Instead of the current set-up, how about this: fouling out of quarters.
You get one free foul per quarter, but your second sits you down for the rest of that quarter. Also applies to OT.
This way the first part of each quarter is clean play, lots of offense. Most of the fouling gets relegated to the end of quarters which is where most fouling occurs anyway.
This makes for strategy–when do you want your best defensive players in the game? How can you coordinate your fouling so your best opffensive get sit down when they need to anyway? I don’t really see a downside to this idea.
Strategic fouling is already the second biggest problem in the NBA, after the referee scandal a few years ago. What the NBA needs is a foul system that discourages strategic fouls. I don’t know what the answer is, but it’s not this.
This also gives the refs a lot more power to completely disrupt a game. LeBron could simply drive to the hoop on targeted players, and since he draws a foul nearly all the time he could remove key players on the opposition. I’d rather not give the refs any more undue influence on the game.
This would discourage tough defense and get more players stuck on the bench for longer periods of time. I don’t think anybody wants either one.
I am not sure that’s their second biggest problem, but the answer would just be to increase the penalties for intentional fouls. Make it two foul shots and the ball instead of just two foul shots.