On Wednesday afternoon, the Atlanta Hawks distributed a press release foreshadowing a “major announcement” between the organization and the city of College Park. Now, we reportedly know what that announcement will be, as Chris Vivlamore of AJC brings word that the Hawks will purchase and operate their own NBA D-League affiliate beginning in 2019.

Hawks will purchase and run D-League team in College Park. Will begin play in 2019. Details to come. — Chris Vivlamore (@CVivlamoreAJC) November 9, 2016

This is massive news for an organization that has been in search of a D-League outlet for quite some time, and the acquisition of such a team has been high on the priority list of owner Tony Ressler since he purchased the team. In terms of details, we do not know much at this time aside from the start date and location of the D-League franchise, but the creation of such an entity would greatly aid the Hawks in developing players and managing assets in the future. Finally, the (very) close proximity is also a significant factor, as Atlanta can take full advantage of the flexibility the D-League team would provide.

Stay tuned for more information as it becomes available, but this is a fantastic step for the Atlanta Hawks.