Quote:
Originally posted by M&M Guy
In FrankHTown's example on the trap, if you know Team A has the ball, and you turn around to verify it's Team A's coach calling the timeout, blow it dead and sell the timeout. If B stole it in that fraction, they are not going to complain too much if you sell the call and explain it why it was granted. Also, where's your partner in this instance? Your partner needs to be aware of the possibility of the TO and to watch for it if the trap is in your area.
Taking away the coach's ability to call TO will not necessarily fix this either. As you're focused on the trap, or 5-second count, what if the coach tells one of his players to call timeout, and that player is not in your field of vision? You or your partner still need to know it's the team in control asking for TO. And that could come from anywhere on the court. At least you know where the coach is (approximately  ) so it's easier to be aware.
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From the 2003-04POE's--POE#4-"Officials should verify that it is indeed the head coach requesting the time-out and that the ball is in possession of the calling team.
Coaches must understand that just because they've requested the time-out, doesn't guarantee that it will be granted. Officials have other responsibilities to the game that may require their immediate attention." Some of these other responsibilities are covering traps, continuing counts, etc. You can pre-game to get help from your partners,
if they happen to be looking at that bench and don't have other off-ball responsibilities.