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All-Time Winningest Player in Florida State History Appeared in 60 Games for Utah Last Season

ATLANTA – The Atlanta Hawks signed free agent guard Trent Forrest to a two-way contract, the team announced today. Per team policy, terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

Forrest saw action in 60 games (six starts) for the Utah Jazz as a two-way player during the 2021-22 campaign, averaging 3.3 points, 1.7 rebounds and 1.8 assists in 12.8 minutes (.490 FG%, .792 FT%). In his six starts, the 6-4 guard notched 9.2 points, 3.2 rebounds and 4.8 assists in 28.4 minutes of action (.611 FG%, .429 3FG%, .889 FT%). Utah compiled a 4-2 record when inserting Forrest into the starting lineup. In a win against Denver on Feb. 2, 2022, Forrest poured in a career-high 18 points on 6-7 shooting from the floor, in addition to two rebounds, a career-high tying eight assists and one steal in 39 minutes as a starter.

After going undrafted in the 2020 NBA Draft, Forrest signed a two-way contract with the Jazz prior to the start of the 2020-21 season, and then again before the 2021-22 campaign. He signed a standard NBA contract on April 10, 2022. Over his two-year career, Forrest has seen action in 90 games (six starts), owning career averages of 3.1 points, 1.6 rebounds and 1.7 assists in 11.9 minutes (.478 FG%, .851 FT%). He has also appeared in four postseason contests.

A product of Florida State, Forrest appeared in 137 games (69 starts) over his four-year collegiate career, tallying 8.3 points, 4.1 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 1.6 steals in 25.4 minutes (.462 FG%, .748 FT%). He finished his Seminole career as the all-time winningest player in program history with 104 wins, ranked third in total steals (224) and games played (137), while ranking fifth in total assists (455) and 10th in free throws made (336). The Chipley, Florida, native was selected to the 2019-20 All-ACC Second Team and All-ACC Defensive Team, while garnering All-ACC Academic Team honors in each year at Florida State (2017-20).

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Atlanta Hawks Sign Guard Trent Forrest to Two-Way Contract

ATLANTA&nbsp;– The Atlanta Hawks today announced the team has requested waivers on guard Sharife Cooper.

He appeared in 13 games for the Hawks last season after signing a two-way contract on August 5, 2021. In 34 games (31 starts) with the College Park Skyhawks of the NBA G League, he averaged 17.4 points, 6.4 assists, 3.6 rebounds and 1.0 steals in 29.9 minutes (.436 FG%, .353 3FG%, .852 FT%).

Cooper was selected by the Hawks in the second round (48th overall) of the 2021 NBA Draft.

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Hawks Request Waivers on Sharife Cooper

Former Hawk Returns to Organization in Newly-Created Front Office Role

ATLANTA – The Atlanta Hawks today announced that former All-Star Kyle Korver has been hired as the organization’s director of player affairs &amp; development. In this newly-formed position, Korver will assist in creating and overseeing a development plan for each Hawks player in partnership with the coaches, athletic performance team and front office.

“We are excited to bring Kyle back to the Hawks,” said Hawks General Manager Landry Fields. “He is a tremendous person and someone whose presence will benefit all of our players, both on and off the court, drawing from his unique experiences over his 17-year playing career, as a late-second round pick who later became an All-Star in Atlanta and one of the league’s all-time best shooters.”

Korver, who spent the 2021-22 season as a player development assistant with the Brooklyn Nets, returns to the Hawks, where he played in 332 regular season games over four-and-a-half seasons (2012-17), including an All-Star appearance in 2015. He was also the NBA’s Sportsmanship Award recipient in 2014-15.

Korver appeared in 1,232 career regular season games (and 145 playoff contests) in 17 seasons with Philadelphia, Utah, Chicago, Atlanta, Cleveland and Milwaukee. He ranks fifth in NBA history in three-pointers made (2,450) and seventh in career three-point percentage (.429), including the best single-season mark in league history (.536 in 2009-10 with the Jazz). Korver is the only player to ever lead the league in three-point percentage four times.

Selected 51st overall in the 2003 NBA Draft, Korver was the two-time Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Year as a collegian at Creighton. Korver, 41, was born in Paramount, Calif. before his family relocated to Pella, Iowa. He and his wife, Juliet, have three children.

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Atlanta Hawks Name Kyle Korver Director of Player Affairs & Development

By: Cullen DavisThe Atlanta Hawks concluded the NBA 2022 Summer League with a lot of takeaways and energy moving towards the NBA and NBA G League regular season. After finishing 2-3, the Hawks and Head Coach Nick Van Exel did well adjusting in Las Vegas. Several players stepped up on the court during Summer League, both offensively and defensively. In one of the most impressive moments of the tournament, Tyson Etienne delivered a game-winning, go-ahead driving layup with 14 seconds left to cap off a 15-point comeback victory against the San Antonio Spurs on July 14. Coach Van Exel went on to mention that all the players did something different on the floor but was impressed with several individuals play. “Tyrese (Martin) has been good and figured out how to get downhill, get in the paint and use his body. (Justin) Tillman was solid with scoring in the post and his post presence. Chaundee (Brown Jr.) has been attacking a lot better since we’ve had him the last few months. Joel Ayayi’s been doing everything.” Martin, who recently inked a multi-year contract with the Hawks, had two 21-point performances (July 12, July 16), while Etienne recorded 21 points coming off the bench in his illustrious performance on July 14 where he also shot 5-9 from three-point range. Hawks two-way guard Chaundee Brown Jr. put his name on notice during his time in Las Vegas, eclipsing double-digit points in four of his five games while shooting .456% from the field and .400% from behind-the-arc. Sitting down with Coach Van Exel, he had a lot of positive things to say about the squad and what he took away from the last two weeks. When asked what he believed his team excelled at the most he stated, “Attacking downhill and playing on the catch and go. We’ve been really good in transition and on the defensive end all summer league.” As a former player and NBA all-star, NBA experience goes a long way as a coach. I asked Van Exel about this and how he thinks it helps in regards to a coaching role, which he responded, “I can relate to everything they're going through; putting pressure on themselves and playing with a lot of anxiety. I try to calm them down and tell them to play not with a sense of urgency but calmness. My experience helps me remain calm and I feel that as a coach if I’m calm, players will see that and respond to that.” The next time the Atlanta Hawks will see action is when they face the Milwaukee Bucks for two preseason games at Etihad Arena on Yas Island in Abu Dhabi on Thursday, Oct. 6, and Saturday, Oct. 8, 2022. The NBA Abu Dhabi Games 2022 will mark the league’s first games in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the Arabian Gulf. 

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Coach Nick Van Exel Sounds Off on NBA 2022 Summer League

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Photos: Hawks and State Farm's Million Meal Pack Helps Fight Food Insecurity in Metro Atlanta

City of Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens, NBA Hall of Famer and Hawks Legend Dikembe Mutombo, and Congresswoman Nikema Williams Join Hawks and State Farm for Team’s Largest Single-Day Community Initiative

ATLANTA – Today the Atlanta Hawks and State Farm gathered 5,000 volunteers at State Farm Arena to pack one million meals as part of the Million Meal Pack. Hawks CEO Steve Koonin, State Farm Senior Vice President Dan Krause, City of Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens, NBA Hall of Famer and Hawks Legend Dikembe Mutombo as well as Congresswoman Nikema Williams welcomed and thanked the volunteers for donating their time in support of the team’s largest single-day community service initiative.

Individuals, families, community groups, schools, churches and businesses gathered on the floor of the award-winning State Farm Arena and packed alongside volunteers from U.S. Hunger and executives from the Hawks and State Farm, reaching a final count of 1,019,232 meals.

The six 90-minute shifts of the event yielded:

“We are very grateful for all of today’s volunteers and extremely proud of the results from today’s Million Meal Pack in partnership with State Farm,” said Steve Koonin, CEO of the Atlanta Hawks and State Farm Arena. “We understand that it is a huge undertaking to tackle food insecurity throughout Atlanta, and we believe that this one-day community service initiative will make an incredible impact and also inspire our communities throughout metro Atlanta.”

The more-than-one million meals packed will be distributed throughout the metro Atlanta area with the operational support of U.S. Hunger, a hunger relief organization with innovative programs designed to help feed people struggling with food insecurity. Additionally, ten other local organizations will help distribute the meals: Atlanta Community Food Bank, CHRIS 180, City of Refuge, Fountain of Hope, Georgia State University Panther’s Pantry, Goodr, Meals On Wheels Atlanta, Mimi’s Pantry and Second Helpings Atlanta.&nbsp;

“The Million Meal Pack event makes a real difference in the lives of Atlanta residents facing food insecurity,” said Dan Krause, Southeastern Market Area Senior Vice President at State Farm. “Our local State Farm agents and employees were proud to be part of this effort, as State Farm is dedicated to giving back and strengthening communities. We’re grateful to all the volunteers and thank State Farm Arena and the Atlanta Hawks for our partnership.”

Statistics provided by the Atlanta Community Food Bank show that nearly one in eight Georgians are living with food insecurity, including one in six children.&nbsp;

“There is nothing like the energy from 5,000 Atlantans coming together to take care of their community, taking a bold stand in the fight against hunger. After three years of being apart, we're honored to be invited back by the Hawks and State Farm to help pack one million meals for families in need!” said Rick Whitted, CEO of U.S. Hunger.

As part of accomplishing various packing milestones throughout the day and after completing a lone volunteer shift, attendees celebrated on State Farm Drive with games, refreshments, music and fun.

Continuing to operate as the world's first TRUE Platinum certified sports and entertainment venue, this event is also marked as the first zero waste Million Meal Pack. As part of this event, State Farm Arena diverted more than 90 percent from landfills that includes all materials generated from load-in to load-out. In an intentional effort, the packaging also uses messaging to encourage recycling within the recipients' communities.

The Hawks and State Farm hosted their first Million Meal Pack in 2019, where more than 5,000 volunteers filled State Farm Arena and prepared more than one million meals. The meals were then distributed to local Atlantans through seven community food bank organizations.

Additionally, both organizations have led efforts in multiple community-focused initiatives to better serve metro Atlanta. In addition to Million Meal Pack, the two organizations have collaborated on high-impact endeavors such as providing free pop-up grocery stores in partnership with Goodr Inc., for elderly and underserved citizens in metro Atlanta and enhancing the Snack Pack Program, which gave over 24,000 snack packs to youth throughout the school year and during summer break.

As part of the 2021-22 regular season, the Hawks Foundation and State Farm presented a check of $122,000 to the Atlanta Community Food Bank as an effort to help combat childhood hunger and fight against food insecurity throughout metro Atlanta.

The ‘Good Neighbor Giveback’ campaign raised $100 for every point the Hawks scored over 100 in each game during the 2021-22 regular season (originally up to $100,000) and was generously extended from State Farm.To learn more about the work that the Hawks are doing in the community, visit Hawks.com/community. 

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Hawks and State Farm Rally 5,000 Volunteers To Pack more than One Million Meals to Fight Food Insecurity in Metro Atlanta

Acquired via Draft Night Trade with Golden State

ATLANTA&nbsp;– The Atlanta Hawks today announced the team has signed Tyrese Martin, the No. 51 overall pick in the 2022 NBA Draft, to a multi-year contract. Per team policy, terms of the agreement were not disclosed.&nbsp;

Through four NBA 2K23 Summer League contests for the Hawks, Martin is averaging 12.0 points, 3.8 rebounds and 1.8 assists in 24.2 minutes (.475 FG%). He poured in a game-high 21 points on 9-14 shooting from the floor in Atlanta’s 95-88 win over Miami on July 12.

Atlanta acquired Martin’s draft rights, along with cash considerations, from the Golden State Warriors in exchange for the draft rights to Ryan Rollins, the No. 44 pick, on June 23.

Martin saw action in 29 games (all starts) for UConn during the 2021-22 campaign, tallying 13.6 points, 7.5 rebounds and 1.9 assists in 32.1 minutes (.449 FG%, .430 3FG%, .689 FT%).&nbsp;

The 6-6 guard transferred to UConn following a two-year stint at Rhode Island (2018-20). In his two seasons suiting up for UConn, the Huskies made back-to-back appearances in the NCAA Tournament (2021, 2022), punching their ticket in consecutive seasons for the first time since 2011 and 2012. During his time at UConn, Martin appeared in 51 games (50 starts), averaging 12.2 points, 7.5 rebounds and 1.5 assists in 31.2 minutes (.446 FG%, .393 3FG%, .682 FT%).

He was named to the 2022 Big East All-Tournament Team and the U.S. Basketball Writers Association District I All-District Team.Throughout his four-year collegiate career, Martin saw action in 114 games (99 starts), notching 11.1 points, 6.7 rebounds and 1.3 assists in 30.8 minutes (.435 FG%, .346 3FG%, .670 FT%).

A native of Allentown, Pennsylvania, he attended William Allen High School, finishing with 1,120 career points. Following high school, Martin attended Massanutten Military Academy in Woodstock, Virginia, leading the team to a 32-4 record during the 2017-18 season.