Best in the East? Why yes, Kawhi

Sir. During the Kawhi saga, it has been mentioned many times that, when healthy, he was one of the best 3-4-5 players in the league. So, with LeBron, Steph and Durant in the West, does this not make him the best player in the East? — Paul M.

At this point — and it is always dependent on health — I think you can throw a blanket over him and Giannis Antetokounmpo as best in the East and Kawhi Leonard’s history is better. So, yeah.

A few years ago, I wrote to you about the word “culture” and how it seems to be overused by athletes, coaches, etc. Another one I find they tend to overuse or even misuse is “sacrifice.” Not being a highly paid professional athlete, I’m trying to understand exactly what it is that these players sacrifice. Thanks. — Dominique

Yeah, that’s one of those words that get thrown around with little thought and really don’t offer an apt description of reality. I guess what people are getting at when they talk about “sacrifice” might be individual stats or glory, so the greater cause can be served, but isn’t that what sports is all about?

My question has to do with the NBA rule (or interpretation) that allows an offensive player to initiate contact with a defender at the three-point line and have the defender called for a foul. I’m not talking about the 50/50 plays, I’m talking about the plays where the offensive player clearly caused contact by leaning or jumping into the defender and drawing a foul. If the same discretion or rule interpretation was used with a charge vs. block call, they would all be called blocks. I’d like to see the same kind of discretion used at the three-point line, where it would be easier to call as is used in the paint. — Rick

The question of who initiates contact on plays like those — the ball handler or shooter coming over a screen who flails his arms in the air and fires away at first contact, or the defender who may or may not stick a hip or shoulder out — is right there with block-charge on toughest call in the game. I do see some inconsistencies, but so does the league and they’re trying to clean them up with different officials. I think what you’re likely to see is the offensive player get the benefit of the doubt just to create more freedom of movement.

I was wondering how a “notrade clause” works with players. It’s a bit of old news now about DeMar being upset with how his trade was handled, but I got this feeling he was also upset with leaving the Raptors in general. So I was wondering why he wouldn’t have negotiated a “no-trade clause” when he re-signed here if he was so adamant about staying, similar to how Carmelo did with the Knicks or Garnett with the Celtics. — Kurt K.

Players cannot negotiate notrade clauses in the NBA, unlike other sports. The only way to get one is to meet contract and service-time levels: at least eight years in the league and four with the same team at the time a contract is signed. DeMar DeRozan was not at that level when he signed his last Toronto deal. There are no players in the league this year who meet that criteria.

More on Doug Smith’s Sports Blog at thestar.com. And if you have a question about basketball (or any sports, really) drop Doug a line at askdoug@thestar.ca. We reserve the right to edit for clarity and punctuation.