March 22, 2008, 3:02AMWoods' world has turned around7-footer signs with Rockets after stint in TurkeyBy JONATHAN FEIGENCopyright 2008 Houston ChronicleSAN FRANCISCO — Two weeks before, Loren Woods was playing in Turkey, living in Istanbul, and had no intentions of joining an NBA team.
就在兩星期前，Loren Woods還在土耳其打球，他居住在伊斯坦堡，一點都沒有想到還會回到NBA打球。
By Friday, he was hoping to fill some of the void left by the injury to Yao Ming, practicing against Dikembe Mutombo and going through a game-day shootaround beneath the retired University of San Francisco number of Bill Russell.
火箭希望他能補上姚明缺席所留下來的空缺，禮拜五當天，他在練習中和老木"釘孤枝"並參與了投籃訓練。 He could not declare this his triumphant return to the NBA. The contract he signed with the Rockets was for 10 days, and it took circumstances ranging from Yao's injury to unrest in Serbia to get this far. But he has a chance, which was much more than he expected — and all he wants.
"I got back a week and a half ago, but I didn't plan on all of this happening," said Woods, a 7-2 center. "This is a huge opportunity, a major opportunity, especially on a team like this that's doing so well in the Western Conference right now. My plans were to finish up everything with the team in Turkey, come home and go back over. But this opportunity came up, and I had to jump on it.
"They're a great team. For an organization like this to even give me this kind of opportunity, it shows they have some interest in me."
「他們是支很棒的球隊，像這樣的球隊願意給我一個機會，代表了他們對我很有興趣。」
Travel trouble Woods became available when the U.S. State Department advised Americans not to travel to Serbia, prompting Woods and three teammates to choose not to go to an Efes Pilsen road game.
Efes Pilsen general manager Engin Ozerhun immediately said they would not play for Pilsen again and released Woods, making him available to join the Rockets ahead of schedule.
Efes Pilsen的GM - Engin Ozerhun也說他們將不會再為這隻球隊效力，並且釋出Woods，讓他及時加入火箭。 "He is someone we have been monitoring for a while now," Rockets vice president of basketball operation Sam Hinkie said. "We attempted to get him on our summer league last year, but a very good coach there, David Blatt, signed him up for Efes Pilsen. He played pretty well there.
「我們已經注意他一段時間了，」Sam Hinkie說。
「我們去年夏季聯盟試著把他給簽進來，但Efes Pilsen有一位很棒的教練在那裡 - David Blatt，把Woods給簽走了。Woods在那邊的球隊打得很好。」
"He gives us some size in the front line and length, which is something that right now we can use," Hinkie added. "In general, we think of him as a good rebounder and someone who could potentially play in our offense. We'd like to take a deeper look. I think you'll see a trend with a lot of guys, players who can help us and fit in a role, conceivably fit a role for the future."
Woods, a second-round pick of the Timberwolves in 2001, averaged 2.6 points and 3.3 rebounds in 208 games with Minnesota, the Miami Heat and Toronto Raptors.
Good preparation "This team has a little bit of everything," Woods said. "For right now, I'm just going to bring energy and intensity that, hopefully the team can feed off, regardless if it's in practice or wherever I have to get it done.
「這球隊已經萬事具備，」Woods說。
「從現在開始，我試著帶點能量和強度，希望能帶給球隊幫助，不論是練習中或是任何地方。」
"Turkey was different. (Istanbul) was a big city for sure, a huge city. It was a very interesting place. The people were OK. The organization I played for was OK. It didn't seem like it was that big a difference from home.
「土耳其和美國不一樣。伊斯坦堡當然是個很大的都市，非常有趣的地方。那邊的人們都不錯，我打的球隊也很好，因此讓我覺得和家鄉沒啥不同。」
"The league was very tough. It's not the Western Conference of the NBA, obviously, but it was definitely a good league to be in."
「那邊的聯盟也很強硬，當然和NBA的西區比起來根本是懶X比雞腿，不過能在那邊打球真的不錯啦。」 Woods thought he would still be in that league, but when things changed, they kept on changing all the way to a spot on the Rockets.
March 22, 2008, 3:02AM Woods' world has turned around 7-footer signs with Rockets after stint in Turkey By JONATHAN FEIGEN Copyright 2008 Houston Chronicle SAN FRANCISCO — Two weeks before, Loren Woods was playing in Turkey, living in Istanbul, and had no intentions of joining an NBA team.
就在兩星期前，Loren Woods還在土耳其打球，他居住在伊斯坦堡，一點都沒有想到還會回到NBA打球。
By Friday, he was hoping to fill some of the void left by the injury to Yao Ming, practicing against Dikembe Mutombo and going through a game-day shootaround beneath the retired University of San Francisco number of Bill Russell.
火箭希望他能補上姚明缺席所留下來的空缺，禮拜五當天，他在練習中和老木"釘孤枝"並參與了投籃訓練。
He could not declare this his triumphant return to the NBA. The contract he signed with the Rockets was for 10 days, and it took circumstances ranging from Yao's injury to unrest in Serbia to get this far. But he has a chance, which was much more than he expected — and all he wants.
但他還不能宣稱他已經成功回到NBA，因為火箭只和他簽了一筆10天合約。不過這仍然是他出乎意料之外的一個大好機會，是他夢寐以求的。
"I got back a week and a half ago, but I didn't plan on all of this happening," said Woods, a 7-2 center. "This is a huge opportunity, a major opportunity, especially on a team like this that's doing so well in the Western Conference right now. My plans were to finish up everything with the team in Turkey, come home and go back over. But this opportunity came up, and I had to jump on it.
「我在一個半禮拜前回來，但沒有預期到這一切的發生，」7-2的中鋒Woods說。
「這是一個很大很重要的機會，特別是這隻現在在西區表現很好的強隊。我原本計畫和土耳其的球隊續約，然後再回來美國的家裡。不過突然冒出這個天大的好機會，我得好好把握阿！」
"They're a great team. For an organization like this to even give me this kind of opportunity, it shows they have some interest in me."
「他們是支很棒的球隊，像這樣的球隊願意給我一個機會，代表了他們對我很有興趣。」
Travel trouble
Woods became available when the U.S. State Department advised Americans not to travel to Serbia, prompting Woods and three teammates to choose not to go to an Efes Pilsen road game.
因為美國政府建議人民不要到Serbia旅遊，因此Woods和另外三位隊友選擇不去那兒打客場比賽，也因此才能這麼順利加入火箭。
Efes Pilsen general manager Engin Ozerhun immediately said they would not play for Pilsen again and released Woods, making him available to join the Rockets ahead of schedule.
Efes Pilsen的GM - Engin Ozerhun也說他們將不會再為這隻球隊效力，並且釋出Woods，讓他及時加入火箭。
"He is someone we have been monitoring for a while now," Rockets vice president of basketball operation Sam Hinkie said. "We attempted to get him on our summer league last year, but a very good coach there, David Blatt, signed him up for Efes Pilsen. He played pretty well there.
「我們已經注意他一段時間了，」Sam Hinkie說。
「我們去年夏季聯盟試著把他給簽進來，但Efes Pilsen有一位很棒的教練在那裡 - David Blatt，把Woods給簽走了。Woods在那邊的球隊打得很好。」
"He gives us some size in the front line and length, which is something that right now we can use," Hinkie added. "In general, we think of him as a good rebounder and someone who could potentially play in our offense. We'd like to take a deeper look. I think you'll see a trend with a lot of guys, players who can help us and fit in a role, conceivably fit a role for the future."
「他為我們的前場提升了高度，這是我們現在迫切需要的，」Hinkie補充說。
「一般來說，我們把他定位成一個好的籃板手，而且能在進攻端提供一些火力，我們會好好地觀 察。你將會看到球隊中有許多能帶給我們幫助的角色球員。」
Woods, a second-round pick of the Timberwolves in 2001, averaged 2.6 points and 3.3 rebounds in 208 games with Minnesota, the Miami Heat and Toronto Raptors.
Woods是2001年被灰狼第二輪選進，待過灰狼、熱火、暴龍的208場比賽中平均拿下2.6分3.3籃板。
Good preparation
"This team has a little bit of everything," Woods said. "For right now, I'm just going to bring energy and intensity that, hopefully the team can feed off, regardless if it's in practice or wherever I have to get it done.
「這球隊已經萬事具備，」Woods說。
「從現在開始，我試著帶點能量和強度，希望能帶給球隊幫助，不論是練習中或是任何地方。」
"Turkey was different. (Istanbul) was a big city for sure, a huge city. It was a very interesting place. The people were OK. The organization I played for was OK. It didn't seem like it was that big a difference from home.
「土耳其和美國不一樣。伊斯坦堡當然是個很大的都市，非常有趣的地方。那邊的人們都不錯，我打的球隊也很好，因此讓我覺得和家鄉沒啥不同。」
"The league was very tough. It's not the Western Conference of the NBA, obviously, but it was definitely a good league to be in."
「那邊的聯盟也很強硬，當然和NBA的西區比起來根本是懶X比雞腿，不過能在那邊打球真的不錯啦。」
Woods thought he would still be in that league, but when things changed, they kept on changing all the way to a spot on the Rockets.
Woods當初以為他會一直待在那個聯盟，但當一切都改變時...
jonathan.feigen@chron.com
留言
張貼留言