A group headed by billionaire Antony Ressler has agreed to purchase the Atlanta Hawks. The team announced the deal last night night during the first half of the Hawks' playoff game against the Brooklyn Nets. According to a source from the Atlanta Journal Constitution the sale figure is believed to be about $750 million, a number that could fluctuate depending on the debt assumed by the new owner group. Former NBA star Grant Hill and Spanx founder Sara Blakely are part of the group. The Hawks went on the market after the release of an inflammatory email by co-owner Bruce Levenson, complaining about the racial makeup of the team's fans. It came on the heels of Donald Sterling's forced ouster as owner of the Los Angeles Clippers. “We are honored and thrilled to have been chosen to become the new stewards of the Hawks,” Ressler said in a team release yesterday. The price tag on the team comes as no surprise after they finished number one in the NBA Eastern Conference, and are now leading the first round of the playoffs against the Brooklyn Nets 2-0. “We are pleased that the group is committed to continue building on the franchise’s storied history and recent success,” Hawks CEO Steve Koonin said in the release. 

Tags: Atlanta Hawks, tony ressler, Atlanta Hawks CEO Steve Koonin, nba, NBA playoffs