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Regarding the original situation with the 73 year old guy, I'd say it's probably time for his assignors to step in. If they've got an official doing a sub-par job, then that reflects badly on the assignor, too. Not sure what it's like in the rest of the country, but around here the assignors work for the AD's of their respective leagues. If those assignors can't send qualified officials on a nightly basis, then the AD's will get rid of them and find someone who can. "Why is Assignor Joe always sending me this old guy who can't keep up with everybody?"
3-person mechanics were not put in place to extend the careers of officials. It's there to get an extra set of eyes during the game to cover more area and reduce the likelihood of missing something.
Personally, I don't think I could ever tell an elder official that it's time for them to call it quits, but as an assignor, I think that's part of their duties...albeit an unpleasant one...much the same as if they were somebody's manager at a regular daytime job, and had the unpleasant task of firing somebody.
And lastly, let's all remember that we're on that court for the players, too. By not being able to keep up during the game and get in the best viewing position to make calls, he's doing a disservice to the players in the games he works.
That's my 2 cents...
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