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Nothing is ever guaranteed in the NBA, and that rings true, especially for end-of-the-bench role players. Atlanta Hawks guard Trent Forrest is no stranger to that plight.
Forrest went undrafted in the 2020 NBA Draft and ended up signing a two-way contract with the Utah Jazz. While two-way contracts are still NBA roster spots, they come with less security and certainty than standard contracts do. During his first three seasons in the NBA, Forrest had played on a two-way contract. He began the 2023-24 season also on a two-way contract with the Hawks, but injuries and necessity saw the team convert Forrest’s contract to a standard deal back in February.
Around the time when the Hawks converted Trent Forrest’s contract to a standard one, he had appeared in 20 games. Had the team not converted his two-way deal, he likely would have reached his NBA game allotment before the playoffs started. Under the two-way contract Forrest signed last offseason, he received a salary of $533,945. When the Hawks converted his deal, he received a salary bump of $1,112,933 as per Hoopshype.com. The new deal was only through the end of the 2023-24 season, but it was still a culmination of the work he’s put into his game.
“It’s a blessing for sure,” Forrest told ClutchPoints in an exclusive interview. “That’s what a lot of the guys on two-ways want and work for, to get a standard contract. It’s definitely a blessing for sure.”
Playmaking is where Trent Forrest’s value is for the Hawks
When the Hawks waived Patty Mills, that opened the door for Trent Forrest to grab the open roster spot. Despite being on a two-way contract, Forrest had spent most of the season with the Hawks. He appeared in only one game for their G League affiliate, the College Park Skyhawks.
Forrest’s numbers have been relatively modest, but in most games, his impact can go beyond the box score. He appeared in 38 games for the Hawks this season at a little over ten minutes per game. He averaged 2.2 points per game, 1.3 rebounds and 2.4 assists. He shot 37.8 percent from the field and 76.5 percent from the free-throw line.
He doesn’t shoot many three-point attempts, which is pretty much a necessity for guards to be able to do in today’s game. Forrest took only ten attempts from distance this season converting on only two of them. It’s definitely something he can focus on in order to stick in the NBA. But his value to the Hawks came in his ability to be a lead guard off the bench with the second unit, a role that goes beyond stats. He does a good job of keeping the ball moving, knowing what reads to make and where to swing the ball.
“Just being in my spots and being aggressive, they all want me to be aggressive,” Forrest said. “Just being a lead guard and getting everybody where they’re supposed to be. I feel like I’ve been able to do a good job of that.”
Forrest has always been a bit of a combo guard, but his size has seen him make the transition to almost exclusively a point guard in the NBA. But he’s always been a pretty solid playmaker going back to his college days at Florida State.
During his freshman season in 2016-17, Forrest averaged only 1.6 assists. But he upped that to 4.1 as a sophomore. Over the course of his last two seasons with the Seminoles, he dished out 3.7 assists and 4.0 respectively.
In his lone regular season game in the G League with the Skyhawks, he dished out ten assists. In the seven games he played in for the Skyhawks during his first season with the Hawks in 2022-23, averaged 6.6 assists including a 12-assist performance in his first game. It’s a part of his game that although it’s always been there, has developed playing under Quin Snyder the entire time he’s been in the NBA.
“I feel like it’s kind of always been there,” Forrest said. “Just being in Quin’s system for a couple of years now, I know where guys are going to be. He gives us the freedom to just go and make plays. I feel like that’s a strong part of my game.”
G League helped Trent Forrest stay ready
But perhaps one of the biggest adjustments Forrest has had to make since he’s been in the NBA is staying ready. On a two-way contract, players are often shuffled back and forth between the G League and the NBA. It can often happen rather quickly with no warning. While his time with the Hawks has largely been confined to the NBA, Forrest experienced the shuffle during his days with the Jazz.
It helped keep him ready and his second season with the Jazz during 2021-22 was when he first showed his potential as an NBA rotation player. Quin Snyder was the Jazz’s head coach when Forrest played there and he obviously saw enough of Forrest to bring him to the Hawks and continue to give him an opportunity.
“It’s just about trusting your work,” Forrest said. “It’s about staying locked in. You never know when that opportunity will come, you just always got to be ready. I feel like that just comes from working.”
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