小托馬斯親筆 致親愛的波士頓

It's funny, I'd just been celebrating.

說起來也搞笑，當時我正在慶祝呢。

When I got the call from Danny, I was leaving the airport — my wife, Kayla, and I were coming back from having celebrated our one-year wedding anniversary. We'd gone to Miami for a couple of days — and now we were back in Seattle, driving home.

當我接到丹尼-安吉電話的時候，我剛離開機場——我和我的妻子凱拉剛過完結婚一週年紀念日回來。我們在邁阿密待了幾天，剛回到西雅圖，正開車回家。

I missed the call, must have been doing something in the car. Danny left a text. "IT, call me when you can."

我錯過了第一遍來電，大概是在車裏有別的事情。丹尼給我發了短信：“以賽亞，有空回個電話。”

Sounds dramatic, but that's actually a pretty normal text from Danny. Could've been about all sorts of things. So I called him back, still driving and not really thinking much of it. He knew I'd been on my trip, so he asked me a few questions about it. I'm sure I asked him how he was, maybe how the family was doing. Again, you know, just that normal sort of talk.

聽起來挺有戲劇性的，但是那不過是丹尼的一條普通短信，可能是有關於任何事情的。於是我給他回了電話，繼續開車，沒多想。他知道我出去度假了，因此跟我聊了聊有關這趟出行的事情。我也問候了他和他的家人，正如我說的，就是普通的聊天而已。

And then somewhere in there, it was just like... it was barely anything. This little pause in the conversation. And that's when he told me. "I just traded you."

然後剎那間，就好像……就好像一切都不復存在了。我們的對話出現了短暫的停頓，然後他告訴了我：“我剛剛把你交易了。”

Simple as that. No big words, no big speech. Though I guess when it comes to shit like that, there's not much more to say.

就這麼簡單，沒有什麼驚天動地的話語，沒有長篇大論的演講。儘管我腦中閃過了無數問號，但話到嘴邊卻說不出來。

"To where." That's all I could manage. "To the Cavaliers, for Kyrie."

“交易到哪了？”我終於擠出了這幾個字。“去了騎士，我們用你換了凱里-歐文。”

And that's when, like — man. You ever been on the phone, and someone says something... and then all of a sudden, all you can think about after is, I don't want to be on the phone anymore! Not even in a rude way. Just, like, your willpower to have a conversation shuts down. That's what it was like for me in that moment.

這種感覺，就是那種你在跟某人打電話，然後突然之間，你唯一能想到的東西就是：“我再也不想打電話了！”甚至都想不出什麼更粗魯的方式來表達，你甚至希望你能用意念結束這段對話。對我而言，這就是我那一刻的全部感受。

Man... so much was going through my head in that moment. But I almost needed to block it out for the time being. My first instinct was to figure out what this would mean for my family. I thought about my two sons, James and Jaiden, and having to tell them that it was time to move.

那一刻，我的腦中轉過了無數想法，但我幾乎需要強迫自己將這些拋在腦後。我的第一反應是想明白這對於我的家庭的影響，我想到了我的兩個兒子，詹姆斯和傑登，我必須告訴他們，我們得搬家了。

I knew it was going to come as a shock to them — first, with it being right before the start of the school year. And second, knowing how much Boston had started to feel like a home to them. To all of us.

我知道這對他們會是個打擊——首先，這剛好發生在新學年開始前，其次，他們纔剛剛開始開始對波士頓有了家的感覺。對我們所有人都是一樣的。

I told them what had happened: Dad got traded.

我告訴了他們這個事實：你們的爸爸被交易了。

James, my oldest — I guess he really is his father's son, because he asked the same first question I did. "To where?"

我的大兒子James一猜就是親生的，因爲他的第一個問題跟我一樣：“交易到哪了？”

"Cleveland. They traded me for Kyrie." And I'm pretty sure you know what came next. "LEBRON! LEBRON JAMES! Dad — Dad. You get to play with LeBron James!"

“去了騎士，他們用我換了歐文。”我想你們應該能猜到他的反應：“勒布朗！勒布朗-詹姆斯！老爸，老爸，你要和勒布朗-詹姆斯一起打球了！”

Jaiden, though, he's my little guy, maybe a little more sensitive — and he loves Boston more than anyone. So I knew the news was potentially going to be more hurtful for him. And just looking at his reaction, when he heard, I could tell I was right. He seemed kind of heartbroken.

然而我的小兒子傑登也許對這件事更敏感一些，因爲他比所有人都更愛波士頓，因此我知道這個消息也許對他來說會更加難過一些。當我聽到他的反應時，我知道我是對的，他看起來有點心碎。

I said, "Jaiden, are you happy or are you sad?" "Sad." "Why?" And he said, "Because Cleveland probably doesn't have skate parks."

我問他：“傑登，你現在是高興還是難過？”“難過。”“爲什麼呢？”“因爲克利夫蘭恐怕沒有滑板公園。”

A few hours later, it was all over the news. All my social media was blowing up. I must have had a thousand messages, and seen a thousand reactions.

幾小時後，消息傳開了，我的社交媒體上炸開了鍋。我大概收到了成千上萬條消息，看到了成千上萬種不同的反應。

Everything about that trade, everything that I was feeling in my heart in those moments — they got it down to the only two things that mattered.

這筆交易有關的一切，以及我在那幾分鐘內心裏所想的一切，都被歸結於我兒子所說的這兩件事，只有這纔是重要的。

One, as my oldest said it: "LeBron James." Or put another way — I get to come over and join the best team in the East, and try to win a championship alongside the best basketball player in the world.

第一件事，就是我的大兒子所說的：“勒布朗-詹姆斯。”換言之：我要加入東部最強的球隊，跟全世界最強的球員一起競爭總冠軍了。

And two, as my youngest said it: "Sad." Or put another way — man, man, am I going to miss this city.

第二件事，就是我小兒子所說的：“難過。”換言之：天哪，我會想念這座城市嗎？

Man, I am going to miss being a Celtic.

我會想念作爲一名凱爾特人的這段經歷。

But yeah, I'll just say it: That shit hurt. It hurt a lot. And I won't lie — it still hurts.

但是無論如何，我必須說出來：這真特麼傷人，傷透我了。我不會說謊，我依然很傷心。

But at the end of the day, these deals just come down to one thing: business. So it's no hard feelings on that end. I'm a grown man, and I know what I got into when I joined this league — and so far it's been more blessings than curses.

但在最後，這個交易用一個詞總結就是：生意，因此我並不會抱怨什麼。我是成年人了，我在進入這個聯盟的時候就做好了準備應對可能發生的一切，好在目前爲止好事還是多於壞事的。

Plus, in a lot of ways, I actually think this was a good lesson. Not only for me, but for the league as a whole. And for the fans and the media, too, you know, just in terms of how they talk about guys changing teams.

另外，我其實也覺得在很多方面這都給我好好上了一課。不光是給我上的一課，更是給整個聯盟，也是給所有球迷和媒體，讓他們好好想想過去是怎麼評價那些換隊的球員的。

I was thinking about that last year with KD and his free agency — about how people gave him such a hard time for doing what he felt was best for him and his future.

去年凱文-杜蘭特做出決定的時候，我就想過這個，尤其是看到大衆是如何因爲他做出這個對他未來最好的決定而對他惡語相向的時候。

How they turned him into a villain, just for doing what was his right to do as a free agent in this league.

人們把他辱爲惡棍，然而他不過是行使了作爲一名自由球員所擁有的權利。

Just being honest, but — to me, that says a lot about where we are as a league, and even as a society. And it says a lot about how far we still have to go.

說實話，這很大程度上揭露了我們所處的聯盟的現狀，甚至是這個社會的現狀，同時說明我們還有很長的路要走。

And like I said, there's no hard feelings. But I just hope that the next time a player leaves in free agency, and anybody wants to jump on him or write a critical story or a nasty tweet about him, maybe now they'll think twice.

如我所言，我並不會抱怨什麼，但我希望當明年有自由球員選擇離隊時，如果有人還打算踩他幾腳，寫文章噁心他或者發推特攻擊他的時候，也許該三思而行了。

Maybe they'll look around the league, look at a case like mine, and remember that loyalty — it's just a word. And it's a powerful word if you want it to be.

也許他們應該審視一下這個聯盟，看看像我這樣的情況，然後記住這一點：忠誠，就是普通的兩個字而已，當然也可以是兩個強有力的字，

But man... when it comes to business, it ain't nothing to count on.

但是在生意麪前，它是多麼得蒼白無力。

And so when I say this hurts, man — just know that it isn't because of anything anyone else did. It's only because of something I did. I fell in love with Boston.

所以，當我說我受傷了，我真的不是在針對任何人的所作所爲，我針對的只是我的個人情感：因爲我深愛着波士頓。

The Boston Celtics let me have a chance to be great. And I'll never forget that.

凱爾特人讓我有機會成爲出色的球員，我永遠不會忘記。

This was the first place, the first organization, the first group of fans in the league that didn't take one look at me, take one look at my size, and put me into the same role as always.

這是最重要的，這是第一支看得起我的球隊，在這個聯盟裏第一羣看得起我的球迷。這羣球迷，從未以別人那樣的眼光看待我，從未對我的體型稍置微詞，從未用那些一直以爲強加在我身上的標籤來評價我。

And that's why, you know — people ask me a lot about the playoffs last year. About how, even after my sister Chyna passed, I still went out there in Game 1 vs. Chicago and played.

這就是爲什麼，你懂的——人們問了我許多關於上賽季季後賽的事。他們問我，我是如何即便在妹妹希娜去世後仍能夠出戰對陣公牛的系列賽首戰。

When I arrived at the arena that night, after Chyna had passed — I was thinking, O.K., I just need that to happen. I need this court to be my shield tonight, I need this court to help me forget.

而當我那晚到達球館時，在希娜去世後——我在想，O.K.，我只是需要上場。我需要這片球場成爲我今晚的避風港，我需要這片球場來幫助我忘記。

But when I got out there?

但當我上場後呢？

Man, it's one of those things... I can't even describe it. The applause that I got, I can still hear it. People had these signs they made, and I can still see them: THIS IS FOR CHYNA. WE <3 ISAIAH. That sort of thing. Then they did a moment of silence, the whole arena, in Chyna's honor.

夥計，這是我所無法描述的事情之一。我得到的掌聲，我現在仍能聽到。人們打出的標語，我現在仍能看到：這是爲了希娜，WE <3 ISAIAH。隨後他們默哀了一段時間，整個球館，爲了希娜。

And it was like... man. I just realized, in that moment, that I didn't need the court to shield me. I didn't need to block it all out, and pretend I wasn't grieving. I didn't have to be alone in this. The whole arena was right there with me.

我驚呆了。在那一刻，我才意識到，我不需要球場來保護我。我不需要屏蔽這一切，並假裝我不悲傷。我不需要不得不一個人承擔這件事，整座球館都在我身邊。

Honestly, it felt like the whole city of Boston was with me.

說實話，就感覺波士頓整座城市都在我身邊。

This is going to be a great year to be a Cavs fan, a great year. And I'm excited.

對於騎士球迷而言，這將是一個不錯的賽季。我感到很激動。

From a basketball perspective, me on the Cavs is a match made in heaven. If you've watched any Celtics games last year, then you know how many times I would have to go through double and even triple teams, just to get my shot off.

從籃球的角度來看，我和騎士是天生絕配。如果你看過上賽季凱爾特人的比賽，你就知道我有多少次不得不擺脫包夾甚至是三人包夾，只爲了得到出手機會。

But this year... man, it's not even going to be a thing. You really going to throw three guys on me, when I'm sharing a court with the best basketball player on the planet? Nah, I don't think so.

但這個賽季，夥計，這根本不是一回兒事。當我和這個星球上最出色的籃球運動員共同在場時，你真的要派三個人防守我嗎？不，我不這麼認爲。

And that's just LeBron.

這就是勒布朗。

I look up and down this roster, and all I see is guys I can't wait to play with: Kevin Love (reunited with my old AAU teammate!), Tristan Thompson, JR Smith, Iman Shumpert... it's no accident to me that these guys have won the East three years running.

我看了看球隊陣容，我所看到的是一羣我迫不及待想與其並肩作戰的傢伙：凱文-樂福（與我舊時的AAU隊友重聚！）、特里斯坦-湯普森、JR-史密斯、伊曼-香珀特。這羣傢伙連續三個賽季贏得東部冠軍，這不是意外。

And now add me to the mix, and D. Rose, and my guy Jae? This roster, man — it's just stacked. Cavs fans, let's get ready to rock and roll.

如今加上我，還有羅斯，還有我的夥計克勞德？這個陣容，夥計——這天賦。騎士的球迷們，讓我們準備好大幹一場吧。

Of course, being on the team the East runs through now... I won't lie, it's some mixed emotions. Because that was our goal in Boston for so long — get through the Cavs, and win the East. And I know that's still Boston's goal.

當然，處在一支目前領跑東部的球隊——我不會撒謊，我的情緒很複雜。因爲這是我們在波士頓一直以來的目標——擊敗騎士，成爲東部冠軍。我知道這仍是凱爾特人的目標。

But now, it's like, I'm the one who has to stop them from reaching it

但現在，我貌似成爲了不得不阻止他們成爲東部冠軍的那個人。

And come playoffs, all of a sudden, it'll be like, O.K., now destroy it. It's sad, man. It's just sad.

如果在季後賽中突然相遇了，沒關係，讓我們現在來摧毀他們。這很悲傷，夥計，這很悲傷。

But I didn't come to Cleveland to lose.

但我來到騎士，絕不是爲了輸球。

Like I said, when the trade news broke, I got a lot of messages. They had my texts, IG, Twitter, voicemail, you name it, just blowing up. But there was one message in particular, out of all of them, that really stuck with me. It was from Tom Brady.

正如我所說的，當交易新聞爆出時，我收到了許多信息。他們讓我的短信、Instagram、推特、語音郵箱爆炸了。但其中有那麼一條信息讓我感慨萬千。這是湯姆-布拉迪發給我的消息。

What's up, IT, I heard about the news. You good? I'm alright. I mean, it's crazy. It's a cold game. Yes it is. Best of luck. You're gonna do great. Keep in touch.

“怎樣了，以賽亞，我聽說了那些新聞，你還好嗎？”“我還好。我是說，這很瘋狂，也很冷酷。”“是的，的確，祝你好運。你會有出色的表現，保持聯繫。”

To be getting a personal message like that from someone like Tom, who is such a Boston sports legend... I mean, it was bittersweet.

收到像湯姆這樣的人發來的私人短信，他是波士頓的體育傳奇人物——這讓人喜憂參半。

At first, honestly, it stung a little. I look at a career like Tom's with the Patriots — and that's exactly the kind of career that I had hoped to be building here with the Celtics:

首先，說實話，這讓我感到有點心痛。我見證了湯姆在愛國者隊的生涯，這正是我希望能夠在凱爾特人擁有的職業生涯軌跡。

Being this low draft pick... coming in without acclaim... and then — through hard work, and determination, and some talent that maybe people had overlooked — just starting to win, and win, and win.

作爲一名低順位球員——沒有人在選秀大會上給予我喝彩——隨後經過努力、決心和一些人們或許低估的天賦——開始贏球、贏球和贏球。

And then establishing a legacy of winning. And then staying in Boston, winning titles and competing like hell, for the rest of my career — until I was considered one of the all-time Boston greats.

隨後打造了贏球的文化。然後留在波士頓，贏得總冠軍並在剩餘的職業生涯中拼命地奮鬥——直到我被人們視爲波士頓歷史上的偉大球員之一。

That's the career that I had started to map out for myself. In my mind, I wanted to be the Celtics version of Brady and Ortiz. I wanted this next era of Celtics basketball to go down in history — and I wanted to go down in Boston sports history with it.

這是我一開始爲自己設立的職業生涯藍圖。在我看來，我想成爲凱爾特人版的布拉迪和奧爾蒂斯。我想要這個時代的凱爾特人籃球能夠被記載在籃球史上——我也想因此被銘記在波士頓的體育史上。

But then I thought about the text some more... and I think I changed my perspective a little.

但隨後我又想了想，我認爲我改變了一點角度。

I think I realized that, like, Yo — that's Tom Fucking Brady. And I was only here for two and a half years. Tom Brady isn't sending a text like that to guys who played in Boston for only two and a half years — unless they did something very special.

我認爲我意識到——喲，這是湯姆-布拉迪。我只在這裏打了2個半賽季。湯姆-布拉迪不會給那些在這隻打了2個半賽季的人發短信——除非他們做了一些特別的事。

So maybe, I don't know... maybe that's something to be proud of. And maybe, my time here... even if, in the end, I guess it wasn't quite what I'd dreamed it would be — maybe it still meant something to some people.

所以，或許，我不知道，或許這是我值得自豪的事情。或許，我在這裏的時光…即便在最後，我沒能達到我預想的結果——或者這仍對一些人有着特別的意義。

So I guess that's where my head's at right now. I'm still hurting, and I'm still sad to go. And I'm sure I'll be missing my Celtics family for quite some time.

所以我認爲這是我現在的看法。我仍感到受傷，我仍帶着悲傷的心情離開。我肯定我會在一些時候想念我的凱爾特人家庭。

But I'm just going to go to Cleveland now, and do what I do. I'm going to play my guts out. It might not be the career that I dreamed of having last year, or even last month — but when you think about it, that's kind of been my career from the start. It's never been the dream come true, and it's never been what you expect.

但我現在要去往克利夫蘭，做我該做的事。我會拼盡全力。這或許不是我上賽季時想象擁有的職業生涯，或者甚至是上個月——但當你想起這件事時，這就像是我職業生涯的開始。我從未能夠圓夢，從未能夠達到預想的結果。

It's just been me.

這就是我。

And maybe that's the answer to all of this, you know what I'm saying? Like, yeah, I'll never be Tom Brady now. And I'll never be David Ortiz. I'll never be Bill Russell, or Paul Pierce, or Kevin Garnett, or Larry Bird.

這或許就是所有這一切的答案，你知道我的意思嗎？現在的我再也無法成爲湯姆-布拉迪和大衛-奧爾蒂斯，再也無法成爲比爾-拉塞爾，或者保羅-皮爾斯，或者凱文-加內特，或者拉里-伯德。

But whether I would have without this trade, or I wouldn't have — I still like to imagine one thing.

但無論這筆交易是否發生——我仍會想去想象一件事。

I like to imagine that sometime not long from now, somewhere in Boston, someone is going to be a parent, talking basketball to their kid. And their kid is going to ask them, point-blank like kids do, you know, "Yo — why you become a Celtics fan?"

我想去想象在不久後的某個時刻，在波士頓的某處，某人將會成爲一位父母，向他們的孩子講籃球的故事。他們的孩子會去問他們，“喲，爲什麼你會成爲一名凱爾特人球迷？”

And that parent, man, they're going to think back to themselves — really think on it. And then they're going to smile, and tell the truth.

那位父母，他們會認真地思考這個問題。然後他們會微笑，並告知真相：

"I saw Isaiah Thomas play."

“我看過以賽亞-托馬斯打球。”

That would make me very happy. For me, I think, that'd be enough.

這會讓我感到非常開心。我認爲，對於我而言，這足夠了。

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