Jay Huff spent his first five seasons in the NBA on five different teams. And in his first year with the Indiana Pacers, he finally had an opportunity to fight for a spot on the roster and prove he can be a legitimate asset.
The North Carolina native had his moments last season, but he is still largely a question mark, and it could culminate in an early Pacers departure for him this summer.
Jay Huff may be on his way out of Indiana this summer
Not only will Indiana look to avoid paying the luxury tax (again), but the team may also choose to pick up Micah Potter's $2.8 million team option and commit to having him be Ivica Zubac's backup.
Huff played in all 82 games for the Pacers last season, starting 47 of them, averaging 9.5 points, 4 rebounds, 1.5 assists, and 1.9 blocks while shooting 47.6% from the field and 31.9% from deep. These numbers aren't bad, but they don't tell the whole story.
The Huff experiment was an up-and-down one for the Pacers. There was a lot of good (led the league in blocks per game for a good chunk of the season, won their center-by-committee battle, shot 38.6% from deep in January), but there was also a lot of bad (too slow, not consistent, too streaky of a shooter to be a legitimate stretch big, isn't physical enough to be a truly good defender).
It's fair to say the Virginia alum would be better next season for two reasons: 1) Tyrese Haliburton is set to return from his Achilles injury, and he makes everybody better, and 2) it will be easier for him to play to his strengths and hide his weaknesses as a backup.
But do the pros outweigh the cons for Huff? That's for the Pacers to decide, which may be difficult, especially when there's already a potentially better option on the roster in Potter.
There are reasons to like Huff. He does provide some value on both sides of the ball, and it shouldn't be ignored that he was one of just 18 players this past season who played in all 82 games, according to Basketball Reference.
The Pacers can certainly do a lot worse than him as their backup center. But does he inspire a lot of confidence as they look to re-enter the title picture next season? Probably not.
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