Atlanta Hawks ownership group agrees to put 100 percent of team up for sale, per report

The Atlanta Hawks are for sale. According to a report by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution's Chris Vivlamore, Atlanta's splintered ownership group has an agreement in place to place 100 percent of the franchise up for sale.

BREAKING: According to league source, agreements in place for 100 percent of Hawks to be sold. Story to come. #ATLHawks

— Chris Vivlamore (@CVivlamoreAJC) January 2, 2015

This news is significant in that the sale process can now proceed at full speed. There was initially some resistance and questions regarding how much of the team would be put up for sale. That has clearly slowed the process. A complete sale will allow the franchise the opportunity to move forward from what has often been a dysfunctional setting with the current ownership group.

According to Vivlamore, the Hawks will officially hit the open market next week but there are reportedly already several groups interested in a potential deal. Speculations from around the league suggest that a 100 percent sale of the franchise will fetch between $700 million and $1 billion.