Trent Forrest handled himself with professionalism through his contract drama

The Atlanta Hawks did not cover themselves in glory when Trent Forrest went from being eligible to play as a two-way player to his full deal. In fact, for 20 days that the Hawks did not have a full roster they wasted the opportunity to find a big man to sign as a two-way player.

There were only two ways to navigate the Forrest situation. One was to waive Forrest after he became ineligible to play with the varsity squad. The other was to waive a veteran, Patty Mills or Wes Matthews, and then fill that roster spot with Forrest. That is the path that the Hawks went down, but as stated earlier, it took 20 days for the front office to make the call.

This has now left the Hawks with a two-way slot available, and they need to sign a big man thanks to the Onyeka Okongwu injury. The way that the front office has struggled to make a decision this season, that is not looking to be a likely scenario. Time will tell, and again, the Hawks fans are forced to play a waiting game.

Trent Forrest showed his true character during those 20 days.

From the 9th of February, when he became ineligible to the 29th of February, when he signed his rest-of-season contract, Forrest was in limbo. He was unsure of whether his NBA dream was over as he is not able to sign a two-way deal next season due to having played four seasons in the league.

So, how did he respond? Well, he played basketball as though he was still a chance of making it into the varsity squad. In fact, the day before he signed his deal, Forrest helped the College Park Skyhawks to a win against the Cleveland Charge.

Forrest had a near triple-double with 16 points, eight assists, six steals, and four rebounds in 32 minutes. The thing is, his coaching staff knew that there was a contract that was going to be offered to Forrest, but they did not let on which was so difficult for them not to share the good news.

Still, it appears that the Hawks dropped the bundle on this as well given that they did not put in any unguaranteed money or team option for next season. Instead, Forrest is now playing for his basketball future with only just over 20 games left in the season.

Still, if the way he has handled himself over his time in the league is anything to go by, Forrest will handle that with a quiet professionalism. In this scribe's opinion, Forrest is the type of gut you want as a deep bench player and the Hawks should offer him another deal with they come to the negotiating table.