8-9, Blue-Collar Veterans: Bismack Biyombo and Daniel Theiss
These two veterans for this section are well-respected throughout the league and while they might be journeymen, they play hard and you know what you're getting. We'll call them the "Blue-Collar Veterans."
At eight is Bismack Biyombo. He has been in the league for years and it is not by accident. He's a hard-working guy who can fit in any system. He'll catch lobs, swat shots, make the extra pass off the roll and has been in every NBA situation that you could be in.
As an unrestricted free agent, he is a bit on the older side at 31, but if you need a guy to eat up minutes and give you activity around the basket on both ends of the floor, he's a guy who can do that. He's not No. 1 on the list because he is just an average role player, but sometimes that's all you need and with the Heat's backup center history, it's been full of guys who can't keep consistent play. He'll be there for the minimum and if all else fails, why not?
The other hard-nosed veteran is a guy who the Heat have a history with. Daniel Theis, the former Boston Celtic, is a versatile backup who provides great effort. He had good spurts on the Clippers where he ate up minutes behind Ivica Zubac. Was he amazing? Not really, but you knew what you were getting. He can shoot the ball, finish particularly well and his passing goes a little bit unnoticed as well.
His defensive activity is also appreciated and he will always compete. He's with Biyombo as in he's not the first guy you want, but he'll leave it all on the floor and fits in any system. He could've been out of the league by now but he keeps landing jobs. He may not be the perfect backup but he could be a situational one giving them much-needed depth at that position.