Report: Vivek Ranadive had hoop installed outside locker room so Kings could practice FTs during games

Kings owner Vivek Ranadive’s most infamous idea: Defending 4-on-5 to leave a cherry-picker on offense.

But that wasn’t Ranadive’s only proposed innovation.

Chris Ballard of Sports Illustrated:

According to people familiar with the situation, his proposed solution for the Kings’ free-throw-shooting woes was to install a hoop outside the locker room. This way, during games, players could run back and practice foul shots. This plan got far enough that the team installed the goal, just to the right of the locker room, before people around Ranadivé dissuaded him, citing potential rules issues (players usually leave the bench only to go to the bathroom), messaging issues (players would likely be insulted, and it would scare away free agents) and general optics (not good).

If a team could get past the cited problems, this isn’t the worst idea… in a specific situation. If a stoppage occurs just before a player will shoot a free throw, he could potentially benefit from using the break to build a rhythm from the line. This would be useful with coaches increasingly calling timeout between free throws to ice a shooter.

However, even then, I’m not sure whether it’s worth running back and forth to and from the locker room area. That could be enough to break rhythm.

Beyond that specific situation, I don’t get it. Who knows how long after practicing free throws by the locker room until a player would actually draw a foul in the game? It would often be long enough where the extra reps provide no real value.

I have a scaled-down suggestion that would be much more widely applicable: Players should stop stepping off the line and high-fiving teammates between free throws. It’s better to remain in place and keep the muscle memory from the previous attempt.