Here comes Magic Johnson, the Hall of Fame guard with the 1,000-watt smile. Lakers vice president Jeanie Buss celebrated her civil war win over her brother, Jim, by elevating Johnson, an adviser for all of three weeks, to president of basketball operations.
魔术师约翰逊报道，一位总是挂着1000瓦特感染力微笑的名人堂后卫。将当了三周顾问的约翰逊提拔到篮球运营总裁，湖人总裁珍妮-巴斯以她自己的方式庆祝了与她哥哥吉姆-巴斯之间内斗的胜利。
Gone was general manager Mitch Kupchak, ousted from his executive vice-president role was Jim Buss, and in comes Johnson, a legendary player, a successful businessman … and when it comes to being a basketball executive, a total novice.
总经理米奇-库普切克因此离开，吉姆-巴斯则被剥夺了执行副总裁身份，而上位的则是约翰逊——一位传奇球员、成功的商业人士，但作为一个篮球运营总裁，则是一个彻底的新手。
That's the thing: When the dust settles and all the friendly interviews are complete, the Lakers will be spearheaded by a top exec with no idea how to do the job for which he was hired.
事实是这样的：当一切闹剧尘埃落定，当所有友好的新闻采访都结束，湖人将会被一个完全不知道该如何做好自己工作的总裁所掌管。
Harsh? Yes. Accurate? Absolutely.
也许残酷，却是事实。
For all of Magic Johnson's accomplishments, successfully running an NBA team — or even being a part of running one — is not one of them.
纵观魔术师约翰逊生涯的种种丰功伟绩，成功地经营一个NBA球队并不在其中，哪怕仅是作为一份子。
And that's OK — if Johnson understands his limitations. First: Johnson is not a general manager. He needs a staff that knows the league and has relationships with key people in it.
不过如果约翰逊能理解自己职责界限的话，这都还好办。最重要的事实是：约翰逊并不是球队总经理。他所需要的是一个了解这个联盟并与联盟里的重要人物有良好关系的管理层团队。
Rob Pelinka, the Lakers' new GM, is a good start. Pelinka is a player agent, and there is a history of ex-agents, most notably Golden State GM Bob Myers, having success.
雇佣罗勃-佩林卡作为湖人的新总经理是一个不错的起手。佩林卡曾经是一位球员经纪人，而之前已有过前经纪人转行当总经理的成功历史，最著名的例子是金州勇士的总经理鲍勃-迈耶斯。
Assistant GM Ryan West, son of Jerry West, is another important piece. Over the next few months Johnson must flesh out the Lakers' front office with experienced, skilled people.
另一个重要的拼图则是助理经理莱恩-韦斯特—杰里-韦斯特的儿子。在接下来的几个月里，约翰逊的首要任务就是用有经验、有能力的人才把湖人的制服组填满。
And he needs to empower them. Pelinka is not dumping his client list to be a glorified assistant. Nor should he.
不仅如此，约翰逊还需施予他们权力。佩林卡毕竟不能单靠他庞大的前客户名单以成为一个荣耀助理经理，而他也不应该这么做。
He has nearly two decades of NBA experience. He represented Kobe Bryant — and here is where we pause to note the irony that the man who negotiated the salary cap-killing contract that help put the Lakers in this current hole was hired to help dig them out of it — and has pieced together hundreds of player contracts.
他有着接近二十年的NBA工作经验，不仅曾作为科比-布莱恩特的经纪人，还帮助商讨了其他几百个球员合同。这其中的讽刺之处在于，这一位通过商讨科比的天价合同而为湖人挖下工资大坑的经纪人，现如今的工作则是帮忙填好这个坑。

He knows what he is doing. For now, Magic does not.
佩林卡能够胜任他的工作，而就现在来讲，魔术师还不行。
There's more. Johnson needs to scout. A lot. It's not enough for a top executive to periodically pop on the Pac-12 Network or sit through the NCAA tournament.
魔术师的工作还有更多。他需要做好球探工作，许多的球探工作。如果一个高层总裁只是定期地浏览太平洋十二校联盟网站或是到现场看完NCAA锦标赛，他一定是不称职的。
He needs to hit the road. Other execs do it. Oklahoma City's Sam Presti is there. Toronto's Masai Ujiri is everywhere. Even Miami's Pat Riley — as inconspicuous at college games as a Volkswagen in a Ferrari lot — is regularly on campus.
他需要不断地来往美国各地，毕竟他的同行也会这么做。雷霆队的萨姆-普雷斯蒂会这么做，猛龙队的马萨伊-乌杰里更是这么做的典范。哪怕是无论在哪个大学比赛都显得鹤立鸡群的帕特-莱利，也会经常出现在大学校园里。
Come to think of it, why didn't the Lakers hire one of them? Star power in today's NBA gets you nowhere. Johnson can't divine who will be a great player just because he was one. And marquee free agents won't sign with L.A. because Magic told them to.
回过头来一想，为什么湖人不雇佣这些优秀总裁中的一位呢。在如今的NBA管理层里，名气并不能带给你什么。哪怕约翰逊有着多么伟大的球员经历，他也不会因此而拥有预测谁将成为一个伟大的球员的能力。大牌自由球员也不会只因魔术师的一两句劝告而选择与湖人签约。
The marketing power that comes with being a Laker has diminished. Who is the biggest star in the NBA? LeBron James — in Cleveland. Who was right behind James in off-court earnings last season? Kevin Durant — in Oklahoma City. L.A. offers great weather. Fame? You can get that anywhere.
现在成为一个湖人球员的市场影响力已大不如前。谁是当前NBA最大牌的球星呢？看看克利夫兰的勒布朗-詹姆斯。而上赛季谁是詹姆斯之后球场外收入最多的球员呢？看看俄克拉荷马城的凯文-杜兰特。在洛杉矶你也许能享受到四季如春的天气，不过你想要名气的话，在其他任意一支球队都可以得到。
So why not make a run at a proven commodity? Unclear. The Knicks didn't. James Dolan had $12 million per year to spend on a team president. He hired the NBA's best coach.
那么湖人为什么不尝试雇佣一个已经证明过自己的总裁呢？没有人知道原因。尼克斯没有这么做。詹姆斯-多兰每年在球队运营总裁上要花1200万美元，这位运营总裁是曾经NBA中最好的教练。
The Lakers had millions to spend, too. They hired one of the league's greatest players. Would Presti, Ujiri or San Antonio's R.C. Buford be interested in either gig? Who knows? But it's stunning that neither team bothered to try.
湖人同样也有几百万美元的预算，而他们把这钱花在了联盟中最伟大球员之一身上。谁也不知道是否普雷斯蒂、乌杰里或者马刺的RC布福德对这两份工作之一有兴趣，但令人惊讶的是两只球队居然都懒得去尝试挖角。
Magic Johnson can be good at this job. But it's foolish to think because he's Magic Johnson that he will. Success in other walks of NBA life means little.
魔术师约翰逊完全有可能做好这份工作。但认为他能做好只因为他是魔术师约翰逊的想法是愚蠢的。在NBA的各种工作中隔行如隔山。
Phil Jackson is floundering in New York. Vlade Divac is under fire in Sacramento. Running an NBA team is a year-round job with few breaks. The competition is fierce and talent is everywhere in an increasingly global game.
菲尔-杰克逊挣扎于纽约的烂泥中，弗拉德-迪瓦茨在萨克拉门托饱受争议。管理一只NBA球队是一份活多假少的全年工作，联盟内的球队竞争十分残酷，而在如今不断全球化的篮球运动里有天赋的运动员又出现在世界各地。
To succeed with the Lakers, Magic Johnson needs to know: It's time to get to work.
想要成功接管湖人，魔术师约翰逊需要明白一件事：现在该开始努力了。

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