re: Should basketball coaches be able to decline free throws?

I personally don't think there is anything wrong with end of game situations.

Very rarely does a bad free throw shooter shoot free throws at end of game situations because his teammates don't pass him the ball when they know the other team is looking to foul.

The whole controversy with the "hack-a-Shaq" situations don't apply to end of games. "Hack-a-Shaq" is when, for example, randomly in the 2nd quarter the coach decides to instruct his team to foul the worst free throw shooter on the other team as he's running up the court away from the ball to put him on the free throw line. And they keep fouling him away from the ball over and over again in the middle of the game.

That's much different from the end of game scenarios where teams are trying to foul the ball-handler in order to stop the clock.

I think teams should be able to decline free throws for OFF-BALL fouls if they want to. Not on-ball fouls.

That way, if they are purposely fouling a terrible free throw shooter when he doesn't have the ball, then they can just opt to take the ball out again. But if they commit an off-ball foul on another one of your players, then you would want him to shoot the free throws.

Therefore, you remove the incentive to purposely foul one specific player off the ball and completely eliminate "hack-a-Shaq".