伟大，是个真正的导师。”

Said West, "To me, it was an easydecision to bring Mitch in. With his businessexperience, it was a perfect fit. We aretwo people who really liked each other andrespected each other. It was the start of areally special relationship."

韦斯特说：“对我来说，让米奇进入管理层是个很容易做出的决定，以他在经营方面的经验，能完美地胜任这样的位置。我们两个确实相互喜欢，相互尊重。这是一种特别情谊的开端。”

Kupchak remembers the moment herealized the working relationship was over. Itwas the moming in June 2000 after the Lakershad beaten Indiana for the championship.

库普切克记得自己意识到这种工作关系即将结束的那一刻，那是2000年湖人击败步行者，加冕总冠军之后的一个6月早晨。

Unable to bear watching in person the teemha had built, West spent the night driving aroundMalibu listening to the game on the radio.

由于无法承受亲眼看着他一手建立起的球队(夺冠与否)比赛，韦斯特当晚上一直开着车在马利布兜圈子，耳朵里却听着广播里的比赛进程。

When Kupchak got to work the nextday, he recalled, he found West already in hisoffice. With the door ajar, Kupchak peekedin. West was seated at his desk in the dark,staring straight ahead, eyes bloodshot. Westacknowledged Kupchak in a somber voice.

库普切克回忆，当第二天上班时，他发现韦斯特已经来到了自己的办公室。门微掩着，库普切克悄悄向里看去，黑暗中韦斯特正坐在他的办公桌前，眼睛直勾勾地注视着前方，眼中布满血丝。带着一种低沉、忧郁的嗓音，韦斯特对库普切克点头示意。

"That's not what you expect when you justwoo a championship less than 12 hours earlier,"Kupchak said. "When I left Jerry, I told myself,'This may be it.'"

“你在不到12小时之前刚刚赢得总冠军，这些显然不是你所期望的，”库普切克说，“当我离开杰里的时候，我告诉自己，‘是时候了’。”

Kupchak shrugs off anypublic perception that hewas constantly on the phonewith West and that West stilldeserved much of the credit for

the Lakers' success.

对于外界对于他经常与韦斯特通话的传言，以及湖人的成功在很大程度上依然应该归功于韦斯特的论调，库普切克显得不屑一顾。

"Didn't bother me," he said. "That wasnever important to me."

“别烦我了，”他说，“那些对我都不重要。”

Indeed, Kupchak, 53, abhors the spotlight.He was reluctant to be interviewed for thisstory, and guards his family's privacy, refusingto reveal the names or ages of his two children.Asked to be photographed, he insisted onincluding Ronnle Lester, his assistant.

事实上，53岁的库普切克厌恶自己处于聚光灯下。为了这篇稿，他很不情愿地接受了采访，却对家庭隐私异常敏感，拒绝透露自己两个孩子的名字与年龄。在被要求拍摄照片时，他坚持着把自己的助手罗尼-莱斯特也拉进镜头。

While Buss remains supportive, he, too,would like to see some of the credit shared.尽管巴斯对他一直保持着支持的态度，但他却更愿意让更多人分享成功。

Jerry Buss said it was he who initiated theidea of obtaining Gasol.

杰里・巴斯说，签下加索尔最初是他的主意。

"I saw that he said in the paper he wantedto be traded," Buss said. "Knowing thatMemphis was losing a great deal of money, Isuggested we pursue it. Mitch made the call,but it was Jim who also stayed on it."

“我看到他在报上说希望被交易出去，”巴斯说，“我知道孟菲斯正在大笔大笔地亏钱，我提出寻求通过交易得到他的途径。是米奇打的电话，但吉姆也在跟进这件事。”

Kupchak said his toughest time on the jobcame in the summer of 2004, when the Lakershad traded O'Neal, but Bryant had not yetdecided whether he would stay with the Lakersor join the Clippers.

库普切克说自己在这个位置上经历的最艰难时刻要数2004年夏天，当时奥尼尔交易出去，但科比却没有决定是留下还是加盟快艇。

"I was told Kobe would let both clubs knowhis decision on the morning he was eligible tosign," Kupchak said. "I was in my office when Iheard, 'Mitch, Kobe's on the phone.' That wasa pretty high-stress moment. I got on and hesaid, 'Mitch, I want to be a Laker.'"

“有人告诉我科比会在他有权签约的那天早上让两家俱乐部知道他的决定，”库普切克说，“我当时呆在我办公室里，我听到有人说，‘米奇，科比的电话来了。’那真是一个神经高度紧张的时刻。我接过电话，他说，‘米奇，我想留在湖人。’”

Kupchak, though, is ever-cautious: "In sixmonths, I could be back to an F."

库普切克还是一如既往的谨慎：“六个月后，我的得分还是可能会回到F。”