Vivek Ranadive and his partners secured a bankruptcy judge's approval to buy another 7 percent share of the Sacramento Kings on Monday.

Buying Bob Cook's share will increase the Ranadive group's ownership stake to 72 percent.

Chris Hansen had attempted to purchase the stake.

The NBA has fined three teams for tampering, according to an internal memo.

The Atlanta Hawks are one of the three teams, as the marketing department sent out a letter to season ticket holders mentioning Chris Paul and Dwight Howard by name.

The Houston Rockets were also fined for stories on their team website, according to Marc Stein.

ABC had a 10.6 overnight rating for Game 1 of The NBA Finals on Thursday, the fourth straight year in which they had a double-digit rating for the opening game of the series.

The game had the third highest Game 1 rating since 2004.

The NFL typically draws a rating in the high twenties for its Conference Championship games, while Game 1 of the 2012 World Series had an 8.6 overnight rating.

The union of LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh on the Miami Heat has coincided with an increase in television viewership and the general popularity of the NBA.

Stern was asked if the NBA's new collective bargaining agreement will jeopardize that success since it will be difficult for the Heat to keep their team in tact while paying a punitive luxury tax.

"Yeah, as a promoter, absolutely," said Stern about keeping the Heat together. "But there are 29 other bosses I have that think it's a great system. And other than the Heat and South Florida media, our league owners think this is a great idea. Because we have owners who want very much to compete.  And they want to be able to tell their fans they can compete.

"So despite the fact as a promoter, I know the Heat have done a great job. They've put together a great roster. They put together perhaps a team for the ages. It has consequences that they are now dealing with, and actually they're much less harsh than the consequences that would have followed had we gotten what we really wanted in the collective bargaining."

At the end of David Stern's press conference ahead of The Finals, Mike Wells of the Indy Star asked if it was true that he said he knew where "the bodies are buried" in the NBA during a 2011 meeting with league executives, coaches and players.

The February meeting during All-Star Weekend was taking place ahead of labor negotiations that ultimately resulted in a lockout that would last from July until late November.

Yahoo's Adrian Wojnarowski reported Stern's comments approximately one month after the meeting and included a quote from Derrick Rose.

“I was taking off my gear, and when he said that, I just stopped and thought, ‘Whoa …’

“I couldn’t believe that he said it.”

When Stern was asked on Thursday, he took a light tone in response to the question.

"I have a map," said Stern. "And I'm going to put it in one of the envelopes I'm leaving for Adam.

Mitch Kupchak has not decided whether to use the Los Angeles Lakers’ one-time amnesty clause.

Metta World Peace has been floated as a possibly amnesty candidate.

“It's a tool that we're aware of,” Kupchak said. “We have not decided if we will use it. It's just a tool we know is available. We feel our players have value, but there is always a financial component to this business and the new collective bargaining agreement made some significant changes that we need to be aware of.”

The Lakers will try to improve via free agency this offseason, with just the mini-mid level exception at their disposal.

“Assuming our team next year is similar to the team it was this year, and also understanding that we have several free agents, probably the best way to improve this team would be through free agency, and even that's limited,” Kupchak said. “Hopefully you can use your mini-mid, but most of the time it will fall towards the (veteran's) minimum contracts, and you want to make good selections there. But you're not going to get really good, productive young players at a minimum salary. You'll end up getting the older player who's had a good career that's looking to contend for a championship, like Antawn Jamison last season.”

The Lakers have just Steve Nash on the books for the 2014-15 season, meaning the team will likely avoid the repeater tax that penalizes franchises that exceed the tax line in three of four seasons.

“It is within our control to avoid that, yes,” Kupchak said. “It's something that we did intentionally, where we have a lot of financial flexibility for that season.”

TNT's coverage of Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals drew a record 11.5 million viewers.

The game between the Miami Heat and Indiana Pacers was the largest audience in TNT's 29-year history of broadcasting the NBA.

Locally, the game averaged a 31.7 rating in Miami, but just 21.9 in Indianapolis.

Roy Hibbert expressed frustration with the national media following Game 6, saying "Y'all (expletive) don't watch us play."

The NBA will soon begin renegotiating national television contracts.

The Atlanta Hawks may have committed a violation of the NBA's anti-tampering policy by mentioning Dwight Howard and Chris Paul in a letter sent to prospective ticket buyers.

The letter was sent from the marketing department:

“Hot New Player news: Chris Paul and Dwight Howard.” It began with the statement: “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 & Dwight Howard become more and more of a reality.”

The letter also linked to an ESPN story reporting that Paul was unhappy with the Los Angeles Clippers.

“This is your opportunity to get on board before its (sic) too late. Once we solidify our signings there will be no seats left,” the letter added.

The NBA declined to comment on the situation.

Herb Kohl is committed to keeping the Milwaukee Bucks from relocating by replacing the Bradley Center.

The Bradley Center opened in 1988.

"We have to find a way and we will find a way," Kohl said. "We know we have to find a way to a new facility and we will. The question is when and how. But we will because that is the future of not only the Bucks ... Milwaukee and Wisconsin need a 21st century sports and entertainment complex."

Kohl was asked how long he is going to stay owner of the Bucks.

"For the foreseeable future," Kohl said. "I have always said I will own the team until it's sold at some point to somebody or some group that ... is dedicated to keeping it here in Wisconsin. So when the time comes and the right person or group appears, my mind will start moving in another direction. But they must stay here. That's the bottom line."

The NBA is projecting a salary cap of $58.5 million for next season.

The NBA has had a salary cap of $58.044 million over the past few seasons.