10 NBA Veterans Who Could Help the Miami Heat

There are two things about the Miami Heat that are undeniable. They have the best three-man combination in the NBA, and they have more doubt between their sixth and 12th option than any other team in the league.

Now, I'm not going to say that you can't win with a team that is only five-and-a-half players deep, but it's certainly hard to do such a thing.

When the time finally does come around that the lockout ends and teams are finally allowed to sign free agents again, Miami is going to have a hard time.

If things go the owners' way in the bargaining talks, the mid-level exception could end up being eliminated and Miami could have no more than veteran minimum contracts to offer up.

None of these guys are going to be game-changers, but they can be momentum-slowers, paint-fillers and big presences when they need to be.

So, who is out there who would take a vet minimum contract from Miami and still have enough in the tank to play effectively for stretches at a time?

10. Fabricio Oberto

Some of you may remember Fabricio Oberto as the quick big guy who came off the Spurs bench for a while who looked like a cheap ripoff of Luis Scola.

Well, that's what he was—he was a tough defender with a pretty good low-post game who just saw himself in hard-to-overcome situations in his career.

Oberto left the league in 2010 after being diagnosed with heart palpitations. However, he was just recently cleared to play with the Argentine national team in July as he played a key role on their gold medal winning team.

I'm not sure if he is still in good health to play in the NBA, or in a good condition, but if he can come back and play a role similar to the one he played on the Spurs, he could be an effective player.

9. Yao Ming

Yes, I know that Yao Ming just retired and has been down with various leg injuries for the past handful of years, but if there's one guy who can get people to do what he wants in the NBA, it's Pat Riley.

If the Heat could get Yao to come back and play 15 minutes a game until they make their way back into the playoffs, at which point they can ramp up his playing time, then they would have a legitimate center when the playoffs roll around.

8. Theo Ratliff

It seems like Theo Ratliff has been around the league for the past 30 years but, alas, he is "only" 38.

As a last resort for the Heat, they could go after the little-used Ratliff, who has basically been that cliche extra big man on a team in case somebody goes down. He is a big man they can throw in there to throw his body around and hurt some guys.

7. Anthony Carter

It's been a few years since anybody actually had to worry about Anthony Carter on offense, but do the Heat really need a point guard who produces any offense? Could they not split the role of distributor between LeBron James and Dwyane Wade throughout a 48-minute game?

With that, you could have 20 to 25 solid minutes a night of Carter playing stellar defense even in his advanced age.

6. Leon Powe

After playing just 50 games in the past two seasons for the Cleveland Cavaliers and Memphis Grizzlies, it may seem like Leon Powe is destined to ride out the rest of his career in a suit, but it doesn't have to be that way.

For a mere veteran minimum contract, the Heat could take a chance on Powe and hope that he stays healthy—they would have a guy who could potentially play 20 minutes a game and put up some good defense.

At the very worst, Powe is a level-headed, hard-working guy who could act as a morale and clubhouse guy, much like Brian Scalabrine has done throughout his career.

5. Joe Smith

Joe Smith is pretty much like Leon Powe except he doesn't have the injury problems and is a bit older—oh, plus, he raps.

Smith had nearly no role on the Lakers last year, as he was basically a fail-safe for the Lakers in case one of their other 13 big men went down, so his value is basically on the ground.

However, Smith has been a good role player, basically since the time he stepped foot into the league. He knows how to do what he's asked and he can play defense—what more do you need?

4. Grant Hill

Grant Hill has spent his entire career retooling his game for the way his body is falling apart, and he has made it this far with basically everyone who has ever watched a basketball game liking him.

Still, Hill may even have too much value for the Heat to get if they don't have a mid-level exception, because he can still score and he can still very much play defense.

3. Ben Wallace

He may have looked like an old, slow, hobbled version of himself last season, but a contract with the Heat could rejuvenate him enough to get a good season out of him.

The Heat could throw him under the basket and tell him to be his old mean self and only worry about playing defense, and he could do that for them for 20 minutes or so a game.

2. Erick Dampier

Erick Dampier played a pretty big role for the Miami Heat a season ago, and he showed that he can still use his big body to be effective, so why not bring him back.

Basically, after Udonis Haslem and the duo of Joel Anthony and Zydrunas Ilgauskas, there was Erick Dampier to come in and play defense and knock other big guys down. 

1. Kurt Thomas

Since his contract was up with the New York Knicks back in 2005, Kurt Thomas has been the big guy teams have called upon when they want a big guy who doesn't cause problems in the locker room, who can play defense and who just knows how to play basketball.

He fit in very well with the Bulls last season as their big veteran off the bench who was able to come in and play 20 minutes, grab rebounds, block shots and keep opposing big men on their toes.

Hell, he even had a game last season in which he scored 22 points.  He's not done yet.

If you are one of those twitterers, you can follow me at @JDorsey33.