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Report: Indiana Pacers Question If Lance Stephenson Is Worth New Contract


Re-signing guard Lance Stephenson may seem like a no-brainer to the average
onlooker, but the Indiana Pacers could be having second thoughts.


are many in the organization who don't think it's a good decision to give him
a rich, long-term contract, given the way he has acted during the season."

ESPN的記者Mike Wells和Brian Windhorst稱，有消息人士透露溜馬不少的管理層都認為，
球隊不該和Stephenson續長約和給他一份肥約。

Unfortunately, it will probably take a "rich, long-term contract" in order to
retain Stephenson's services. Some team will be willing to give him one, even
if that team isn't Indiana.

不幸地，只有一分肥約和長約才能留的住Stephenson，因為其他球隊也願意開給他這樣的
合約。

The problem with Stephenson isn't talent or upside. The 23-year-old had a
breakout season and proved more than capable of doing a little bit of
everything. He averaged 13.8 points, 7.2 rebounds and 4.6 assists per game
during the regular season.

Stephenson的問題不是他的天賦，這位23歲的球員本季有突出的表現，證明他能做到的
比想像中的還多，本季例行賽他繳出平均13.8分、7.2個籃板、4.6次助攻的成績。

His postseason production has been nearly identical.

在季後賽他同樣有傑出的表現。

Nevertheless, Stephenson has also proven to be the kind of locker room
headache that may make the team forget all about the numbers.

然而，Stephenson已被認為是休息室毒瘤，這可能會讓那些對他有興趣的球隊卻步。

Wells and Windhorst write that there just might be something to the notion
that Stephenson is a selfish player:

有些風聲說Stephenson可能是一位自私的球員，Wells和Windhorst這樣寫道：

“After Stephenson missed out on the All-Star team, he changed. He started a
bit of a personal vendetta against East coaches, wanting to personally send a
message in those games, which took him further out of the flow on some
nights, sources said. Overall, the team noticed a shift in Stephenson from a
more team-oriented approach to a more self-oriented focus, where he started
obsessing about his statistics. People within the team believed his upcoming
free agency was also a motivating factor for Stephenson, who wanted to
enhance his value, something he believed suffered when he didn't get an
All-Star nod.”

「Stephenson自從落選全明星陣容後，他變了，他開始遷怒那些沒把票投給他的東區教練
們，他想要在比賽中傳遞這個訊息，他開始變得很愛自幹。溜馬也有注意到Stephenson


Selfishness aside, there are also questions about Stephenson's
decision-making on and off the court. He most recently expressed regret over
discussing his trash talking with LeBron James publicly, admitting to
reporters, "We just gotta play basketball and stop worrying about all the
other stuff."

除了自私以外，Stephenson球場上和球場下的行徑都引來不少質疑，他這幾天還公開表示
他對LeBron James噴垃圾話一事感到很遺憾，「我們是來打球的，不會再擔心其他事情
了。」Stephenson這樣說。

In April, Yahoo! Sports' Adrian Wojnarowski reported that Stephenson's
penchant for distraction had reached an all-new level:

今年四月的時候，Yahoo Sports的記者Adrian Wojnarowski還曾報導，Stephenson愛惹人
惱火的嗜好已經達到全新的水平了：

“On the eve of this Eastern Conference series, the wobbling No. 1 seed
punctuated its final playoff preparations in a most self-destructive way: Two
Indiana Pacers dragged a cursing, cut Evan Turner out of the Bankers Life
Fieldhouse court, untangling him from a practice-floor fistfight with teammate
Lance Stephenson.Turner hadn't been the first Pacer to lose his temper with
Stephenson these tumultuous several weeks, and Stephenson's relentlessly
irritable nature suggests Turner won't be the last. These scrapes aren't
uncommon in the NBA, but this confrontation had been weeks in the making and
that reflected in the ferocity of the encounter, sources told Yahoo Sports.”


該消息人士如此告訴Yahoo Sports。

Stephenson certainly hasn't been the Pacers' only problem this season, but
he's been a common denominator.

Stephenson當然不是溜馬本季唯一的問題，但他卻常常是溜馬的麻煩製造者。

With the ability to re-sign Evan Turner, the Pacers could elect to go in a
different direction during the offseason. Though Stephenson is unlikely to
receive any maximum-contract offers, he could very well demand something in
the range of $8-10 million per season.

續約Evan Turner也是溜馬可以在休賽季選擇的一個方向。雖然Stephenson不太可能拿到
頂薪合約的報價，但他很可能會要求一份每季800萬到1000萬的合約。

That could be too rich for Larry Bird's taste, especially if Stephenson is as
much trouble as he's estimated to be. The Pacers have to think about more
than stockpiling talent alone. They also have to account for locker room
chemistry.

對Larry Bird來說，這份要求或許貴了點，特別是Stephenson如果真的被視為球隊的麻煩
人物的話。溜馬除了要考慮他的能力外，也應該考慮到他對休息室化學效應的影響。

That probably means doing away with any risk of selfishness and infighting.

這可能意謂著要消除任何自私和內鬨的風險。

Players with Stephenson's versatility don't come around often.

但像Stephenson一樣功能的球員不是隨處可得的。

Whatever happens during the negotiations, don't expect Stephenson to accept
much of a discount. After making a shade under $1 million this season, he'll
be looking for quite the raise.

不管合約談判中發生什麼事，你都別想指望Stephenson會降價，在領完本季只有100萬的
薪水後，他會去尋找一份大約。

http://ppt.cc/Vlor

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