i would also prefer a warning of some kind. kind of like how they make "delay of game warning" calls? it's not yet quite a T, but you know that you're one away from getting a T. so it's a warning like, "what you did wasn't terrible, but you better clean up your act".
A point in the NBA might mean a lot when it comes down to it. So giving away free points, even if it's just one point, might hurt in the end.