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'Talent only gets you so far': Devin Booker opens up on 'very frustrating'
season for Suns
https://i.imgur.com/DHDg62J.png
Devin Booker is in quite a quandary.
His Phoenix Suns are imploding. After entering the season with championship
expectations, they're in 10th place in the West and are fighting to make the
play-in tournament. They stunned Kevin Durant by trying to trade him in
February before he kiboshed a deal that would've sent him to Golden State.
Bradley Beal was involved in multiple trade rumors despite his no-trade clause
. There are whispers that coach Mike Budenholzer's future with the team could
be shaky.
Devin Booker 陷入了兩難境地。
他的鳳凰城太陽隊正在瀕臨崩潰。
本賽季開始時，球隊背負著爭奪總冠軍的期待，
但現在卻排名西區第十，苦苦掙扎爭取附加賽資格。
二月時，球隊試圖交易 Kevin Durant，
這讓他大感震驚，最終 KD 親自喊停了可能將他送往金州勇士的交易。
Bradley Beal 則多次捲入交易傳聞，儘管他擁有不可交易條款。
此外，外界也傳出球隊總教練 Mike Budenholzer 的未來可能不太穩固的風聲。
The Suns are clearly on the verge of seismic change this offseason, with all
three of their stars on maximum contracts and not enough to show for it.
So, the big question is what does this mean for Booker, a 28-year-old who
recently signed a four-year, $224 million supermax extension with the Suns
through the 2027-28 season?
When asked if he believes he could be traded too, he pointed to the fact that
no one is safe, something that was driven home to everyone in the NBA when the
Dallas Mavericks sent Luka Doncic – a 26-year-old who is considered a top-
three player in the league – to the Los Angeles Lakers in February.
太陽隊在這個休賽季顯然即將迎來劇變，
三位球星擁有頂薪合約，但球隊的表現卻未能達到預期。
那麼，問題來了：
這對 Booker 意味著什麼？
這位 28 歲的球星剛與太陽隊簽下了一份四年 2.24 億美元的超級頂薪續約合同，
將效力至 2027-28 賽季。
當被問到自己是否可能被交易時，Booker 提到了 NBA 的一個現實——
沒有人是絕對安全的。這一點在今年二月獨行俠將 26 歲、
被公認為聯盟前三球員的 Luka Doncic 交易至洛杉磯湖人時，
已經深刻地烙印在所有球員心中。
"Look at the situation that got Luka here," Booker told FOX Sports. "I
understand that it's a business. I've been around a long time. The Luka one is
probably the craziest trade we've seen. But the game just keeps going."
Suns owner Mat Ishbia recently told ESPN that trading Booker this offseason
would "never happen," adding, "I have Devin Booker in the prime. In order to
win an NBA championship, you got to have a superstar." Booker also apparently
isn't interested in being traded.
「看看 Luka 是怎麼轉隊的，」Booker 對《FOX Sports》表示。
「我明白這就是一門生意，我在這個聯盟待了很久。
Luka 的交易可能是我們見過最瘋狂的交易之一，但比賽仍會繼續下去。」
太陽隊老闆 Mat Ishbia 最近在接受 ESPN 採訪時強調，
休賽季交易 Booker「絕對不會發生」，並補充道：
「Devin Booker 正處於巔峰。想要贏得 NBA 總冠軍，你必須擁有超級球星。」
此外，Booker 本人似乎也無意被交易。
But it's clear that frustrations are mounting for Booker, whose Suns reached
the NBA Finals in 2021 but haven't made it past the second round of the
playoffs since.
During a recent trip to Los Angeles, Booker couldn't help but feel crushed by
how much things have changed since around this time four years ago, when he
was standing in front of the same locker, celebrating having just beaten the
LA Clippers in the Western Conference finals.
He remembers the scene vividly.
但很明顯，Booker 的挫折感正在累積。
太陽隊在 2021 年闖入 NBA 總冠軍賽，但自那以後，他們再也沒能突破季後賽第二輪。
最近一次造訪洛杉磯時，Booker 不禁感到心碎，因為一切變化太大了。
大約四年前的這個時候，他還站在同一個更衣室前，
慶祝剛剛擊敗洛杉磯快艇，挺進總冠軍賽。
他仍然清楚地記得當時的場景。
He and his teammates poured water over Chris Paul's head. Deandre Ayton, lying
on the carpet, cuddled the conference finals trophy and asked, "Why she play
so hard to get?" Booker beamed, hopeful he was going to win his first
championship in his first postseason appearance.
Fast-forward to last March 16, when Booker was in the same place, but worlds
apart.
他和隊友們把水撒向 Chris Paul 的頭歡慶勝利。
Deandre Ayton 躺在地毯上，抱著西區冠軍獎盃，開玩笑地問：「她怎麼這麼難追？」
Booker 滿臉笑容，充滿希望，認為自己能在生涯首次季後賽之旅中奪得總冠軍。
時光快轉至今年 3 月 16 日，
Booker 站在同樣的地方，卻感覺像是處在完全不同的世界。
After losing to the LeBron James-less Lakers, he was surrounded by a
semicircle of reporters asking him different iterations of the same question:
How can the Suns be so bad despite having so much talent? Durant left the
locker room before speaking to reporters. The mood was dismal, as the Suns'
slide continued following the month of February, when they went 3-10.
Booker didn't sugarcoat how the juxtaposition felt.
"Very frustrating," Booker told FOX Sports. "We celebrated the Western
Conference finals right here. I was standing in the same spot."
在輸給沒有 LeBron James 的湖人後，
Booker 被一群記者包圍，一群人不斷用不同的措辭問著同一個問題：
太陽隊明明擁有這麼多天賦，為什麼表現還這麼糟？
Durant 在記者會開始前就離開了更衣室，氣氛低沉，
而太陽隊在二月份打出 3 勝 10 負的戰績後，狀況依舊持續下滑。
Booker 並沒有掩飾這種強烈的對比帶來的感受。
「非常令人沮喪，」他對《FOX Sports》說道。
「我們當時就在這裡慶祝晉級總冠軍賽，就是我現在站的，同一個地方。」
It's confounding that the Suns are in this position considering they have a
coach with championship experience in Budenholzer, a two-time champion and two
-time Finals MVP in Durant and seven All-Star appearances between Booker (four
) and Beal (three).
So, seriously, what's the problem?
"Talent only gets you so far," Booker told FOX Sports. "I've been on teams
with less talent that found ways to get more wins. It's just the little things
. What people always say, the details of the game. Although it sounds like we
should know that at this part of our careers, it's just something you need to
form and develop and learn through trial and error.
考慮到太陽隊擁有一位具備冠軍總教頭 Budenholzer，
一位兩屆總冠軍、兩屆FMVP 的KD，以及Booker（四次）與Beal（三次），
兩人合計七次入選全明星，這樣的陣容，他們如今陷入這種困境實在令人費解。
那麼，問題到底出在哪裡？
「憑藉天賦打球終究有其極限，」Booker 對《FOX Sports》表示。
「我待過一些天賦較差的球隊，但我們總能找到贏球的方法。關鍵就在那些細節——
大家常說的比賽細節。雖然聽起來我們這個階段應該已經掌握了這些東西，
但這仍然需要透過不斷磨合、發展，並從試錯中學習。」
Budenholzer chalked up the Suns' issues to effort, saying, "We need a little
bit more from everybody." He included himself in that category, too, following
a game in which Durant chirped at him shortly after they exchanged words
during a game earlier this month. Durant — who made his 15th All-Star
appearance in February, and is averaging 26.4 points on 52.6% shooting,
including 41.6% from beyond the arc, alongside 6.1 rebounds and 4.3 assists —
pointed to the first incident as evidence of how much they both care about
trying to right the ship.
Budenholzer 將太陽隊的問題歸咎於不夠努力，並表示：「我們需要每個人付出更多。」
在這場比賽後，他也將自己納入其中，因為在本月初的一場比賽中，
KD 在他們交換言辭後對他發出了些許不滿的反應。
KD——在二月迎來了自己的第15次全明星賽出場，
場均貢獻 26.4 分、52.6% 的投籃命中率（包括 41.6% 三分球命中率），
加上 6.1 個籃板和 4.3 次助攻——
將這次事件視為他們兩人都非常關心，並努力挽回頹勢的一個證據。
The Suns have now won two games in a row, beating Toronto on Monday and
Chicago on Wednesday. But they have a tough stretch ahead, including facing
some of the top teams in the East in their next three games, in top-seeded
Cleveland, second-seeded Boston and fifth-seeded Milwaukee.
For Booker, his time with the Suns has been a rollercoaster. He saw them go
from not even making the playoffs in his first six seasons to reaching the
Finals in 2021. Then, Ishbia turned the team on its head to acquire Durant
followed by Beal. Last season's shortcomings could be chalked up to injuries.
But this season, the Suns are out of excuses.
太陽隊最近取得了兩連勝，分別擊敗了多倫多和芝加哥。
然而，他們接下來的賽程非常艱難，
包括在接下來的三場比賽中將面對東區的頂尖球隊——
排名第一的克里夫蘭、第二的波士頓和第五的密爾瓦基。
對 Booker 而言，他在太陽隊的歷程就像是一趟雲霄飛車。
他見證了球隊從他前六個賽季無緣季後賽，到 2021 年成功晉級總冠軍賽。
隨後，Ishbia 對球隊進行了徹底的改組，引進了 KD 和 Beal。
去季的失敗可以歸因於傷病。
但本賽季，太陽隊已經沒有更多的藉口了。
Booker has been here through it all, growing into a four-time All-Star, two-
time All-NBA selection and two-time Olympic gold medalist. He's averaging 25.7
points, 4.1 rebounds and 7.0 assists in 37.4 minutes this season, while
shooting 45.7% from the field and 34.7 % from beyond the arc.
This past summer, Steve Kerr called Booker the "unsung MVP" of Team USA
following its gold medal-winning run at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris.
Booker started every contest and finished with a plus-minus rating of +130
over 11 games, the highest of anyone on the team.
Booker 一直見證著太陽隊的起伏，
並且逐漸成長為四屆全明星、兩屆NBA隊伍以及兩屆奧運金牌得主。
本賽季，他場均貢獻 25.7 分、4.1 個籃板和 7.0 次助攻，
並且以 45.7% 的投籃命中率和 34.7% 的三分命中率，上場時間達 37.4 分鐘。
今年夏天，Steve Kerr 在 2024 年巴黎奧運會美國隊奪金後，
稱 Booker 為「無名的 MVP」。
Booker 在每場比賽中都擔任先發，並且在 11 場比賽中總共獲得了 +130 的正負值，
在隊內排名第一。
Back in 2021, LeBron James, unprompted, expressed a similar sentiment about
Booker, tweeting that he was "the most disrespected player in our league"
after he was snubbed for the All-Star Game. (He was later named to the team by
NBA commissioner Adam Silver as an injury replacement for Anthony Davis.)
When Booker was asked if he gets the respect he deserves, he shrugged.
"From the people that I respect," Booker told FOX Sports. "I wouldn't want it
any other way. Social media, they can do what they want. When you're getting
claimed that by two Hall of Famers, [including] one, [who's] arguably the best
player to ever live, it means a lot. I developed a good relationship with all
those guys through the summer at the Olympics. The respect is real. I can
feel it when they talk to me."
回到 2021 年，LeBron James 曾無預警地表達過類似的看法，
當時他在推特上表示 Booker 是「聯盟中最被忽視的球員」，
這是在 Booker 未能入選全明星賽後發表的。
（後來，Booker 作為 Anthony Davis 因傷缺席的替補人選，獲得了全明星的席位。）
當 Booker 被問到是否得到了應有的尊重時，他聳了聳肩。
「來自我尊重的人們的尊重，」Booker 對《FOX Sports》表示。
「我不會希望任何其他方式。社交媒體上他們想怎麼做就怎麼做。
當兩位名人堂成員（其中一位可能是有史以來最偉大的球員）這麼說的時候，
這意味著很多。我在奧運會的夏天和他們建立了良好的關係，這份尊重是真實的。
我可以感受到他們和我談話時的那份尊重。」
Booker didn't make the All-Star Game this year, but it's clear that those
closest to him deeply appreciate what he brings to the court every night,
especially Ishbia, who claims he's the team's untouchable player.
So, as the Suns' future remains uncertain, Booker is choosing to remain
hopeful that they can figure out a way to transform things again, and he can
continue to play for the franchise that drafted him 13th overall in 2015.
Booker 今年未能入選全明星賽，
但顯然那些最親近他的人，深深欣賞他每晚在球場上的表現，
特別是 Ishbia，他認為 Booker 是球隊無法動搖的核心球員。
因此，儘管太陽隊的未來依然不確定，
Booker 選擇保持希望，期望球隊能找到方法再次改變現狀，
而他也能繼續為那支在 2015 年以第 13 順位選中自己的球隊效力。
Booker often thinks about how the Suns climbed out of the cellar four years
ago, something he was recently reminded of as he stood in that locker room in
Los Angeles.
He's choosing to believe they can do that again.
"We were at the bottom of the league," Booker told FOX Sports. "So, it's
something that I've seen can turn around. I've seen it be fixed before. So,
that's the motivation. Just do that again."
Booker 經常回想起四年前太陽隊如何從谷底爬上來，
最近在洛杉磯的更衣室裡，他再次被提醒了這一點。
他選擇相信，球隊能再次做到這一點。
「我們曾經處於聯盟的最底層，」Booker 對《FOX Sports》表示。
「所以，這是我親眼見證，能夠改變的事情。
我曾經見過頹勢是如何被扭轉的。所以，那就是動力，要做的就是再來一次。」
CP3走了
Ayton走了
剩下Booker了
--