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It was a little more than a year ago when Bazley decided to forgo a scholarship at Syracuse for a potential path to the NBA via the G League. He then opted to skip the G League as well to instead focus on preparing for the draft. After his brief flirtation with joining the G League, Bazley signed an endorsement deal with New Balance that included a one-year internship with the Boston-based sneaker company.
一年多前，贝兹利决定放弃雪城大学的奖学金而选择一条通往NBA的潜在道路——发展联盟。接着他又跳出了发展联盟，专注于为选秀做准备。在短暂地加入发展联盟之后，贝兹利和新百伦公司签了一年代言协议，协议包括在这家总部在波士顿的运动鞋公司进行一年的实习。
During that year, when he wasn't working out at the company's facility in preparation for his eventual jump into the draft, he was immersing himself in the business side of basketball. He spent time working directly with multiple divisions at New Balance, ranging from marketing to apparel to product testing. He was involved in the design process, and got an up-close look at the manufacturing process at New Balance's factory.
在那一年中，他不是为了最终进入NBA新秀榜而在公司球馆训练，就是沉浸在商业篮球中。他和新百伦公司的各个部门一起工作，从市场推广到服装到产品测试。他亲自参与产品的设计过程，近距离观看新百伦工厂的生产过程。
While some endorsers get a taste of that with their sneaker companies, Bazley got far more up-close experience, not just getting a tour on a quick visit, but having the opportunity to spend days sitting in meetings, doing product testing and contributing in meaningful ways beyond just picking a sneaker he liked. In true 21st century NBA fashion, Bazley also got to learn about building a personal brand from New Balance's digital and social teams, even using his Instagram account to provide insight into what his internship was like.
尽管一些代言人也会在他们的运动鞋公司体验到这一点，但贝兹利得到的是更加近距离的体验，不是旅游式地快速观光。他可以整日参与会议，做产品测试，用更加有意义的方式作出贡献，而不仅仅是挑选自己喜欢的运动鞋。身处21世纪NBA时尚潮流中，贝兹利也从新百伦的数字社交团队那儿学习打造自身品牌，甚至在他的ins账户上展示他的实习感悟。
Now that Bazley has transitioned fully from "intern" to "endorser," Cassidy's goal is for his former intern to be "the most knowledgeable, insightful athlete in the game about the shoe industry and how things are made and developed and get on the feet of elite athletes and what the industry is like." But for Bazley, the internship went far beyond just basketball and shoes.
现在贝兹利已经完全从“实习生”过渡为“代言人”，卡西迪的目标就是让他的前实习生成为“这项运动里对运动鞋行业最有见识和最富洞察力的球员，清楚地了解鞋子的制作、改良，以及穿到精英球员脚上的过程。”但对于贝兹利来说，这份实习工作的意义远不止于篮球和鞋子。
Bazley is now moving on to his second job ever, forward for the Thunder. It's a job that has already seen its description change, thanks to Oklahoma City's offseason trades of Paul George and Russell Westbrook.
贝兹利现在迎来了生涯的第二份工作——为雷霆队打球。归因于休赛季期间俄城关于保罗·乔治和拉塞尔·威斯布鲁克的交易，这份工作（和上一份工作相比）已经明显不同。
"His ability to handle the ball at his size is really, really unique, and defensively he's got great range for a young player at that size, as well," Thunder GM Sam Presti said. "It's going to be a process with him. We'll have to be patient. We understand that. But at that range of the draft, to be able to get a player that has those ballhandling skills at 6-foot-9 is pretty unique."
“以他的身高，能有这样的处理球能力真得非常非常罕见，在防守端，对于他这样身高的年轻球员来说，他的防守范围也已经很大了，”雷霆总经理Sam Presti说。“对他来说这是一个过程。我们都必须有耐心。我们理解。但在这样一个顺位，还能得到一个有出色控球能力的6尺9寸（约2.5米）球员真得很罕见。”
Bazley was able to show off some of those skills in Las Vegas, but the initial steps of his transition to the NBA game were not without difficulties. Having not played in a formal setting since the 2018 McDonald's All-American Game, Bazley looked rusty in his Thunder debut, going scoreless and attempting just two shots. However, he showed steady improvement in his four summer league outings, eventually putting up 11 points and making 3 of 5 3-point attempts in OKC's final game of the summer.
贝兹利在拉斯维加斯展示了自己的技术，但他向NBA过渡初试阶段并非毫无波折。自从2018全美高中麦当劳赛后他就没打过正式比赛，贝兹利在雷霆队的试训中看起来有点生疏，一分未得且只有两次出手。然而，在随后的四场夏季联赛中他表现出持续的进步，在最后一场比赛中拿下11分，并且三分球五中三。
Because of the Thunder's roster turnover, Bazley has a unique opportunity to contribute in OKC as a rookie. Bazley might not hit that 20-minute-per-night milestone, but he's excited for the opportunity to prove himself.
由于雷霆的整容名单变动较大，贝兹利有望以菜鸟的身份为球队做出贡献。巴兹利可能不会得到每晚上场20分钟的机会，但他很兴奋有机会证明自己。
As Bazley begins to adjust to the NBA game, he does so with no regrets on how he got there. While his path took him away from organized basketball for a year, it also gave him an early start on the off-court transition to being a professional. He learned much-needed skills like money management and communication, and said he feels better prepared for the adversity that every NBA rookie faces.
贝兹利开始适应NBA的比赛，他并不后悔选择的这条路。尽管他的路让他一整年无法进行有组织的训练，但却给了他一个提前过渡成篮球之外专家的尝试机会。他学习了更加急需的技能，像金钱管理和沟通，并且他说他感到自己能更好地面对所有NBA新秀们会遇到的问题。
"There's going to be times where you hit a roadblock in the league where you're not getting the minutes you wanted or say you're injured and you're not able to play and you don't know how to handle that," he said. "I do."
“在这个联盟里，你会遇到很多困难，很多时候你得不到自己想要的成绩，或者你会遭遇伤病，无法上场，而且你都不知道怎么去处理，”他说道，“但我知道（怎么处理）。”
Rich Paul said players looking to take this path can't be doing it solely for the money. Just like it was for Bazley, it has to be with a bigger goal in mind. "For those chosen few that decide to take another route, there's an alternate route, but the steps are very, very strategic and you have to embrace the process," he said. "It can't be about anything besides, 'I'm willing to do the work and position myself to take on the challenge that I have ahead.' And if you do that, you tend to reside on the side of success."
里奇·保罗说运动员选择道路不能仅仅为了金钱。就像对于贝兹利，他的心中一定有更大的目标。“对于那些少数选择另一条路的人来说，也有一条备选的道路，但是每一步都得非常非常有战略意义，并且你必须享受这个过程，”他说，“你只能这样想‘我很乐意做这份工作并且愿意接受自己面对的挑战。’如果你能做到这样，那你就能成功。”
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