The most intriguing part of this Atlanta Hawks story was never what happened, but what would happen next. That's why not even general manager Danny Ferry's indefinite leave of absence -- which followed Bruce Levenson's announcement that he would sell his stake in the team -- can be considered an end game or even a turning point. There needs to be simultaneous explanation from the NBA about why it has not vigorously pursued and identified the original source of the disparaging remarks about Luol Deng based on Deng's ethnicity and purged that person from the league.

Until that happens -- indeed, the fact that it's already taken so long for this to happen -- the implication is that there's a place in the NBA for those thoughts. Keep in mind what commissioner Adam Silver said while announcing his lifetime ban of Donald Sterling for that infamous conversation posted on TMZ: "Sentiments of this kind are contrary to the principles of inclusion and respect that form the foundation of our diverse, multicultural and multiethnic league." The delay in action on the Hawks case makes it fair to ask whether they truly are.

-- ESPN.com