NBA-Clippers lose five first-round draft picks, fined $30 million after Leonard probe

The NBA came down hard on the Los Angeles Clippers, stripping the team of five first-round draft picks, fining it $30 million and suspending owner Steve Ballmer for a year over salary cap circumvention tied to Kawhi Leonard. After a yearlong probe, the NBA said in a statement Wednesday that an independent investigation found a pattern of misconduct and multiple significant rule violations by the Clippers organization. The league launched the investigation following media reports that Leonard, a