Despite an calm outward demeanor, Tony Ressler is more impatient and competitive than he lets on publicly.

And he wants to bring a championship to Atlanta.

So if the Hawks principle owner can buy the team and then break ground on a sorely needed, state-of-the-art practice facility in just one year, who is to argue with his ultimate goal for the NBA franchise?

“Yes, we have an objective to be a great franchise,” Ressler told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution is an exclusive interview. “A great franchise has to win a championship. When I use the term, I think it’s healthier to say we want to be a great franchise than say I want a championship. You can’t be a great franchise without being a champ. So, we have to be a champ at some point.

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