How rapper J. Cole helped Caleb Martin land deal with the Heat
J. Cole 如何帮助 Caleb Martin 加入热火
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 在东区冠军赛第2场比赛中砍下25分，以惊人的表现带领热
火队击败赛尔提克队。
对于这位27岁的球员来说，这是他在季后赛中的个人生涯最高分，也帮助迈阿密队晋级
NBA总决赛仅差两场胜利。如果他们赢得系列赛，这将是自1999年尼克队后，另一个8号种
子晋级总决赛。
但就在他在TD花园大放异彩的两年前，Martin 还在寻找新的球队。
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是如何帮助Caleb Martin加入热火队的呢？
Caleb和他的双胞胎兄弟 Cody Martin 在北卡州立大学和内华达大学打大学篮球，巧
合的是，这两所大学的球队名称都叫做狼群。在2019年完成他们的大四赛季后，Cody 在
NBA选秀中以第36顺位被黄蜂队选中，而Caleb 则未被选中，但最终还是加入了黄蜂。
Caleb 在黄蜂的发挥有限，前两个赛季平均每场只得到5分左右。在2020-21赛季结束时，
他被球队释出。但他的NBA之旅尚未结束。
在2021年夏天，Caleb Martin 一直在努力训练，希望能找到另一支愿意给他机会的球队
。作为北卡罗来纳州人，他经常来到来自北卡的饶舌歌手J. Cole所拥有的体育馆训练。
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.
在过去的两年中，J. Cole也曾有过职业篮球生涯，他曾经在卢旺达的爱国者篮球俱乐部
和加拿大的斯卡伯Shooting Stars打球。换句话说，J. Cole 并不是一个平庸的球员，他
也看到了Caleb Martin的潜力。
J. Cole 碰巧与NBA的一些人有认识，包括热火队的助理教练 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 联络我，他告诉我他认识一位非常非常有天赋的球员，他在北卡
这里的表现非常出色，他刚被黄蜂队释出。显然，我们热火队也试图提升球队的天赋。”
Butler 听到J. Cole 的消息表示印象深刻，足够让他邀请Martin 热火队进行试训。
“J. Cole 与我联系，而我只是邀请Caleb Martin参加夏天的一场公开练习赛，从那时起
，他真的表现出色。但J. Cole能有先见之明，知道Caleb Martin可以来帮助一支有竞争
力的球队，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.
在波士顿的第二场比赛中，TNT台的 Allie LaForce 也证实了这个故事。据报导，热火队
教练 Erik Spoelstra 是提出邀请Martin 加入球队的人。
而Martin 充分利用了机会，成为了迈阿密的一名重要角色球员。除了在周五对阵赛尔提
克队砍下25分外，他在东区半决赛对阵尼克队的第二场比赛中还得到了22分。本赛季，他
场均得到9.6分，4.8个篮板和1.6次助攻，而这是他在NBA的第四个球季。
但如果不是因为J. Cole的推荐，这一切可能永远不会发生。如果J. Cole 决定离开饶舌
界，也许他有潜力成为一名NBA球探。