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ATLANTA -- It was Grant Hill that first made the call to Tony Ressler, floating the idea of purchasing the Atlanta Hawks. The two men, the former a retired seven-time NBA All-Star and the latter one of the nation's most successful investors, met a few years prior to the call after exploring past business ventures, but this would be the start of a more lasting professional relationship.
"'I think there might be some interest. The process might be worth looking into,'" Ressler said Hill told him over the phone. "I asked him why, we spent some time on it and we jumped right in."
The NBA Board of Governors unanimously approved the Hawks sale to the Ressler-led ownership group on Wednesday afternoon, turning the page on a tumultuous, albeit wildly successful, chapter in franchise history. It also completed lengthy personal journeys for both Ressler and Hill, who were formally introduced at a news conference on Thursday, to join an exclusive group of NBA executives.
Ressler, 55, was involved in the Clippers sale in 2014 -- Microsoft executive Steve Ballmer eventually closed the deal for $2 billion -- and is a minority owner in MLB's Milwaukee Brewers. The Hawks join the Clippers and Bucks as the third NBA team sold within the past year.
"(It's) a nice group of investors and, for what it's worth, with real diversity of knowledge, of interests, of background," said Ressler, the billionaire co-founder of the asset management firm Ares Management. "There's real Atlanta folks. There's professional investors with business acumen. There's real estate acumen. There's certainly sports and the business of basketball acumen. ... It is our strong view that with our group we'll be able to have great input on a variety of issues, and yet speak with one voice."
The ownership group includes Hill, Marquis Jet co-founder Jesse Itzler and his wife, Spanx founder Sara Blakely, Townsquare Media CEO Steve Price, and Clayton Dubilier & Rice partner Rick Schnall. In all, the group totals about 15 members.
As the principal owner, Ressler, who disclosed that he owns approximately half the team, will serve as Chair of the Hawks' Board of Directors with final say in all decisions. Hill will serve as Vice Chair, while further changes in the organization -- the promotions of Mike Budenholzer to president of basketball operations, as well as head coach, and Wes Wilcox to general manager -- were also announced.
Sitting onstage alongside Budenholzer and team CEO Steve Koonin on Thursday at Philips Arena, there was a clear message from the Ressler-Hill duo. To paraphrase: We bought a good thing, and we're here to nurture that process, not disrupt it.
Following the most successful season in Atlanta's NBA history, the Hawks find themselves in an offseason filled with change. The franchise unveiled brand new uniforms, color schemes and a reinvigorated brand identity on Wednesday. It introduced the faces of its new ownership group hours before adding talent through the NBA Draft. The league's free agency season starts in a week, one with crucial decisions concerning starters DeMarre Carroll and Paul Millsap along with the organization's ability to capitalize on its success by attracting outside talent.
"Regardless of where things were, and there may have been some tough years and some lean years, I think the momentum that Coach Bud and Steve have generated in this past year is really impressive. You talk about timing. For us, the timing is hugely essential for us moving forward," said Hill, who founded a private equity firm (Penta Mezzanine Fund) and leads a real estate investment (Hill Ventures) in addition to his broadcast career. "I've always felt that there's tremendous upside with this franchise, a tremendous opportunity to really resonate with the community and fan base here. I think that's starting now.
"Our job is to continue supporting these guys as they continue to lead this team into the future."
Hill's connection to Atlanta stretches into his childhood. He is close family friends with the city's former mayor Andrew Young. While starring for Duke basketball, Hill said he made the drive down to the old Omni Coliseum to watch Dominique Wilkins play. He's worked in Atlanta as a part of his broadcasting career with Turner Broadcasting. It seems like a natural fit.
Ressler went out of his way to underline the importance of heading into this process with Hill, a veteran of the NBA landscape, in the fold.
"When you have a partner like Grant ... and we have a bunch of high-quality partners and investors in the team, but please appreciate you have a group of us that might play on Sundays, which by the way a bunch of us do, then you have someone that's played for 20 years at an extraordinary level, understands basketball, understands the business of basketball and understands business," Ressler said. "I'm going to argue that's a pretty darn good partner."
Toward the end of the news conference, after deferring or deflecting questions on free agents, Philips Arena and other operational concerns, Ressler was asked about the key to owning a team -- something he has never experienced before.
In essence, what does he think makes a successful NBA owner?
"What I hope makes a good owner of a basketball team would make a good owner of most businesses, which is to understand the complications, the difficulties and the opportunities of the business. To appreciate how hard it is to be great in any business, in the basketball business as well," Ressler said. "And frankly to find the best people and the most knowledgeable people to run that organization -- in this case, an NBA franchise -- to come into an organization that just had 60 wins, that had the Coach of the Year, that has a CEO with extraordinary business experience, that has a general manager with a remarkable understanding of players and, if you will, the business of basketball.
"It's just something that we have and look at as incredibly good fortune."
