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Larry Sanders is back! Two years ago Sanders, a self-described "person, father, artist, writer, painter, and musician who sometimes plays basketball," walked away from the game that he thought he was just OK at after struggling with depression and anxiety and various marijuana-related suspensions.
拉里-桑德斯回来啦！两年前的一场他自认为表现尚可的比赛后，他是这样形容自己的：“我是一个人，一个父亲，一个艺术家、作家、画家和音乐家，偶尔我也打打篮球。”而在此之前，他刚刚深陷焦虑，精神萎靡，以及数起由大麻引起的禁赛综合形成的困境之中。
At the time, the 6-foot-11 Sanders was only a year or so into a four-year, $44 million extension with the Bucks, who acquired him with the no. 15 pick in 2010. Milwaukee saw the mobile, athletic rim protector and screen setter as a core piece who, along with the long-limbed John Henson, would tangle the paint in thickets of swaying arms and menace.
那时候，6尺11寸的桑德斯才履行完他同雄鹿续签的4年4400万美金大合同的第一年。2010年的选秀大会，正是雄鹿看中了他的机动性、护筐能力以及掩护能力，从而以15号签把他摘下。雄鹿相信他和长臂怪约翰-亨森组成的内线双塔能够以超长的臂展和恐怖的防守压迫力统治禁区。
Sanders played only 23 games in 2013–14. He used the downtime to get in touch with his various other artistic interests. Sensitive and self-aware, Sanders acknowledged that his decision to walk away from the towering piles of currency by which American culture measures merit and success would be perplexing to many people.
桑德斯在2013-14赛季仅仅出场23场比赛。休赛期间，他发掘出了自己大量潜在的艺术兴趣。一个有些敏感的事情是，桑德斯发现他做出的放弃财富追求理想的决定令许多人无比困惑，因为财富恰恰是美国文化里衡量成功与能力的标杆。
"People say, 'How could you be unhappy there?' Values and the relationships with the people I love, that’s my real riches," he said in a Players’ Tribune video in 2015. "Happiness is a personal thing." But Sanders always left the door open for a return.
“人们总是说：‘你怎么可能会不开心呢？’然而在我看来，自身的意义，以及与我爱的人的良好关系，这些才是真正的财富，”2015年，桑德斯在球星看台发表的视频中如是说，“开心与否是一个私人问题。”不过桑德斯始终为复出做着准备。
On Monday, various sources reported that Sanders would join the Cleveland Cavaliers for the remainder of the season. The terms, as yet, are undisclosed. If the Sanders deal pans out, this is a big win for the Cavs and yet another feather in GM David Griffin’s metaphorically plumage-laden cap.
周一，多家媒体同时报导桑德斯将加盟克利夫兰骑士队直至赛季末，合同细节尚未公布。一旦合约被敲定，这将会是对骑士的一大利好消息，同时也给早已战功累累的总经理大卫-格里芬挂上了一枚崭新的军功章。
This season, Griffin has swung deals for 3-point operator Kyle Korver; Deron Williams, who, even faded and partially washed, is the best pure point guard LeBron has ever played with; and Andrew Bogut, who broke his leg 58 seconds into his very first game with the team.
让我们来看看这赛季格里芬都干了什么好事：签下三分机器人凯尔-科沃尔；挖来了勒布朗曾搭档过的最好的纯控卫德隆-威廉姆斯，尽管他已经今非昔比；还有第一场比赛上场58秒就不幸骨折的安德鲁-博古特……
Following up Bogut with the mercurial Sanders is a risk, but a calculated one that could potentially pay major dividends. Sanders has averaged just under two blocks per game for his career, with a block percentage of just over 7 percent. For context, three-time Defensive Player of the Year Dwight Howard’s highest single-season block percentage was 6 percent.
把博古特换成反复无常的桑德斯无疑是一场豪赌，但是潜在的回报足以让人垂涎三尺。桑德斯生涯场均将近2个盖帽，封盖率超过7%。仅供参考，三届最佳防守球员德怀特-霍华德生涯封盖率最高的一个赛季为6%。
The Cavaliers are the 22nd team in the league by defensive rating. For a squad with its sights set on another title, this is an ominous number. In the last 40 years, only three teams have won the title in a season when they were ranked outside the top 10 in defense: the 1987–88 Lakers, 1994–95 Rockets, and 2000–01 Lakers. A good sign for the Cavaliers: Those teams were all defending champions.
骑士的防守效率值仅排在联盟第22位，对于一支志在卫冕的球队来说，这样的防守表现显然不是什么好兆头。在过去的40年间，仅有3支球队在防守位列联盟前十开外的情况下夺冠：1987-88赛季的湖人、1994-95赛季的火箭以及2000-01赛季的湖人。当然也有一点好兆头：上述三支球队都是在前一个赛季夺冠后成功卫冕。
Of those, the Rockets probably provide the best corollary. The ’88 Lakers were creeping toward the end of a historic run of success and leaning heavily on 40-year-old Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.
这三支球队中，火箭也许最有参考价值。88年的湖人正在王朝末路上举步维艰，甚至无比依赖已经40岁高龄的卡里姆-阿卜杜尔-贾巴尔。
The 2001 Lakers were the most egregious "flip the switch" team in recent memory, floating through the regular season on sheer arrogance before clamping down on the postseason like a pitbull. The 1995 Rockets, meanwhile, needed to add Clyde Drexler in a midseason trade to even get over the hump.
2001年的湖人则打出了近年来最匪夷所思的“翻转开关”表现，常规赛期间他们发挥不稳定，却傲慢到不可一世，然而到了季后赛，他们突然就成了打了鸡血的斗牛犬。而1995年的火箭则不同，他们甚至需要在赛季中交易得到克莱德-德雷克斯勒才能渡过难关。
Sanders may or may not pan out. Various reports mention that he’s out of shape. Which, yeah, the guy hasn’t played in an NBA game since December 2014. But assuming he can round into form and can deliver some significant percentage of the player he once was, Sanders is exactly what the Cavaliers need.
桑德斯的签约能否尘埃落定仍是未知数（译者注：官方已报导签约），据多家媒体报导称他身材严重走样，毕竟如你所知，这哥们从2014年12月以来就再也没打过一场NBA比赛。不过一旦他减肥成功并恢复他当初的部分功力，桑德斯就能成为骑士最迫切需要的那个球员。
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