9-3-3

[fiasco]

Last night, A1 dribbled down the left wing, then passed to A2 who was deep in the left corner standing just outside the 3pt line. A1 then went around A2 and went partially out of bounds (left foot and most of body were out of bounds) and then returned to the floor. He was out of bounds for a little more than 2 seconds. It was pretty clear he went out of bounds on his own. Wasn't forced out, didn't lose his balance. He went OOB to get around his own teammate.

I called violation. My partner had a problem with this as he said 9-3-3 is usually used in screening situations. I said the intent of the rule seems to me to prevent anyone from gaining an advantage by going out of bounds.

The rule says "A player shall not leave the floor for an unauthorized reason."

My question is, what constitutes "leaving the floor"? The whole body? Stepping out?