Five free agent replacements for Willie Reed

5. Tiago Splitter

At 32, and having missed significant time through injury over the. past two seasons, Splitter represents a risk as a free-agent signing. This season alone saw Splitter participate in just eight games, not debuting until the end of March for the Philadelphia 76ers. Splitter underwent hip surgery the season prior, and a result suffered an assortment of soft tissue injuries in the process of rehabbing and getting back onto the court.

As a result, Splitter was traded from the Atlanta Hawks to the 76ers midseason, essentially as part of a salary dump. This is far removed from Splitter’s time as the starting center on the championship winning San Antonio Spurs, when Splitter made back-to-back Finals appearances.

Upon arriving in Philadelphia, Sixers’ head coach Brett Brown, who worked with Splitter as part of the Spurs’ coaching staff, was full of praise for the veteran:

"“He’s just a blue-collar workhorse who is just an elite screener, an elite roller. I know in my Spurs days with him, he was as good as any we had coached on the assist from the roll. He would screen, he would roll and we’d hit him on the roll and then he would quarterback the gym from that half-roll foul-line area. I think that those types of things come to my mind when you talk about his effectiveness and character and toughness and skill package.”"

In 311 games for the Spurs, Splitter averaged 8.3 points and 5.3 rebounds in 19.8 minutes per game. Playing alongside future hall-of-famer Tim Duncan, Splitter provided real backbone and stability to the Spurs’ renowned defense. Although nowhere near as athletic as a player like Reed, Splitter’s overall intelligence and experience made up for his deficiencies in other areas.

One of Splitter’s more impressive games as a member of the Spurs was his 21-point, 10-rebound performance during the 2012-13 season. The highlights of this game can be seen here:

And in one of his rare recent appearances, Splitter notched 12 points and five rebounds in 22 minutes as a member of the 76ers, which included his second ever three-point field goal.

The highlights of his last game as a Sixer can be seen here:

One of the most important things Brown said about Splitter this season has great relevance to the Heat this offseason:

"“I feel like there’s a toughness to him and a veteran experience that when you’re looking at backups for Joel (Embiid), ultimately, he is somebody that I am completely familiar with, and I’m glad he’s with us.”"

Although he’s missed enormous time over recent seasons, Splitter’s body is bound to be fresh minus the constant day-to-day pounding of the NBA schedule. And although he made $8.25 million this season, Splitter is not going to command near that amount considering his recent injury history.

So when you factor in his championship experience, Brown’s sentiments and an expected low salary, Splitter fits many of the Heat’s requirements when searching for a backup to Whiteside.