Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed holds briefing on Hawks

Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed and the city are taking a lead role in courting new ownership for the Atlanta Hawks. The Mayor held a press conference Friday morning and while there was no big news announced, he did say that he hopes to have new ownership in place by the end of the year.

Reed recently met with Adam Silver and said that the league is committed to keeping the Hawks in Atlanta. No potential buyers were named, but according to Reed there was lots of interest in the franchise including a pair of international individuals or groups and at least one local group.

A bit interesting that the city is taking a hands on approach in looking for prospective buyers for the Hawks. Reed stated that he would meet with interested parties and report back to the NBA. The city wasn't involved nearly to this level when the Thrashers were put up for sale.

So not much in the way of news but we now know that the city and the league hope to have this resolved by the first of the year.