Pacers adding 7-1 center Jay Huff in trade with Grizzlies
Jay Huff, 27, will become the second center on the Pacers' roster. He has three more seasons left on his contract.
On Day 5 of free agency, the Pacers are adding depth at center.
The Pacers reached agreement with the Memphis Grizzlies to acquire 7-foot-1 center Jay Huff for one second-round pick and one second-round pick swap, ESPN reported.
Huff is entering the second year of a four-year deal he signed with the Grizzlies last October worth just over $10 million. He's due 2.3 million for the 2025-26 season, and the Pacers hold a team option for the final year (2027-28), per Spotrac.
With a significant opportunity last season, he appeared in 64 games and averaged 6.9 points and 2.0 rebounds per game while shooting 40.5% from range.
What Huff said of the Grizzlies last year on media day matches how the Pacers want to play.
“The way that we're trying to play offense this year, we're trying to move, space the floor a lot, and at the same time keep the game really simple,” he said. “And I think that bodes well for me. I'm not horribly complicated on the floor. And they've let me really space the floor. They're encouraging me to shoot. They're encouraging me to do all the things that I enjoy and that I think I can help the team contribute to winning.”
There’s upside here with Huff, whose frame resembles Myles Turner, who elected to go play for the Milwaukee Bucks after they waived and stretched Damian Lillard’s contract on Day 1 of free agency.
He’s now in his prime and could excel with consistent minutes. He’s a shot-blocking, defensive-minded big who can stretch the floor and knock down 3-pointers. This acquisition has analytics all over him — and Spencer Anderson leads the Pacers in that department.
"Spencer Anderson for fucking president,” Carlisle said back in Jan. 2022 after success with the undersized Terry Taylor, who went undrafted out of Austin Peay.
According to Synergy, Huff shot 79% at the rim and made 40% of his catch and shoot jumpers in 67 appearances this season while ranking 15th in field goal percentage allowed in the restricted area among the 249 players who defended over 100 shots.
Huff will become the second center on the Pacers’ roster. At the start of the week, the Pacers exercised their team option on Tony Bradley’s non-guaranteed salary worth $2.9 million for the upcoming season.
Including Huff, the Pacers have 12 players under contract for next season.
Isaiah Jackson and Thomas Bryant are free agents. So is James Wiseman.
Huff, like coaches Rick Carlisle and Jenny Boucek, played at the University of Virginia. He's older (27) because he spent five years in college, including redshirting his first season. Both of Huff’s parents played college basketball too — his mom at West Virginia and his dad at Pacific Lutheran.
His senior season, he was voted to the All-ACC Second Team, All-ACC Defensive Team. He finished his college career first in program history in field goal percentage (58.5%) and second in blocks.
The Pacers will Huff's fifth team in five seasons (Lakers, Wizards, Nuggets, and Grizzlies).