How rapper J. Cole helped Caleb Martin land deal with the Heat
J. Cole 如何幫助 Caleb Martin 加入熱火
https://tinyurl.com/hwucs4ma by Sam Jarden
https://imgur.com/WVaJmv7
On Friday night, Caleb Martin dropped 25 points in Game 2 of the Eastern
Conference Finals to lead the Heat to a stunning win over the Celtics.
It was a playoff-career high for the 27-year-old, and it helped Miami move to
within two games of an NBA Finals appearance. If they pull off the series
win, it would be the first finals appearance for a No. 8 seed since the
Knicks in 1999.
But just two years before he lit up the Celtics under the bright lights at TD
Garden, Martin was looking for a new team.
在星期五晚上，Caleb Martin 在東區冠軍賽第2場比賽中砍下25分，以驚人的表現帶領熱
火隊擊敗賽爾提克隊。
對於這位27歲的球員來說，這是他在季後賽中的個人生涯最高分，也幫助邁阿密隊晉級
NBA總決賽僅差兩場勝利。如果他們贏得系列賽，這將是自1999年尼克隊後，另一個8號種
子晉級總決賽。
但就在他在TD花園大放異彩的兩年前，Martin 還在尋找新的球隊。
How did J. Cole help Caleb Martin sign with the Heat?
He and his twin brother, Cody, played their college ball at NC State and then
Nevada — the Wolfpack and the Wolf Pack, coincidentally. After finishing
their senior season in 2019, Cody was selected by the Hornets with the No. 36
pick in the NBA Draft and Caleb went undrafted, but he ultimately joined his
twin in Charlotte.
Caleb played a limited role in Charlotte, averaging just over five points per
game in his first two seasons. At the end of the 2020-21 campaign, he was
released by the team. But his NBA journey was far from over.
During the summer of 2021, Martin kept putting in work in the hopes that he
would find another team willing to give him a chance. As a native of North
Carolina, he often frequented the gym owned by world-famous rapper J. Cole,
who hails from Fayetteville, N.C.
J. Cole是如何幫助Caleb Martin加入熱火隊的呢？
Caleb和他的雙胞胎兄弟 Cody Martin 在北卡州立大學和內華達大學打大學籃球，巧
合的是，這兩所大學的球隊名稱都叫做狼群。在2019年完成他們的大四賽季後，Cody 在
NBA選秀中以第36順位被黃蜂隊選中，而Caleb 則未被選中，但最終還是加入了黃蜂。
Caleb 在黃蜂的發揮有限，前兩個賽季平均每場只得到5分左右。在2020-21賽季結束時，
他被球隊釋出。但他的NBA之旅尚未結束。
在2021年夏天，Caleb Martin 一直在努力訓練，希望能找到另一支願意給他機會的球隊
。作為北卡羅來納州人，他經常來到來自北卡的饒舌歌手J. Cole所擁有的體育館訓練。
Cole has flirted with a career of his own on the hardwood, suiting up for
Patriots Basketball Club in Rwanda and the Scarborough Shooting Stars in
Canada within the past two years. In other words, he's no slouch, and he saw
potential in Martin.
He also happened to have some connections with people in the NBA, including
Heat assistant coach Caron Butler.
在過去的兩年中，J. Cole也曾有過職業籃球生涯，他曾經在盧安達的愛國者籃球俱樂部
和加拿大的斯卡伯Shooting Stars打球。換句話說，J. Cole 並不是一個平庸的球員，他
也看到了Caleb Martin的潛力。
J. Cole 碰巧與NBA的一些人有認識，包括熱火隊的助理教練 Caron Butler。
“He had reached out to me and told me he had a very, very talented guy that
was just wrecking shop up here in North Carolina," Butler told The Charlotte
Observer. "He [Martin] had just got released from the Hornets. Obviously, we
were still trying to improve on our talent."
Butler liked what he heard enough to offer Martin an invitation to practice
with the Heat.
"[J. Cole] reached out to me and I just invited [Martin] to an open scrimmage
in the summer, and from that point on he really earned his way on. But J.
Cole having the foresight in knowing Caleb can come and help a contending
team was just amazing.”
Caron Butler:「J.Cole 聯絡我，他告訴我他認識一位非常非常有天賦的球員，他在北卡
這裡的表現非常出色，他剛被黃蜂隊釋出。顯然，我們熱火隊也試圖提升球隊的天賦。」
Butler 聽到J. Cole 的消息表示印象深刻，足夠讓他邀請Martin 熱火隊進行試訓。
「J. Cole 與我聯繫，而我只是邀請Caleb Martin參加夏天的一場公開練習賽，從那時起
，他真的表現出色。但J. Cole能有先見之明，知道Caleb Martin可以來幫助一支有競爭
力的球隊，真是太神奇了。」
During Game 2 in Boston, TNT's Allie LaForce corroborated the story,
reporting that Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra was the one to suggest the
invite.
Martin made the most of his opportunity and has grown into an important role
player for Miami. In addition to his 25-point night on Friday against the
Celtics, he also dropped 22 points in Game 2 against the Knicks in the
Eastern Conference semifinals. He averaged 9.6 points, 4.8 rebounds and 1.6
assists this season, his fourth in the NBA.
But it may have never happened if it wasn't for J. Cole's recommendation. If
he ever decides to leave the rap game, maybe he has a future as an NBA scout.
在波士頓的第二場比賽中，TNT台的 Allie LaForce 也證實了這個故事。據報導，熱火隊
教練 Erik Spoelstra 是提出邀請Martin 加入球隊的人。
而Martin 充分利用了機會，成為了邁阿密的一名重要角色球員。除了在週五對陣賽爾提
克隊砍下25分外，他在東區半決賽對陣尼克隊的第二場比賽中還得到了22分。本賽季，他
場均得到9.6分，4.8個籃板和1.6次助攻，而這是他在NBA的第四個球季。
但如果不是因為J. Cole的推薦，這一切可能永遠不會發生。如果J. Cole 決定離開饒舌
界，也許他有潛力成為一名NBA球探。