Atlanta Hawks: Hank Aaron Part of Group Interested in Buying the Team

Former baseball star and Hall of Famer Hank Aaron is a part of the group that is interested in buying the Atlanta Hawks, sources said reported by ESPN.com.

"This is a private process and he'd like the private process to play out," Allen Tanenbaum, Aaron's longtime business adviser, said to ESPN on Sunday.

Marc Stein with ESPN wrote, "After a historic two-decade run of slugging in which he shattered Babe Ruth's all-time record by hitting 755 home runs, Aaron has spent much of his post-playing career as a baseball executive as well overseeing a business portfolio that has featured numerous car dealerships and restaurants. Sources say Aaron's devotion to Atlanta as a city and his longstanding fondness for the Hawks as a basketball fan led him to join this group of bidders."

The group is headed by Steve Kaplan, the Memphis Grizzlies minority owner and vice chairman. Kaplan is the co-founder of Oaktree Capital Group. He had previously spearheaded a bid to purchase the San Diego Padres. The bid was unsuccessful. Some of the investors include Indonesian billionaires Erick Thohir and Handy Poernomo Soetedj, and Jason Levien, the former CEO of the Grizzlies who is now a managing general partner of DC United in MLS.

The Atlanta Hawks went on the market officially this week. The organization faced a scandal last summer when racially insensitive e-mails and conversations made within in the organization were exposed. Since these revelations, majority owner Bruce Levenson announced his plans to sell the team in September.

Despite the turmoil in the organization, the Hawks have started off this season strong with a winning record of 29-8. They currently have an eight game winning streak.

The Hawks will take on the Philadelphia 76ers on Tuesday.