Jay Huff Adjusted To Trade Quickly, Now Adjusting To Indiana Pacers

INDIANAPOLIS – Pacers big man Jay Huff didn’t find out he was traded the same way most NBA players do. Instead, he and his wife were at home and about to leave for dinner to meet their parents, who were already at a restaurant, but first decided to play a prank on his in-laws that were joining them for the meal. To pull off the prank, Huff and his wife needed to hide, so they quietly ducked into a pantry.

That, of all moments, was when the phone call came in. Huff was being traded away from the Memphis Grizzlies and to the Indiana Pacers. On a Memphis team filled with frontcourt depth, Huff was duplicative. The Pacers, meanwhile, were in desperate need of talent at center.

The trade made all the sense in the world, and Huff quickly relocated from Memphis to Indianapolis. He doesn’t enjoy moving, but he’s done it often – the Pacers are Huff’s fifth team in five seasons.

“Eventually, you get used to it. I’ve talked to guys who played with like 11 teams in 11 years, [so] I can’t really complain too much” Huff said of his frequent relocation. “And it’s all for good reasons. You know, once you get there, you enjoy it.”

He’s got experience being traded, so acclimating to Indy didn’t take very long. But getting settled in with the Pacers was more of a challenge. They’re a team that Huff respected when he was with the Grizzlies, he thought they played with honor in the postseason. But they have a demanding style.

What makes the Pacers an adjustment for Jay Huff?

The Pacers play with pace, and it’s not just a when-needed thing. They ask for maximum effort all the time and press full court defensively. Physicality is demanded. It’s a style that has worked two seasons in a row, but it also asks for a significant amount of training.

When Huff got to Indiana, that was his first major hurdle to get over. “Well, the biggest thing was conditioning. When he got in here three weeks ago, he wasn’t ready for this,” Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle said of Huff figuring things out. “He got the message pretty quick as they were playing games and doing things informally. And he really picked it up over the last two and a half weeks and made a lot of progress.”

Huff heard the demand. As he explained it, he has to run fast and run a lot. Memphis had an up-tempo style last season, so the fifth-year center should be able to keep up with things in game action. But he had to get up to speed, literally, first.

He’s done that, as Carlisle noted. Once Huff reached the right conditioning level, he could focus on more specific basketball abilities and how to fit them in with new teammates.

“Yeah, I think I’m definitely getting more comfortable as we go. You know, it’s a tight-knit group, so it’s like there’s not that many new people, which is great,” Huff said. “And even now, I feel like I’m getting comfortable as we go.”

How he will help his new team is obvious. His best skills are important at the five position – Huff can knock down threes (40.5% on 200 attempts last season) and block shots (3.5 per 100 possessions, more than any Pacers rotation player last season) at a high level. Protecting the rim and stretching the floor are skills that help everyone – Huff will be additive to any lineup.

Last year, the Pacers started Myles Turner at center. Those traits were among his best, too. While big man Isaiah Jackson has been doing work with the Pacers starters early in training camp, Huff will boost whatever groups he gets to play with. His fit with essentially any frontcourt partner will be valuable, and the Grizzlies had a positive net rating with the big man on the floor last season.

As the season progresses, Huff’s role could change. And there’s no guarantee Jackson plays in every game as he recovers from his achilles tear last season. The newly-acquired Huff has skills that Carlisle likes.

“His shooting is elite for a seven-footer. He can block shots, he’s got great feel, he passes the ball well. And he’s picking up our defensive concepts, which are difficult and unlike a lot of the ways he’s played over the years,” the head coach said. “So making really great progress. Great kid. Fits the culture of our team very well just from a personality standpoint. We’re thrilled to have him here.”

Huff shared that his teammates have been helpful in getting him up to speed, which is needed for the team’s most important offseason addition. The big man has reason to feel more comfortable naturally, too – he’s got a guaranteed NBA contract during training camp for the first time. In recent seasons, he debated going to play in Europe and battled in camps with an Exhibit 10 or two-way deal.

Now, he’s on a guaranteed NBA deal. He said that’s at least a little helpful when it comes to camp comfort. But he’s in his fifth training camp and has yet to be on the same team for a single pair of them. He’s used to learning a new system and is doing so again.

“[It] feels like the structure is really good. Everything feels very intentional. I think that they just do a good job of making sure that you know what the reason is behind everything,” Huff said of camp in Indianapolis. “We’re doing things that you know are harder than a game will be, I think they said that earlier today, like, we’re gonna make practice really, really hard [until] games are easier.”

Huff will have to pass the ball more than he has with past teams in Indiana, and he’s prepared for that challenge. He already overcame one when it came to conditioning. Everything else, though, already feels natural and comfortable after only just a few weeks.

His time in Indiana started with a prank, and Jay Huff’s humorous personality already has proven to be a fit with the Pacers culture. But his on-court role has been all business, and the new Pacers big man has already taken big steps toward being ready for the campaign.