ATLANTA (AP) – A man arrested following an altercation with ex-NBA star Dominique Wilkins at an Atlanta Hawks game last season has filed a lawsuit against the former player.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports (http://bit.ly/oGFFe6) that former NBA referee-turned-custom clothier Rashan Michel filed the lawsuit Friday against Wilkins in Fulton County state court. The suit alleges Wilkins repeatedly punched Michel without provocation after he approached Wilkins near the floor at Phillips Arena on March 30 about an unpaid $12,000 debt for custom suits. Michel also alleges Wilkins lied to security guards about the fight, claiming he’d been assaulted.

An Atlanta police spokesman says Michel alone was charged with misdemeanor battery based on several witness accounts that he was the aggressor. The charge was later dropped. A police mug shot of Michel shows that he suffered a swollen eye.

The Atlanta Spirit, owner of the Hawks, is also named as a defendant.

Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

ATLANTA – The group that owns the Atlanta Hawks and recently sold the Atlanta Thrashers has settled a $195 million legal malpractice lawsuit against the law firm King & Spalding.

Steve Collins, who represents the firm, said Wednesday that King & Spalding and Atlanta Spirit settled the complaint this month.

Atlanta Spirit is a group of investors that owns the Hawks and the operating rights to the Philips Arena, where the team plays. The group sold the Thrashers in June to a group of Canadian investors who moved the team to Winnipeg.

The group said in a January lawsuit that the firm negotiated a “fatally flawed contract” to end a dispute with Boston-based co-owner Steve Belkin.

Collins said the terms of the settlement were confidential. The Atlanta Spirit did not immediately comment.

The group that owns the Atlanta Hawks and recently sold the Atlanta Thrashers has settled a $195 million legal malpractice lawsuit against the law firm King & Spalding.

Steve Collins, who represents the firm, said Wednesday that King & Spalding and Atlanta Spirit settled the complaint this month.

Atlanta Spirit is a group of investors that owns the Hawks and the operating rights to the Philips Arena, where the team plays.

The group sold the Thrashers in June to a group of Canadian investors who moved the team to Winnipeg.

The group said in a January lawsuit that the firm negotiated a “fatally flawed contract” to end a dispute with Boston-based co-owner Steve Belkin.

Collins said the terms of the settlement were confidential. The Atlanta Spirit did not immediately comment.

Copyright 2011 the Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.

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California businessman Alex Meruelo’s purchase of the Atlanta Hawks is being partially financed by the team’s current ownership, Mike Ozanian of Forbes.com reports.

According to Ozanian, nearly 40 percent of  the purchase price, which has been estimated at nearly $300 million, will be financed by Atlanta Spirit LLC over a term of five years. The unusual seller financing could lead to the NBA’s Board of Governor’s to more closely scrutinize the sale to Meruelo, who has made his fortune as a real estate developer and as the owner of a successful pizza chain, La Pizza Loca.

Meruelo is purchasing controlling interest in both the Hawks and Philips Arena, which carries over $120 million in debt, from the same ownership group that sold the NHL’s Atlanta Thrashers, who were relocated to Winnipeg, Manitoba.

Despite his New York roots and California residence, Meruelo, who would become the first Hispanic majority owner in league history, plans to keep the franchise in Atlanta.

“I am committed to winning and look forward to engaging with our wonderful fans, our dedicated season ticket holders, our committed corporate partners and this passionate community,” Meruelo said on Monday. “I believe that both the Hawks and Philips Arena have unlimited potential for the future. I am honored to be a part of that future”  

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How much did California tycoon Alex Meruelo pay for the Atlanta Hawks? It’s complicated. According to a report by NBA.com’s David Aldridge, Meruelo paid about $300 million plus picked up a sizable piece of debt, which according to other reports could be as much as $120 million. That’s $420 million, friends.

But according to a report by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s Tim Tucker, which cites sports business consultant Marc Ganis, that $300 million figure “represents the ‘enterprise value’ that includes Meruelo assuming ‘virtually all’ of the debt on the team and the arena.”

The franchise was valued at $295 million by Forbes, a figure that doesn’t include Philips Arena’s operating rights, which Meruelo also acquired. If he was basically able to pick up the venue rights for free without that debt number pushing the sale price very far beyond the club’s valuation, he might be better at this stuff than we’d realized, even though his share in the Hawks is only about 80 percent for the time being.

Also, the Atlanta Spirit Group wouldn’t really be able to earn praises for turning a $100 million profit if an arena and various debts made up part of the sale price. Wonder if they might have broken even.

Of course, reports conflict. There’s still the possibility the sale price actually was almost a half-billion. Which, again, remember a modern, profitable arena was involved in the transaction.

For more Hawks, head to Peachtree Hoops.

Atlanta Hawks guard Jeff Teague stands on the court during the fourth quarter of game 5 of the NBA Eastern Conference Semifinals against the Chicago Bulls at the United Center in Chicago on May 10, 2011. UPI/Brian Kersey 

ATLANTA, Aug. 8 (UPI) — The NBA’s Atlanta Hawks have been sold to Los Angeles businessman Alex Meruelo, who said he plans to keep the team in Atlanta.

Meruelo obtained a majority interest in the Hawks from the Atlanta Spirit Group. The deal includes operating rights to Philips Arena. Financial terms of the arrangement weren’t released and the sale must be approved by the NBA Board of Governors.

Meruelo, 48, becomes the first Hispanic principal owner of an NBA franchise. He is the founder and chief executive officer of the Meruelo Group, which includes a chain of pizza restaurants, construction companies, a casino and a television station.

“I am a lifelong basketball fan, a student of the NBA game and this is a dream come true for me,” Meruelo said. “I am committed to winning and look forward to engaging with our wonderful fans, our dedicated season ticket holders, our committed corporate partners and this passionate community.

“I believe that both the Hawks and Philips Arena have unlimited potential for the future. I am honored to be a part of that future.”

This is the second major league franchise to be sold by the Atlanta Spirit Group this year. It dealt the NHL’s Atlanta Thrashers to a Canadian group that moved the team to Winnipeg.

You don’t expect Atlanta Hawks fans to be upset at the news that the team’s midair collision of an ownership collective is about to be replaced by a successful businessman who has yet to relocate any Atlanta teams and has never been involved in litigation due to Joe Johnson. He’s also the NBA’s first Hispanic owner, which could form an instant connection with a diverse city like this one that has multiple bilingual players.

But what exactly do Atlanta’s NBA fans think about the move to sell the team? Let’s check in with some!

All three of Peachtree Hoops’ scribes have weighed in, with founder Drew coming out of semi-retirement to call it a “Sunday miracle:”

Put on your finest penguin suit and cook up your grandest tomato pie, the Hawks have a new owner. That is right friends. One. Single. Majority owner. Lawyers across the country are mourning. But us? We celebrate.    

SB Nation Atlanta’s own Kris Willis cautions against assuming the best for the team’s future, but finds at least one rock-solid positive note:

We ultimately won’t know what changes Meruelo will bring to the franchise for sometime. The lockout still has to be sorted out before we will start to find out if Meruelo is any different than the Atlanta Spirit group that has operated the club since 2004. However, as Bradley clearly states, it is unlikely that Meruelo will end up suing himself.    

And Jason Walker sees the sale’s biggest potential upside – the kind of owner Hawks fans have been dreaming of:

The city longed for a dynamic sole owner, much like Falcons have with Arthur Blank. The city needed a person in charge, somebody to associate with the Hawks, much like long time Bird Watchers had with Ted Turner.

Now, with the (hopefully) pending sale of the Hawks to Alex Meruelo, Hawks fans have what they have been looking for. And while he could be the next Mark Cuban or the next fill-in-the-blank-you-don’t-want-him owner, but that’s for later to unveil to us. Now is the time for hope, for excitement, for what will change.

More than one Hawks fan has summoned Mark Cuban’s name in trying to capture what an actual human owner could mean for the franchise. On the subject of whether the team is in danger of moving due to Meruelo’s California heritage, I think this comment best sums up why such a businessman is too smart to head down that road:

Hawks won’t move. ATL is ripe for the picking. Remember this is the perfect demographics for an NBA town. With an owner that cares and exciting basketball, the sky is the limit.

After it was reported that the team will have a new owner whenever the next season begins, many Atlanta Hawks fans were probably worried about the future of the franchise. Well, they shouldn’t be, at least according to the open letter Hawks President Bob Williams wrote to the fans. Read it below, via Inside Hoops:

To Our Hawks Fans,

Today it was reported that our current owners, Atlanta Spirit LLC, signed an agreement to sell a majority ownership stake in the Atlanta Hawks and Philips Arena operating rights to The Meruelo Group. Completion of the sale is subject to approval by the NBA Board of Governors, which is expected to occur later this year.

Our ultimate goal has always been and will continue to be bringing championship basketball and world class entertainment to Philips Arena and the city of Atlanta. We value and appreciate your support, and look forward to sharing many more unforgettable moments with you, our fans.

Sincerely,

Bob Williams
President, Atlanta Hawks & Philips Arena

This commentary was written by Phil Foley.

File this one in the captain obvious department. If there is an NBA season next year, your Atlanta Hawks will be starting their weekday games at 7:30 p.m. instead of the not-so-well-attended 7:00 p.m. start time that has plagued the Atlanta Spirit with quarter and half-filled arenas at tipoff time since the 2005-06 season (also known as the first year that the Spirit owned the Atlanta Thrashers when they actually played a hockey game).

Hawks VP of Media Relations Arthur Triche stated the obvious reason for the shift in start times to the AJC’s Michael Cunningham: namely the traffic in the ATL is terrible at rush hour and it’s hard to leave work, commute back to the burbs, grab a bite to eat, get the kids or a colleague and head back down to the game in a short window like 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m..

“The opportunity was there to create a better situation for those who live in suburbs to give them a chance to get to the games, and that was one of the things we wanted to accomplish,” Triche said. “Hopefully it will alleviate the traffic congestion people face and presents an opportunity to get to the arena in a timely fashion.”

Those of us who have sat in one of those epic Downtown Connector traffic jams as game time approaches knows that the half hour time shift does not mean an easy commute to Philips Arena. But at least you have some extra time to get down there, which should help those from the ‘burbs get down to the Bulb for a basketball game.

I’m sure most Thrashers fans think, however, that the dimwitted Spirit didn’t make this decision soon enough.

From personal experience covering hundreds of Thrashers games and speaking with the so-called “little people” who work in jobs in parking, concessions and security — there are a lot more tags from the outlying counties like Cobb, Hall, Gwinnett and Fayette making the long drive from outside the perimeter to see the Thrash play than when the Hawks were lacing up the sneakers to play some hoops.

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Don Waddell was so successful selling the Atlanta Thrashers to an investment group in Winnipeg. So, of course, Atlanta Spirit owner Bruce Levenson wanted Waddell to help close a deal to sell the Atlanta Hawks. (No, not even Waddell can will the Hawks to Saskatoon).

The former Thrashers GM-turned-President was on CBC radio earlier in the week and was asked about what he was up to now that the moving vans have come and gone from Philips Arena to take Atlanta’s hockey team north of the border to Manitoba.

And in typical Waddell hearts the Spirit style, the longest tenured Thrashers employee is still hanging onto a job within the Spirit organization.

“I may have some opportunities to stay in the league,” Waddell told HNIC radio on the CBC radio network. “I really enjoy the business side of the sport. And I think there’s a big need for that. In the meantime, I’m still currently employed by our owners because we’re trying to sell our basketball team and I’ve been in trying to assist that in the process.”

Thrashers fans have been scratching their heads as to why Waddell still has a job with the Spirit. As the team’s head architect, Waddell tallied zero playoff wins over the club’s first 10 seasons. In what can only be described as a very George Costanza kind of way, Waddell was then promoted to team President, where his biggest accomplishment was getting the Thrashers moved on the quick to Winnipeg. Now he has his hands in the Hawks cookie jar (after claiming that he wasn’t working on a Hawks deal through the Thrashers process).

Maybe this little excerpt explains why Waddell still has a job.

“What’s important for me is working with good people and for good people,” Waddell said. “Putting myself in a good situation. My boss Bruce Levenson is a wonderful person and treated me very well.”

Now, we over here at SB Nation Atlanta have heard Bruce “deal with it” Levenson called a lot of things. A lot of those words used to describe one of the two bigwig owners in the Spirit are of the four-letter expletive kind.

But a wonderful person? Wow. That sure as heck takes the cake.

No wonder how Waddell remained employed all these years.