A franchise in limbo: The Los Angeles Clippers face life after a Steve Ballmer ban and 5 lost picks‎

The Los Angeles Clippers publicly mourned their losses while committing to move forward on Monday, nearly a month after the NBA slapped the franchise with the harshest set of penalties its ever levied against a team. A year-long investigation into violating salary cap circumvention rules involving Kawhi Leonard resulted in owner Steve Ballmer being banned for a year, the team being fined $30 million and forced to forfeit five first-round draft picks, and Lawrence Frank, president of basketball operations, being suspended for six months. Coach Tyronn Lue and a starless roster of veterans and youngsters are left to pick up the pieces.