In the long history of sport's uneasy relationship with money and rules, the Los Angeles Clippers now find themselves at a crossroads where league discipline has given way to federal criminal scrutiny. Prosecutors in Brooklyn are examining whether the franchise secretly arranged sponsorship deals to compensate star player Kawhi Leonard beyond what the NBA's salary cap permits — a question that carries consequences far graver than the $30 million fine and draft pick forfeitures the league has already imposed. The case touches something enduring: the tension between the desire to win at any cost