In the letter, which was sent out by a member of the ticket-sales department, a headline read "Hot New Player news: Chris Paul and Dwight Howard."
The letter begins, "The buzz around our offseason is more than heating up. With massive cap space, 4 draft picks, and free agency rapidly approaching, we sit in the best position in the NBA. Player interest is skyrocketing as the possibilities of landing Chris Paul and Dwight Howard becoming more and more a reality."
The letter also include a link to a story written by ESPN, which explained how Chris Paul was unhappy with the Los Angeles Clippers for the notion that he had a hand in the firing of head coach Vinny Del Negro last month.
"This is your opportunity to get on board before it's (sic) too late. Once we solidify our signings there will be no seats left," the letter added.
Although the Hawks are trying to hype of their upcoming season, they may have violated NBA rules by mentioning Howard and Paul's name in the email.
Hawks president Bob Williams issued a statement about the letter, as he says that the ticket-sales employee wrote the letter on his own, without the approval of any other member of the the Hawks organization. He also added that the employee wasn't trying to cause trouble with the email.
In 2008, the NBA sent out letters to all 30 teams detailing the anti-tampering policy. The letter read: "If a member of your organization is asked by the media about a potential free agent before the July 1 following the last season's covered by the player's contract, or about any other person under contract with another NBA team, the only proper response is to decline comments."
The ban extends to general managers, coaches, players, or other employees of an organization.
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