dump the free throw

[Texas Aggie]

Are games really so long that we need to find ways to speed them up by dumping the free throws?

For about the last 15 years, yeah.

Free throws are obsolete or they are becoming that way. The problem with the free throw is that coaches don't bother with it with their team and it ceases to be a penalty when it isn't made. There needs to be a deterrent to fouling. I've suggested for many years that, like in football, a team should be able to "decline" the free throw penalty and keep possession of the ball. This would all but eliminate fouling at the end of the game. If it didn't you could add a 5 second runoff for fouls committed by the team not in possession in the last minute -- possibly limiting a runoff to fouls that occur in the backcourt. THAT would eliminate fouling to stop the clock.

I would also eliminate the 1 and 1 and go to 2 shots at 7 fouls (or less) and 3 shots at 10 fouls. A team that can shoot 3's AND foul while on defense has a huge advantage over a team that can only shoot 2 free throws.