Atlanta Hawks CEO Steve Koonin: 'Interest high in buying team'

Atlanta Hawks chief executive officer Steve Koonin has revealed that there has been plenty of interest in buying the team after it emerged yesterday that it was to be sold.

Owner Bruce Levenson self-reported himself to the NBA over a racist email he sent in 2012 and declared that he would stand down and be willing to sell the franchise.

Koonin has taken over the running of the team for the time being and said that the interest already blew his mind.

"I had over seven phone calls directly today from multi-billionaires," Koonin told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. "It blew my mind some of the people who wrote me today."

Business magazine Forbes recently valued the Hawks at $425m (£263m).