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Kyrie Irving and LeBron James were always an arranged marriage. So if there is ever any confusion over why Irving demanded a trade from the Cleveland Cavaliers and no longer wants to play with James anymore, just understand: Irving never asked for this. James did all of the arranging.
凯里-欧文和勒布朗-詹姆斯一直都是一场“包办婚姻”。这也就解释了为什么欧文希望离开詹姆斯，希望骑士把他交易走：他从没主动要求过和詹姆斯在一起打球，这件事是詹姆斯一手促成的。
Irving never would've been in position to clinch a title in Game 7 with that swinging, one-legged 3-pointer, never would've been able to hug the Larry O'Brien trophy or ride around shirtless along East 9th Street for a championship parade before his 25th birthday
如果詹姆斯不曾决定离开热火加入骑士，那么欧文不会站上总决赛抢七的舞台，命中那个锁定总冠军的三分，不会有机会触摸奥布莱恩杯，更不会坐上夺冠游行的花车。
if James hadn't decided that the best place to spend the post-Miami portion of his career was back home in Cleveland with an electrifying point guard whose ridiculous handles brought him almost everything except wins.
如果詹姆斯没有回骑士，欧文靠着他那华丽的技术，仍会拿到所有该拿到的荣誉——除了胜利。
But James chose Irving. It wasn't the other way around. And that's something Irving always had to grapple with over the past three seasons as a reluctant sidekick.
但詹姆斯选择了欧文。这并不是一次突然反转。过去三个赛季，欧文一直都因为自己“詹姆斯小弟”的身份而挣扎。
While James' presence elevated him to stages where Irving always felt he belonged and where he might still be hustling to reach, it came at tremendous cost in other areas that mattered to Irving.
尽管詹姆斯带着他踏上了他梦寐以求的舞台，但与此同时欧文也很在意要付出的代价。
James' homecoming in 2014 was celebrated nationally – and especially in Northeast Ohio – but it forced Irving to surrender a franchise to which he committed by signing a five-year extension two weeks before "The Decision II" and that, for as lousy as it was at the time, belonged to him.
2014年詹姆斯“回家”时，球迷们，尤其是俄亥俄州的人们，大家都在庆祝。而在詹姆斯做出决定前的两周，欧文就已经和骑士签下了为期五年的续约合同。所以欧文别无选择，只能和詹姆斯在一起打完接下来的几个赛季。
Irving made headlines All-Star weekend in New Orleans last February, revealing a quirky side he often conceals, when he shared his ridiculous belief that the world is flat (an argument from which he still has yet to back away).
去年，欧文入选了东部全明星，随后在全明星周末成为了舆论焦点：他认为地球是平的（他现在仍支持这一观点）。
During that weekend, Irving also spoke about what it meant to have James join the Cavaliers at a time when he was still trying to understand the responsibilities of a leader and potential franchise player.
在那个周末，欧文谈到了詹姆斯回骑士对他的影响。欧文当时签下了新合同，正准备做骑士的领袖，骑士的特权球员。
"I was trying to figure it out all at once, so it took a while. It didn't look perfect. A lot of the arrogance that I had, and aura I had, I had to let go of completely," Irving said.
“我当时想弄清楚这件事，想了很长时间。这事并不完美。我必须得放下我的自傲，放下我的气场，完全放下，”欧文说，
"And let go of that complete ego, the selfishness that we all want to have and being that player every single night. The truth is, you can still be that player with other great players, you've just got to think about how to do that."
“得完全放下那份有点自私的骄傲——那种成为每场比赛中独一无二的球员的抱负。事实是，在伟大的球员身边，你仍可以表现出色，但你得想想法子才行。”
In his mind, Irving is a leading man. But he would never get the starring role in a show that James is writing and directing. He'd always be eclipsed.
在欧文看来，自己就是球队的老大。但有詹姆斯在，他永远也当不上主角。他一直都相形见绌。
The Mamba Mentality that pushed Irving to challenge Kobe Bryant to a game of one-on-one before he made his NBA debut and to later hit the biggest shot in Cavaliers franchise history is the same one that made him anxious for the moment when he would finally stop having to defer.
他所拥有的那种“曼巴精神”推动着还是新秀的他去和科比单挑，推动了他去命中那个载入史册的三分，最终推动他停止服从安排。
The wins were fun but they weren't enough, because they came with so much extra James sauce – an angry glare for looking him off, an eye roll for a missed defensive assignment and a sometimes joyless atmosphere, especially in the early, dramatic days of this union.
赢球是很棒，但赢球也要承受很多来自詹姆斯的压力，尤其是在三巨头成立之初：会因为没传给空位球员而被瞪，会因为防守失位而被翻白眼，会不时处在没什么乐趣的氛围中。
James and Irving butted heads at times on the floor. And, other times off the court, James struggled to get Irving on board with his other teammates. Though he accepted it, Irving resented being the little brother.
在场上，詹姆斯和欧文还会经常互相碰碰额头，但到了场下，欧文不像其他队员那样容易召集到。詹姆斯也承认，欧文不喜欢做别人的小弟。
After Cleveland upset the Golden State Warriors with that thrilling comeback from a 3-1 deficit in 2016, James and Irving were on such good terms that coach Tyronn Lue could crack jokes about the two of them fighting without igniting the next controversy or having anyone take it seriously.
2016年骑士完成对勇士1-3的大逆转后，在泰伦-卢教练的安排下，詹姆斯和欧文的关系非常不错，他们不介意谁是球队老大，也从不认真去想这件事。
But after the Cavaliers lost in five games to the Warriors in a three-match that feels a lot longer ago than last month given this wild NBA offseason, that relationship seems to be more transactional than transformative. If they can't help each other win, then why do they need each other anymore?
但今年骑士输给了勇士，自由市场又刮起大风大浪，他们两人的关系变得充满变数。既然他们在一块不能赢球，那还何必继续在一起呢？
The Cavaliers are the best team in the Eastern Conference with James and Irving on the same side. But James, at age 32 and chasing Michael Jordan's ghost, is in a championship-or-bust portion of his career when second place isn't good enough.
在东部，有詹姆斯和欧文的骑士是真正的霸主。但詹姆斯已经32岁，他不满于当前的历史地位，而想追上乔丹。
And Irving, at age 25 and still trying to establish himself amongst the current NBA hierarchy, is in the I've-already-won portion of his career when being second fiddle is no longer the ideal scenario.
而欧文才25岁，他仍需要证明自己，继续做球队的二当家已经不是他的最佳选择。
James' decision to return to the Cavaliers caught Irving off guard but now this is his chance to return the favor with a stunning power move of his own. Irving, for once, got out ahead of James, who has strategically been setting the stage for his second Cleveland exit – the Decision Part III – next summer.
当年，出乎欧文的意料，詹姆斯回到了骑士。现在，出乎詹姆斯的意料，欧文要离开了。这次，欧文选择在詹姆斯做出决定前掌握主动权。
This month, James has done little to quell rumors that he'll take his talents to the Los Angeles Lakers. He attended a summer league game in Las Vegas – in purple, no less – to watch Lonzo Ball share the ball in a way that Irving rarely did.
这个月来，一直有流言称詹姆斯会把他的天赋带到洛杉矶。他去了夏季联赛，观看与欧文风格截然不同的朗佐-鲍尔打球，还穿了一件紫色衣服——紫色是湖人的颜色。
He also allowed his frustrations to leak out in USA Today and gave departed general manager David Griffin props after Dan Gilbert declined to reward him with a suitable contract. Now, all that the Cavaliers had built over the greatest three years in franchise history stands to crumble.
他还透露出口风，表明了对管理层今夏操作的失望。现在，这支在过去三年围绕着他打造的王者之师，将可能分崩离析。
Irving described this offseason as "peculiar," and what's bound to follow from his trade demand is almost too difficult to bear for Cavaliers fans. Because even if James had chosen to leave, Irving represented the promise of the future.
欧文将自己的休赛季描述为“罕见的”。在他要求被交易后，随后而来的是骑士球迷无法承受的后果。因为詹姆斯也可能选择离开骑士，所以欧文代表了球队的未来。
But that's no more, if Irving gets his way. San Antonio (where he could play for the next U.S. Olympic coach and a five-time champion in Gregg Popovich), Minnesota (where his good friend and business partner Jimmy Butler resides),
如果欧文走了，那球队就失去了未来。欧文感兴趣的球队有几支：马刺（能为波波维奇打球），森林狼（有他的朋友和生意上的伙伴吉米-巴特勒），
Miami (where he has spent several summers and James found championship salvation after leaving the Cavaliers the first time) and New York (where he'd play close to where he grew up in New Jersey), all appeal to Irving. Cleveland,
热火（他在迈阿密待过几个夏天，而且詹姆斯在热火夺得首冠）和尼克斯（离他的家乡新夆西比较近）。
unfortunately, does not. Irving has his ring and has now decided it's his turn to determine his fate, his turn to do the arranging. And his other comments from All-Star weekend ring louder than ever.
不幸的是，他不愿继续留在克利夫兰。欧文已经拿了一枚冠军戒指，这一次，他决定，自己的命运，要由自己安排。他之前在全明星周末的那些言论也异常响亮了。
"Young players are becoming a lot better. The change of hand is happening. You see it," Irving said. "The veterans that were leading this thing for a while, that everyone was talking about, well now it's young players and ‘This is going to be his team over the next four or five years.' It's interesting to see how that is transpiring and things just get better."
“你可以看到，年轻球员们进步很大，一线球星的人选在发生改变，”欧文说，“过去大家都说，老将们还会引领联盟一段时间。随着年轻球员站出来，人们会说‘再过四五年，这会是他的球队。'见证这种传承和进步是一件很有意思的事。”
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