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Less than a week after losing Myles Turner to the Milwaukee Bucks, the Indiana Pacers added another center via trade. The Pacers acquired veteran big man Jay Huff from the Memphis Grizzlies, ESPN's Shams Charania reported.
Indiana sent a second-round pick to Memphis to acquire Huff, per Charania. The teams will also swap second-rounders. The Pacers will take on the remaining three years of the four-year, $10 million deal Huff signed in 2024. To make up for the loss, the Grizzlies are signing former Houston Rockets center Jock Landale, ClutchPoints' Brett Siegel reported.
The trade sends Huff to his fifth team in as many years. The Virginia alum initially entered the league as an undrafted free agent with the Los Angeles Lakers in 2021-2022 before spending the ensuing two years with the Washington Wizards and Denver Nuggets.
Huff finally broke through with the Grizzlies in 2024-2025, averaging 6.9 points, 2.0 rebounds and 0.9 blocks per game while hitting 40.5 percent of his three-pointers.
Huff now joins Tony Bradley as the only centers on the Pacers' roster. In addition to losing Turner, Indiana has yet to make an official decision on Thomas Bryant and Isaiah Jackson. Bryant and Jackson are both currently free agents.
Pacers trade gives Jay Huff biggest opportunity of his career
The Pacers will almost certainly continue seeking size, but Huff is now presented with the biggest opportunity of his career. The versatile big man will have a genuine opportunity to carve out a role in Indiana during the team's semi-rebuilding year in 2025-2026.
Whenever given minutes, Huff showed that he was arguably the Grizzlies' best center in 2024-2025. His main issue was finding a role in the middle with Memphis investing more in rookie Zach Edey. Huff still secured roughly 20 minutes per night at the beginning of the year but saw his role decrease as the season progressed.
Huff will likely not open the year as the Pacers' starting center, but minutes will be available for him. With star point guard Tyrese Haliburton out for the year with an Achilles injury, Indiana will likely use the upcoming season as a reset and developmental season more than anything else.
