Newly signed Detroit Pistons player Chris Webber holds up his jersey during a news conference in Auburn Hills, Michigan, January 16, 2007.
Newly signed Detroit Pistons player Chris Webber holds up his jersey during a news conference in Auburn Hills, Michigan, January 16, 2007. REUTERS

Five-time NBA All-star Chris Webber will be the face of a new ownership group targeting the acquisition of the Atlanta Hawks, Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports conveys. The current TNT and NBA TV analyst is looking at minority stake that will make him a co-owner of the Hawks, but is expected to take a major role if the sale pushes through.

The Atlanta Hawks are currently being marketed by the NBA after the owners and management figured in a racially related controversy. Current Miami Heat small forward Luol Deng was the subject of an off-season scouting reports that labeled the defensive ace as "having some black in him." The said inter-office memorandum has led to the shake-up of the organization, forcing the owner to announce a sale. and General Manager Danny Ferry, who read the memo during a meeting, going on an indefinite leave.

The Hawks are coming off an encouraging season when it was able to snatch the final playoff spot in the talent-challenged Eastern Conference. The Hawks pushed the top-seed Indiana Pacers to seven games and at times leading the series. Coach Mike Buldenhozer has implemented a spread offence that did not feature a single player to produce a night in and out, similar to what the San Antonio Spurs employs. The change was necessary given that they lost all-star forward Al Horford to a shoulder injury that made the versatile big man miss the rest of the season and the playoffs.

Webber's interest in the Hawks no longer comes as a surprise as the superstar has been actively involved in the past in developing an NBA team -- recently with his former team, the Sacramento Kings, which he helped push for the non-relocation and sale to a different city. The 41-year-old had his best playing days with the Kings but had also stops with the Golden State Warriors who picked him number one in 1994 NBA Draft, the Washington Wizards, Philadelphia 76ers and the Detroit Pistons.

The said investors and potential buyers of the Hawks are reportedly going public in the next week. Both the Hawks and another Eastern Conference team -- the Milwaukee Bucks -- have been the subject of team sales in the offseason. While the Hawks had to deal with the controversy, the Bucks are cramming for time to build a new arena before 2016, one of the conditions that will allow the team to stay long-term in the Beer State.