The Indiana Pacers have a center on the roster according to multiple reports. Jay Huff is headed to the Pacers in exchange for a second-round pick and a second-round pick swap.
The front office’s quest to fill the void that Myles Turner left when he signed with the Milwaukee Bucks begins with a low-cost acquisition for a center that in limited minutes with the Grizzlies showed an ability to both shoot 3-pointers (40.5% on 200 attempts last season) and block shots (0.9 blocks in 11.7 minutes per game).
If the move hits, the Pacers found a rotation big on a cheap contract over the next three years. He’s getting paid just $2.3 million this season, has only a small partial guarantee with his $2.7 million salary in 2026-27, and a team option for $3 million in 2027-28. So if it doesn’t work out, the Pacers aren’t losing much beyond future second-round picks (2029 Blazers 2nd and a 2031 pick swap).
Huff turns 27 in August, was the G-League’s defensive player of the year in 2023 and played well when he was in the rotation for the Grizzlies last season.
In the 37 games where Huff played at least 10 minutes, he averaged 10.8 points with shooting splits of 54.7/44.0/78.6, 2.8 rebounds, and 1.3 blocks. He showed a lot of flashes for the Grizzlies early in the year and there are plenty of reasons to think his play style will be a good fit in Indiana.
Huff didn’t do much rebounding in Memphis but held opponents to a field-goal percentage 8.2% lower than expected from within 6-feet of the rim per NBA tracking data.
He is a true stretch 5 with twice as many attempts from 3 as he has in the paint but he was very efficient from both locations. A very analytics friendly role player that almost never attempted anything from midrange.
We’ll see what kind of role he ends up having with the Pacers as they continue to look for pieces to add this season but right now it looks like a golden opportunity for Huff to really cement a place for himself in the league.
The Pacers are wisely not acting in desperation to find a center in their current situation but took advantage of an opportunity to snag the 7’1” center for a low price with Jock Landale taking Huff’s place in Memphis.
If they come to terms with RFA Isaiah Jackson this summer, seeing what those two players can do with consistent roles this season sounds like a solid plan in the coming year without Tyrese Haliburton. See what you have in those two players and then decide next summer if resources can be spent on other positions or if they are needed at center.
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