[번역글]This is for Boston - Isaiah Thomas

너무 성급하게 번역하느라, 오역이 있을 수 있습니다. 넓은 양해를 부탁드립니다.

워드파일에서 작성하고 붙여넣기를 하느라, 편집이 엉망인 점도 양해 부탁드립니다.

다만 번역하면서, 정말 즐거웠고 토마스라는 선수에 대해 없던 애정도 생기게 만드는 글입니다.

 

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

즐거웠어요. 그냥 그때를 즐기고 있었어요.

 

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.

제가 대니(에인지)에게서 전화를 받았을 무렵엔 공항에서 돌아오려는 때였어요. 제 아내 칼리아와 저는 결혼 1주년 기념여행 다녀오는 길이었죠. 저희는 마이애미로 며칠동안 다녀왔고, 시애틀의 집으로 오는 길이었어요.  

 

I missed the call, must have been doing something in the car. Danny left a text.

차 안에서 뭔가 하는 동안 부재중 통화가 있었고, 대니는 문자 하나를 남겼습니다. 

 

“IT, call me when you can.”

 

“IT, 가능한 시간에 전화줘.”

 

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.

 

“심각하게 들릴 수도 있겠지만, 대니에게서 오는 지극히 평범한 문자였어요. 여러가지를 생각할 만한 게 없었죠. 운전하면서 그에게 전화를 걸었고 특별히 많은 생각을 하진 않았죠. 그도 내가 여행중이라는 걸 알고 있어서 몇가지 질문만 했죠. 그가 어떻게 지내는지, 가족들이 어떻게 지내는 지에 대해 물어봤죠. 다시 말하자면, 여러분들도 아시겠지만, 그냥 평범한 이야기들이었어요.  

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.

그리고 거기서, 뭐랄까… 말이 끊겼어요. 대화에 잠시동안 정적이 흘렀죠. 그리고는 그가 말했죠. 

 

“I just traded you.”

“내가 방금 전에 자네를 트레이드했어.” 

 

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.

 

그렇게 단순했어요. 거창한 어휘를 쓰거나, 큰 소리를 낸 게 아니었죠. 그 말이 나왔을 때 엿 같은 기분이었던 건 맞지만, 더 이상 크게 할 말은 없었죠.

 

“To where.” That’s all I could manage.

 

“어디로요?” 내가 겨우겨우 꺼낸 말이었어요.

 

“To the Cavaliers, for Kyrie.”

 

“캐벌리어스로, 카이이리 어빙과”

 

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.

 

뭐 그런 때에는, 여러분들도 비슷할 거에요. 전화통화를 하긴 하는데 상대방은 뭐라 말하긴 하는데 어느 순간 생각나는 말이, 더 이상 통화하기 싫거든요? 충분히 정중한 방식으로 말이죠. 그냥, 의지력으로 대화를 끝내야 하는 것처럼요. 그 순간에 제가 느꼈던 감정이 바로 그런 것이었어요.

 

Danny started going on about everything I’ve done for the city of Boston, and for the Celtics organization, both on and off the court. About what a great player I am, and how I’m going to be great in Cleveland. You know, telling me that type of stuff. And it was just like … at that point in time? I definitely didn’t want to hear none of that.

 

대니는 제가 경기장 안팎에서 보스턴이란 도시나, 구단을 위해 제가 했던 모든 것에 대해 이야기를 시작했죠. 제가 얼마나 위대한 선수인지도, 클리블랜드에서도 얼마나 중요해 질 것인지에 대해서요. 아시다시피 이런 부류의 말들을 하더군요. 그때 그 시점에 그런 것들은 뭐… 정말 아무것도 듣기 싫었어요.

 

So I was steady trying to cut him off a few times, and then eventually I did. It was basically, you know — I appreciate you reaching out, appreciate you telling me, but there’s really nothing else that you or I need to be saying right now.

 

대니가 말하는 도중 몇 번이고 말꼬리를 끊으려고 했고, 결국에는 끊었죠. 예상했겠지만 의례적인 말이었어요. 제게 연락해주고 직접 말해준 것은 고맙지만, 단장님이나 나나 지금 당장은 정말 할 말이 없을 것 같네요.

 

And that was the gist of it.

 

그게 요지였어요.

 

That was the call.

 

그렇게 통화가 끝났어요.

 

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. 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.

 

하아… 그 순간 수없이 많은 생각들이 머릿속으로 밀려들어왔어요. 그래도 잠시동안은 그 생각들을 막아둘 필요가 있었죠. 직감적으로 드는 생각은 이게 우리 가족들에게 어떤 의미로 다가 올 것인가였죠. 전 제 두 아들 생각이 나더군요. 제임스와 제이든, 그 아이들에게 떠날 시간이란 걸 말해야 합니다. 그 아이들에게 충격으로 다가올 것이 우선, 아이들이 학교에 갈 시점이 임박했고, 그리고 그 아이들에게 보스턴이 얼마나 내 집같이 느끼기 시작한 바로 그 순간이었다는 것이죠. 물론 우리들 모두에게도요.

 

The boys had been staying at my mom’s while Kayla and I were away, and so as soon as we got home from the airport, we FaceTimed them. I knew the news was bound to leak sooner or later, and I wanted to make sure that they heard it from me. And so I told them what had happened: Dad got traded.

 

아이들은 저와 칼리아가 멀리 있을 때 저의 어머니께서 돌봐 봐주셨어요. 공항에서 집으로 돌아오는 길에는 페이스타임을 했고요. 얼마 안 있으면 이 소식이 퍼지겠죠, 그리고 가족들은 제게 한 번 더 확인을 할 겁니다. 그리고 전 사정을 이야기하겠죠. 아빠 트레이드되었어.

 

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

 

첫째인 제임스는– 아빠를 쏙 빼닮아서 제가 했던 질문을 맨 먼저 하겠죠. “어디로?”

 

“Cleveland. They traded me for Kyrie.” And I’m pretty sure you know what came next.

 

“클리블랜드, 카이리 어빙과 트레이드되었어.” 그리고 다음에 무슨 말이 나올지 눈에 훤 합니다.

 

“LEBRON! LEBRON JAMES! Dad — Dad. You get to play with LeBron James!”

 

“르브론! 르브론 제임스! 아빠, 아빠. 아빠 르브론이랑 같이 뛰는거야!”

 

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.

 

반면에 작은 아이 제이든은 좀 예민해요. 그리고 누구보다 보스턴을 정말 좋아하죠. 그 아이에게 이적소식은 더 상처가 될 겁니다. 그 소식을 듣고 아이의 반응을 생각해보면 맞는 이야기일겁니다. 둘째는 실망한 눈치였어요.

 

I said, “Jaiden, are you happy or are you sad?”

 

제가 물었죠. “제이든, 넌 기쁘니, 슬프니?”

 

“Sad.”

 

“슬퍼요.”

 

“Why?”

 

“왜 그렇지?”

 

And he said, “Because Cleveland probably doesn’t have skate parks.”

 

그리고는 아이가 말했죠. “아마도 클리블랜드에는 스케이트 공원이 없을 테니까요.”

 

He’s big on skating and stuff. So he was definitely upset with that. (Cleveland, if y’all got skate parks, @ me on Twitter.)

 

작은 아이는 스케이트랑 빙판에서 노는 걸 정말 좋아했어요. 그래서 분명 실망했을꺼에요. (클리블랜드에 사시는 분들, 트위터로 알려주세요)

 

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.

 

불과 몇시간 후 뉴스는 퍼졌죠. 모든 제 소셜 미디어들은 불이 났죠. 천개도 넘는 메시지를 받고 또 그만큼의 반응도 봤습니다.

 

But the truth is — those first two reactions I got, from my sons? That was all I needed. All those takes, all the rumors, all the expert analysis going around … and, man, my sons got it more right in a couple of minutes over FaceTime. 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.

 

하지만 중요한 사실은, 두 아이들의 맨 처음 반응들에 있었을까요? 그것이야말로 제게 필요한 전부였어요. 그 모든 것들보다, 모든 소문들보다, 떠돌아다니는 그 모든 전문가들의 분석들보다도요… 그리고 제 아이들은 몇분동안의 페이스타임으로 그 소식들을 전해들었죠. 트레이드에 관한 모든 것들과 이 순간 제 마음속 깊이 느껴지는 모든 감정들을 말이죠.  그 감정들 중 제게 중요했던 건 단 두 가지 뿐이었어요.

 

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.

 

한가지는 첫째 아들이 이야기했던“르브론 제임스” 허나 다시 이야기하자면, 동부 최고의 팀에 제가 합류해 세계 최고의 농구선수와 함께 우승에 도전하는 것이었죠.

 

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

 

또 하나는 작은 아들이 말했듯“슬픔”입니다. 다시 이야기하자면, 얘야, 보스턴이 그리울꺼야.

 

Man, am I going to miss being a Celtic.

 

셀틱스의 일원이었던 걸 그리워할꺼야.

 

 

 

But yeah, I’ll just say it: That shit hurt. It hurt a lot.

 

그러면서도, 반드시 말할겁니다. 존X 아프다고. 정말 상처입었다고.

 

And I won’t lie — it still hurts.

 

전 거짓말 하지 않아요. 아직도 상처입었어요.

 

It’s not that I don’t understand it. Of course I get it: This is a business. Danny is a businessman, and he made a business move. I don’t agree with it, just personally, and I don’t think the Boston Celtics got better by making this trade. But that’s not my job. That’s Danny’s. And it’s a tough job, and he’s been really good at it. 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. I’m not sitting here, writing this, because I feel I was wronged. I wasn’t wronged. It was Boston’s right to trade me.

 

이건 제가 이해 못할 일은 아니에요. 물론 저는 알고 있어요. 이건 비즈니스라는 걸. 대니는 사업가이고, 사업적인 행동을 했고요. 저는 동의하지 않지만, 그건 개인적인 것일 뿐이고 보스턴 셀틱스가 이 트레이드를 행해서 더 강해졌다고는 생각 안 합니다. 그렇지만 이건 내가 할 수 있는 일이 아니에요. 대니가 할 수 있는 일이죠. 그리고 그게 힘든 일이고 지금까지 그 사람은 정말 잘 해왔어요. 그러나 마지막에 이런 거래들은 한 가지로 결론이 났습니다. 비즈니스. 이런 결론에 악감정은 없어요. 전 성인이고, 제가 리그에 처음 들어왔을 때를 기억하고 있으니까요. 그리고 지금까지는 저주보다는 축복의 길이었죠. 이게 잘못된 일이라고 생각되었으면 여기 앉아 이렇게 글을 쓰지도 못했을 것이고요. 제게 잘못된 일이 일어난 건 아닙니다. 저를 트레이드 할 권리를 가진 것은 보스턴이니까요.

 

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. 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. How they turned him into a villain, just for doing what was his right to do as a free agent in this league. Suddenly, it was, “Oh, he’s selfish,” or, “Oh, he’s a coward.” Suddenly, just for doing business on his end, and doing right by himself, he was portrayed as this bad guy.

 

게다가 여러모로, 이 사건은 제게 좋은 교훈이 될 겁니다. 저 뿐만이 아닌 리그 전체에게요. 팬들과 미디어들도 마찬가지죠. 아시다시피, 사람들이 어떻게 이야기하느냐에 따라 팀이 바뀝니다. 케빈 듀란트가 작년에 자유계약선수가 되었을때가 생각나는 군요. 얼마나 많은 사람들이 듀란트의 인생 최고의 순간에 그를 힘들게 했는지를요. 사람들이 그를 악당으로 만들어버렸죠, 듀란트는 그냥 자유계약선수로서 자신의 권리를 행사하려는 것뿐이었는데도요. 어느 순간, 이런 식이 되어버렸죠.  “오, 듀란트는 이기적이야.” “듀란트는 겁쟁이야.” 어느 순간 그 자신의 비즈니스를 위해, 그 자신의 권리를 위해 행동했던 것 만으로도 그는 나쁜 녀석으로 비춰진 것이죠.

 

But that’s what I think my trade can show people. I want them to see how my getting traded — just like that, without any warning — by the franchise that I scratched and clawed for, and bled for, and put my everything on the line for? That’s why people need to fix their perspective. It’s like, man — with a few exceptions, unless we’re free agents, 99 times out of 100, it’s the owners with the power. So when players are getting moved left and right, and having their lives changed without any say-so, and it’s no big deal … but then the handful of times it flips, and the player has control … then it’s some scandal? 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.

 

제 트레이드도 또한 사람들의 성향을 보여줄 만한 것이라고 생각해요. 전 제가 어떻게 트레이드되는 지에 대해 보여주고 싶어요, 이렇게, 아무런 경고도 없이, 싸웠고 피흘렸던 프랜차이즈에서 말이죠. 그래요 솔직히 말해볼까요? 이거야 말로 사람들이 관점을 바꿔야 할 이유입니다. 몇몇 예외는 있겠지만 100의 99는 자유계약선수가 되기 전엔 힘을 가진 건 구단측입니다. 그래서 선수들이 좌에서 우로 옮겨다니고, 별다른 말도 못하고 삶이 변화되죠. 이건 뭐 대단한 것도 일도 아니죠… 하지만 정말 짧은 시간 동안에야 선수들은 주도권을 잡습니다… 그럼 이게 그저 소문일까요? 솔직히 이야기하자면, 제가 느끼기엔, 리그의 일원일 때보다 그냥 사회에서 훨씬 더 회자되고 있죠. 그 이야기는 우리가 갈 길이 아주 멀다는 뜻이기도 하고요.

 

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

 

제가 말했듯이 전 악감정은 없습니다. 다만 제가 바라는 건 다음 번에 어떤 선수가 자유계약선수로 떠나가게 될 때에, 누군가는 불쑥 뛰어들거나 비판적인 이야기를 쓰거나 질낮은 트위터를 날리려고 할 때, 한번 더 생각하게 되는 것입니다. 분명 그 사람들은 리그를 볼 것이고, 나와 같은 경우도 볼 겁니다. 그리고 충성심이라는 걸 기억하게 될 것이죠. 그냥 단순히 한 단어 말이죠. 그건 당신이 원할때에는 힘있는 말이지만… 거기에 비즈니스가 끼어든다면, 정말 아무것도 아닌 것이 되어버립니다.

 

At the same time, though, people gotta understand. Like, even with all of this being said … man … it still hurt. It still hurt bad. And I hope people can understand that when I say it hurt, it isn’t directed at anyone. I’m not saying I was hurt by anyone, or wronged by anyone, or betrayed. I’m just saying, man, I’m only human. I may act like a tough guy on the court. And I may seem like I have ice in my veins when I’m competing. But at the same time — it ain’t ice, really. I got blood and I got a heart like everyone else.

 

그럼에도 불구하고, 동시에 사람들은 이해하게 될 겁니다. 이런 소동에서도… 여러분… 전 아직도 아픕니다. 전 아직도 정말 아픕니다. 그리고 제가 아프다고 이야기할 때 사람들이 이해해주길 바라고, 누군가에게 화살이 가지 않았으면 합니다. 전 누구 때문에 아프다는 이야기나 누군가 때문에 잘못되었다든지, 배신을 당했다는지의 말은 하지 않겠습니다.  제가 말씀드리고 싶은 건, 여러분, 전 그냥 평범한 사람일 뿐이라는 거죠. 전 코트에서 거친 남자로 행동할 때도 있습니다. 그리고 제가 경기 중에는 혈관에 얼음을 넣은 냉정한 사람처럼 보일때도 있을 겁니다. 하지만 동시에 냉혈한일 순 업죠. 정말로요. 전 다른 모든 사람들처럼 피가 흐르고 심장이 뛰는 사람입니다.

 

 

 

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.

 

또한 제가 상처받는다고 말할때에는, 단순히 무엇이나 다른 누구 때문은 아니라는 걸 알아줬으면 해요. 그저 내게 일어났던 일 때문이니까요.

 

I fell in love with Boston.

 

전 보스턴을 사랑했었으니까요.

   

When the Celtics traded for me, I knew what it was. I knew the role I was being brought in to play — the same role I had played my entire NBA career. “Scoring guard, who can play some point.” “Instant offense off the bench.” “Sixth man.” This was already my third stop in four years, and that’s not a career path that happens to anyone’s franchise player, or point guard of the future. That just wasn’t how the league saw me. And I knew that.

 

셀틱스가 저를 트레이드했을 때, 그것이 무엇을 의미하는지 알고 있었죠. 제가 아는 저의 임무는 NBA 커리어 내내 했던 똑 같은 역할이었죠. “경기 어느 시점에 투입되어, 점수를 따내는 가드”, “벤치에서 출장하는 전천후 공격수”, “식스맨”, 벌써 4년동안 3번째 팀입니다, 그리고 이런 일은 누군가의 프랜차이즈 스타나 미래의 포인트가드가 걸어가게 될 길은 아니죠. 리그가 저를 그런 선수로 보진 않았어요. 그리고 전 그걸 잘 알고 있었고요.

 

And when I came over in the trade, I think Celtics fans knew what it was, too. They knew that I was being brought in as part of a deep rebuilding process, and that this wasn’t a time to be thinking playoffs or nothing. These were supposed to be some transitional years. You know: Pile up some assets. Find some cheap young talent. And yeah — probably lose a bunch.

 

제가 트레이드로 왔을때에도, 셀틱스 팬들도 그런 식으로 생각했을 겁니다. 팬들은 저를 기나긴 리빌딩의 조각으로 여겼을 것이고, 플레이오프 같은 것을 생각할 시점은 아니었을 겁니다. 약간 전환기적인 기간이었다고 생각됩니다. 여러분들도 아시겠지만, 몇몇 재능을 보유하고, 젊고 몸값이 비싸지 않은 재능을 찾겠죠. 그리고 아마도, 여러 선수들을 잃겠죠.

 

Or at least that’s what everyone was telling us.

 

여기까지가 모든 사람들이 제게 말해던 것들입니다.

 

And I think that’s why I got along so well with the city of Boston, and why we connected with each other like we did. All my life, all I’d been doing was winning, and playing great basketball. But now, suddenly, as a pro, people were telling me that I had to be a bench player — and that the best I could hope for was to be the scorer on a rebuilding team. And it’s kind of similar for this era of Celtics: As long as the C’s had been around, all they’d done was win, and play great basketball. But now, suddenly, people were telling their fans that there was going to be a rebuild, and that they were going to be a lottery team for a while. And it’s almost like me and the city, my Celtics teams and these Celtics fans, we both shared the same heart, that same mentality. We both just wanted to win — now — and neither of us had any time for our critics. It was like, Man, fuck the lottery.

 

제가 생각했을 때 제가 보스턴과 잘 어울렸던 이유이기도 하고 사람들끼리 잘 지냈던 이유길 겁니다. 일생동안 저는 승리해왔고, 정말 멋진 농구를 해왔습니다. 하지만, 어느날 갑자기, 프로 선수가 되자, 저를 하나의 벤치 선수로 이야기하기 시작하죠. 그리고 제가 꿈꿀 수 있는 최대라 해봤자 리빌딩 팀의 스코오러였으니까요. 셀틱스 시절의 기간도 비슷했습니다. 셀틱스의 역사를 봤을 때, 그들은 승리자였고 위대한 농구를 했습니다. 하지만, 어느날 갑자기, 팬들은 리빌딩의 시점이라고 이야기하고, 꽤 오랫동안 로터리 픽을 노리는 팀이 될 것이라 이야기했습니다. 그리고 저와 이 도시, 저의 셀틱스도, 셀틱스 팬들도, 우리 모두 같은 감정으로 같은 마음을 같게 되었습니다. 우리 모두 이기는 것만을 원했습니다. 지금. 어느 누구도 우리를 비판하는 사람을 거들떠 보지도 않았습니다. 말하자면, 빌어먹을 로터리같으니라고!

 

And I think it just sort of developed into this special thing, this special connection and moment. Everyone’s got their numbers and statistics all crunched — and all these experts, man, they think they have this entire league figured out. But they ain’t never figured me right. And they ain’t never figured the importance of having a winning culture — from the fans, to the players, to the coaches, to the front office, all the way up to the top. And we had that here. 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. The Boston Celtics let me have a chance to be great. And I’ll never forget that.

 

지금이 무언가 특별한 단계로 넘어가려는 순간이었죠. 특별한 교감의 순간이으로요. 모두들 숫자나 기록을 찢어버렸죠, 반면에 모든 전문가들이란 작자들은 리그 전체를 숫자로 생각할 뿐이죠. 하지만 그들은 나를 제대로 읽어내지 못했습니다. 게다가 승리하는 팀이 가진 분위기의 중요성도 읽어내지 못했죠. 팬들부터, 선수들, 코치진, 경영진, 모두들 최고를 향해 달려가는 분위기를요. 마침내 우린 여기까지 왔습니다. 최고의 자리에서 최고의 구단으로, 리그 최고의 팬들은 나를 쳐다보지도 않다가 나의 키를 보고, 그러면서도 내게 언제가 같은 역할을 맏겼습니다. 보스턴 셀틱스는 제가 더 크게 될 기회를 주었죠. 그건 절대 잊지 않을 겁니다.

 

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. But what’s crazy is, the original reason I was going to play, was actually a little different from the reason I ended up playing. At first I thought I was going to play because, honestly, that’s just my mindset, when it comes to basketball. With basketball, I guess it’s just always been, like — no matter what I’d be going through in life … I’ve always known I can go to a basketball court. All I have to do is find one, and I’ll know I’m going to be fine for however long I’m on that court. Because that’s what basketball has always been for me, through my life’s ups and downs. It shields me from everything that I’m going through in life.

 

그리고 그런 이유 때문에, 여러분들도 아시겠지만, 사람들이 작년 플레이오프에 대해 정말 많이 물어봅니다. 제 여동생 시나가 저세상으로 떠났을때에도 전 시카고와의 첫번째 경기에 나와 뛰었습니다. 절 미치게 하는 건 경기에 뛰려는 원래 이유는 내가 경기를 끝내려는 것과 조금 다른 이유였어요. 솔직히 처음엔 그냥 경기에 뒤고 싶었고 그게 제 기본적인 마음이었고, 그렇게 해서 농구를 하게 되었어요. 되돌아보면 언제나 그랬던 것 같아요. 인생에 어떤 일이 일어나든지… 전 언제나 농구코트로 갈 수 있다고 믿어왔죠. 제가 할 수 있는 모든 것을 찾은 결과 하나뿐이었어요. 결국엔 전 농구 코트에 있어야만 온전하다는 것을요. 왜냐하면 언제나 농구는 제게 그런 의미였고 인생의 굴곡 속에서도 그래왔으니까요. 제 인생에 닥치는 모든 것들로부터 저를 지켜주었으니까요.

 

And 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. But when I got out there? 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. 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. Honestly, it felt like the whole city of Boston was with me.

 

시나가 죽은 후, 그 날밤에 저는 경기장에 도착했고 저는 생각했어요. 좋아 난 이곳이 필요할 뿐이야. 난 오늘밤 이 코트가 나의 방패가 되길 바래. 모든 걸 잊게 해줄 이 코트가 필요해. 그런데 내가 여길 떠나게 된다면? 여러분, 그런 것 있잖아요…난 상상도 못하는 것이지만, 나를 향한 박수, 아직 난 들을 수 있어. 난 아직도 이런 것들이 보여: 이건 시나를 위한 것이야. 우리는 아이재아를 원해. 이런 것들. 그리고는 온 경기장에 정적의 시간이 흐른 후 시나를 추모하는 시간을 갖지. 그런 것을 보면서 난 깨달았지. 그 순간 나를 보호하기 위한 코트는 필요하지 않았어. 그걸 막을 필요도 없었고, 슬퍼하는 척 할 필요도 없었지. 난 이 곳에서 절대 혼자가 아니었어. 모든 경기장은 바로 나와 함께 있었어. 더 솔직해지자면 보스턴이란 도시 전체가 나와 함께 있는 느낌이었어.

 

And at that point, you know, I think it just kind of hit me, like — of course I’ve gotta play. First of all, I’m going to do it for Chyna, and for my family. But then I’m also going to do it for my city. ’Cause what they’re showing me right now, is all I needed tonight: to know I’m not alone. They’re showing me that they’re going through the same thing I’m going through right now. They’re showing me that I’m one of them, and that we’re in this together. So let’s be in this together.

 

그 순간, 여러분도 알겠지만, 나에겐 일종의 충격같았어. 물론, 난 경기를 뛰었지. 우선 시나와 나의 가족들을 위해서 앞으로도 그럴 거야. 그리고 또한 나의 도시를 위해서도 그렇게 할 것이고. 그들이 방금 내게 보여줬던 것들이 오늘밤 내가 원하는 전부였으니까. 그리고 알게 된 건, 난 혼자가 아니라는 것. 그 사람들은 내가 겪고 있는 똑 같은 것들을 함께 겪고 있다는 걸 보여줬으니까. 내가 그 사람들 중 하나이고, 이렇게 우리가 함께 하고 있으니까. 여기에서 함께 하자고.

 

And for two and a half years, man, we were.

 

그리고 2년 반이란 시간 동안, 우리는 그랬어.

   

I’mm a just say this here, point-blank, to get it over with — and then you can go ahead and post it on whatever bulletin boards you want to: You are not going to want to mess with the Cavs this year. This is going to be a great year to be a Cavs fan, a great year. And I’m excited.

 

난 여기에서 단도직입적으로 말하고 새로 시작하고 싶어. 그 후에 여러분들은 어디가서 아무 게시판에나 원하는대로 써도 돼. 여러분들은 올해 캐벌리어스와 악연으로 얽히지 않을 것으라고. 캐벌리어스 팬에게 정말 멋진 한 해가 될 것이라고, 정말 멋진 한 해가. 그리고 난 정말 흥분이 돼.

 

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. It ended up working fine for us — guys played great, and my shot was falling. 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.

 

농구적인 관점에서 캐벌리어스에서 뛰는 난 천국같을 거야. 작년에 셀틱스 경기를 본 적이 있다면 내가 많은 더블팀, 심지어는 트리플팀을 당해왔는지 알꺼야. 단지 내 슛이 실패하길 바라면서 말이지. 캐벌리어스 선수들은 잘 뛰었고, 내 슛은 불발되었지. 하지만 올해는 말이지… 그런 일이 절대 벌어지지 않을 거야. 내게 세명의 수비수가 달려들 것 같은가, 지구상에서 농구를 가장 잘하는 선수가 같은 코트 위에 있는데? 훗, 그렇게는 안될걸.

 

And that’s just LeBron. 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. 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.

 

그리고 그게 바로 르브론이야. 로스터를 훑어보면 같이 뛰고싶어 미칠지경인 선수들 뿐이야. 케빈 러브(내 오래전 AAU 동료로 다시 만난!), 트리스탄 탐슨, JR 스미스, 이만 셤퍼트, 동부에서 삼년연속 타이틀을 먹은 게 우연이 아니라고. 여기에 나와 데릭 로즈와 내 친구 재 크라우더가 더해진다면? 이 정도 로스터는, 이건 뭐 그냥 넘쳐나네. 캐벌리어스 팬들, 춤출 준비나 하자고.

 

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. But now, it’s like, I’m the one who has to stop them from reaching it. And that’s tough. Because come playoff time, if and when we have to face the Celtics … I don’t know, it’s hard to explain. But that won’t just be “the team I used to be on.” That’s my old team. The elite offense, the 30-some national TV games, the becoming a place where free agents want to come and play — I feel like I helped build that. I helped create that.

 

물론 이제부터 동부의 팀에서 뛴다는 것이… 거짓말하지는 않겠어. 아주 좋지만은 않아. 물론 우리의 목표는 보스턴에서 오랫동안 뛰면서 캐벌리어스를 이기고 동부의 패권을 잡는 것이었기 때문이었어. 그리고 그게 아직도 보스턴의 목표라는 것도 잘 알고 있고. 하지만 동부의 패권을 위해선 보스턴을 막아야만 할 한 사람이 나야. 물론 이건 쉽지 않지. 플레이오프가 되면 셀틱스를 상대해야 하고... 모르겠어. 설명하기 힘들어. 하지만 단순히“내가 뛰었던 팀”으로만 남아있지는 않을 거야. 나의 예전 팀이야. 뛰어난 공격팀이자, 30번 넘게 전국 방송이 되고, 자유계약선수들이 와서 뛰고 싶었던 팀말이지. 내가 팀을 세우는데 공헌한 느낌과, 그렇게 만드는데 일조했다는 느낌이 있으니까.

 

And come playoffs, all of a sudden, it’ll be like, O.K., now destroy it.

 

그리고 플레이오프가 되면, 분명히, 이럴꺼야. 좋아. 이제 그걸 부숴버리자.

 

It’s sad, man. It’s just sad.

 

이건 슬퍼, 정말 이건 슬픈 일이야.

 

But I didn’t come to Cleveland to lose.

 

하지만, 클리블랜드가 지는 건 내가 못 봐.

   

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.

 

내가 말한 것처럼, 트레이드 소식이 알려지자, 정말 많은 메시지를 받았어. 문자, 트위터, 보이스메일, 뭐든지 죄다, 폭발할 지경이었지. 하지만 특별한 한 메시지가 정말 내겐 충격이었어. 그건 톰 브래디에게서 온 문자였어.

 

What’s up, IT, I heard about the news. You good?

 

무슨일이야, IT, 뉴스 봤어. 괜찮아?

 

I’m alright. I mean, it’s crazy. It’s a cold game.

 

괜찮아요. 내 이야기는, 미친거 같아. 정말 냉정한 세계에요.

 

Yes it is. Best of luck. You’re gonna do great. Keep in touch

 

물론 그렇지, 행운을 빌어. 넌 잘 해낼꺼야. 연락해.

 

It wasn’t about what he said, exactly — though it was cool for him to say all that, no doubt. But it was more just everything it meant, I think, that stuck with me. To be getting a personal message like that from someone like Tom, who is such a Boston sports legend … I mean, it was bittersweet.

 

브래디가 말한 것 때문은 아니었어요. 정확히는 브래디가 그렇게 말한 건 멋진 거에요. 그건 의심할 필요 없죠. 하지만 단지 그것 이상으로 내게 충격이었던 것은, 개인적인 메시지를 받은 게 톰 브래디 같은 거물이고, 보스턴을 상징하는 전설이었다는 것이… 그게 너무 달콤하면서도 씁쓸했다는 것이지.

 

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: 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. 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. 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. So when I got that text from Tom, you know, there was part of me that felt a little down.

 

솔직히 처음엔, 약간 멍했어. 난 패트리어츠의 톰 같은 캐리어를 보고 나도 셀틱스에서 그런 커리어를 쌓아가길 원했지. 낮은 픽으로 드래프트되어서 조용히 리그에 입성해, 노력과 강한 의지, 그리고 사람들이 간과했을 어느 정도 재능으로, 승리하기 시작하면서 이기고 또 이겼지. 그리고는 승리의 금자탑을 세우고, 보스턴에 머물러 우승을 차지하고, 치열하게 경쟁했지. 남은 커리어동안. 내가 그를 보스턴 최고의 전설로 여기게 되었지. 그게 선수생활 시작하면서 내 마음속에 그려두었던 청사진이었어. 내 마음 깊숙이 셀틱스의 브래디나 오티스가 되길 원했어. 난 셀틱스 농구역사에 길이 남을 다음 시대를 열고 싶었지. 나도 그들처럼 보스턴 스포츠 역사에 남고 싶었고. 그런 이유에서 톰으로부터 문자를 받았을 때 내 마음 한구석이 무너져 내리는 느낌이었어.

 

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

 

문자를 보고 조금 더 생각하다가, 내 관점을 바꾸기로 생각했어. 그리고는 깨달았지, 그러니까, 빌어먹을 탐 브래디 같으니라구. 난 여기에 2년 반 밖에 있지 않았고. 탐 브래디는 2년 반밖에 뛰지 않은 선수에게 그런 메시지를 보내지 않는다고. 뭐 그게 분명 특별한 것이라고는 해도. 아마, 난 잘 모르겠지만… 이건 자랑해도 될만한 것이긴 해도. 아마도 여기에서 나의 시간은, 결국엔 내가 꿈꾸던 그런 것은 아니었어. 아마도 어떤 사람들에겐 중요한 의미가 될 수도 있겠지만.

 

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. 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. It’s just been me.

 

나도 이제 내가 가야 할 곳으로 가야해. 아직도 상처받고, 떠나는 것이 슬프긴 해. 분명 꽤 오랫동안 셀틱스 가족들을 잊지 못할꺼야. 하지만 난 클리블랜드로 지금 당장 떠날 것이고, 그게 내가 할 일이야. 그리고 정말 최선을 다해 뛸 거야. 내가 작년, 아니 지난 달에 생각했던 나의 커리어가 아닐지 모르겠지만, 여러분들이 생각하기에도, 이건 커리어의 출발선에 서있는 느낌이야. 아직까진 꿈이 이루어지지 않았지만, 여러분들도 전혀 예상 못했던 일이었으니까. 그게 나였어.

 

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

 

그리고 이 모든 것의 답이 될 수도 있는데, 내가 말한 걸 기억해? 난 이제 탐 브래디가 절대 될 수 없어. 그리고 데이빗 오티스도 될 수 없지. 빌 러셀이나 폴 피어스, 케빈 가넷, 혹은 래리 버드도. 하지만 이 트레이드가 없었더라면, 그 들 중 하나를 꿈꾸고 있었겠지.

 

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?”

 

머지않은 미래에 보스턴 어딘가에서 부모가 될법한 누군가가 아이들에게 농구 이야기를 할거야. 그리고는 아이들이 묻겠지. 아이들이 말하듯 단도직입적으로, “음, 어떻게 셀틱스 팬이 되었어요?”

 

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.

 

그리고 그 부모는 예전을 떠올리겠지, 진지하게 생각하면서. 그리고는 웃으면서 진실을 이야기할꺼야.

 

“I saw Isaiah Thomas play.”

 

“난 아이재아 토마스의 플레이를 봤어.”

 

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

 

이거면 난 정말 행복할 거야. 내겐, 내 생각엔, 정말 그거면 충분해.

 

 

 

Isaiah Thomas / Contributor