Atlanta Hawks sale reportedly around 800M; Plan is to keep Bud and Koonin

ESPN's Ramona Shelburne, friend of the site, brings the latest bit of knowledge on the Atlanta Hawks sale to California business man Antony "Tony" Ressler:

Hearing Hawks sale to new owners Tony Ressler & Grant Hill will be announced north of $800 million soon. Plan is to keep Bud & Koonin

— Ramona Shelburne (@ramonashelburne) April 22, 2015

Huge omission, obviously, is exiled GM Danny Ferry, but Grant Hill's presence in the group, and the willingness to keep on keeping on, are items that increase the odds of a return, one would think.

Ramona also notes that Ressler and Hill were among the final three bidders on the Clippers sale that saw Steve Ballmer pay a ransom of 2 billion dollars. Ressler's group doesn't have to come across with so much, but it is encouraging that the noted billionaire won't be strapped for cash on the sale as the last couple of rumored buyers over the years was alleged to have been.

Also, Twitter is buzzing that Jami Gertz, she of the 80's movies, Twister and Seinfeld, is Ressler's wife. Not really anything interesting in the realm of basketball, but for those of us who came up in that era, a happy bit of trivia associated with the sale.

Both Kevin Arnovitz (ESPN) and USATODAY's Jeff Zillgitt both report the actual sale number around 850M, but Shelburne notes that including debt makes the franchise sale number lower.

As always, more to come.