締造傳奇

As it was when he played， and again when he coached， Larry Bird’s genius as a team-builder lies in his subtlety.

無論做球員，還是當主教練，拉里·伯德作為一個球隊締造者的天賦植根于他的每一條血管里。

There was no big bang， nothing that set off the ①Richter Scale around the NBA that led to this Pacers team with the fifthbest record in the league， the third seed in the Eastern Conference playoff bracket and now homecourt advantage in the conference semifinal series with mighty Miami.

這支年輕球隊的建造過程并沒有搞出什么驚天動地的動作，他們不動聲色就拿到了聯盟第五的好成績，在季后賽中成為了東部聯盟的三號種子，并且在面對勁敵邁阿密熱火的系列賽中奪回了主場優勢。(截至此文發表時，步行者2-1領先)

He won the NBA Executive of the Year award Wednesday because of his execution of a complex， meticulous and brilliantly conceived plan.

他在周三(5月16日)獲得了NBA年度最佳經理的獎項。這次得獎應當歸功于他那份復雜、精密而又巧妙規劃的建隊計劃。

\"Being from Indiana and having a great opportunity to work for a franchise like the Pacers was an honor but I knew it was going to be tough and it’s still tough，\" Bird said. \"We don’t drive revenues like the big-market teams， we can’t go after $17-18 million players.

“作為一個印第安納人，能夠得到這樣一個美妙的機會為步行者這樣一支球隊工作是我的榮幸。不過，從一開始我就知道這份工作絕對不會輕松。即使現在也還是一樣。”伯德說，“我們的收入實在比不上那些大市場的球隊，我們也請不起那些一年要掙上個一千七、八百萬的球員。”

\"We have to do it a different way. We’ve got to do it a piece at a time. If we try to patchwork it， it doesn’t work that way. When we had the opportunity and got under the cap， we made the most of it.\"

“我們不能走尋常路。我們要專注于找到球隊陣容版圖中的一塊。對我們來說，想要一步到位不是很現實的事情。不過當我們既得到了機遇，同時又能夠將薪金總額降到了工資帽以下的時候，我們必須最大程度地利用這些資源。”

After changing the locker room culture， turning over the roster， drafting wisely， carefully managing the payroll and changing coaches， Bird’s team reached the playoffs in 2011. It was a young， energetic bunch that showed potential in pushing the Bulls to five games but he didn’t get carried away in the moment.

在改變了更衣室文化、將陣容不斷調整，精明的選秀、謹慎的薪金控制以及更換新教練等一系列舉措之后，伯德的球隊終于在2011年重返季后賽。那群年輕力壯、精力充沛的年輕人在首輪對公牛的系列賽里用了五場比賽就搞定了對手，并展示這支球隊的潛力。不過伯德并沒有因此得意忘形。……