Bruce Levenson was already exploring selling controlling interest in Atlanta Hawks, per report

Bruce Levenson was already exploring the idea of selling his controlling stake in the Atlanta Hawks per a report by USA Today's Jeff Zillgitt.

Even before Sterling situation erupted, there was some talk that Bruce Levenson would explore selling his controlling interest of Hawks.

— Jeff Zillgitt (@JeffZillgitt) September 7, 2014

This is not the first time that selling the franchise has come up for the Atlanta Spirit Group. The group agreed to sell the franchise to California business man Alex Meruelo back in 2011. However, that deal fell through after there were concerns by the NBA on whether or not Meruelo had the capital for the transaction. That also came on the heels of the NBA lockout which in many ways gave owners a much more favorable deal with the new CBA. The reported sale price to Meruelo was reported to be in excess of $300 million.

We could see the value sky rocket this time however, thanks to the recent sale of the Clippers to Steve Ballmer for a reported $2 billion. A new TV deal is on the horizon and franchise prices are expected to increase across the board.