Breaking: Indiana Pacers Trade For a Center After Losing Myles Turner

It was a stunning and unexpected turn of events when long-time, beloved Indiana Pacers center Myles Turner left the team in free agency this past week for the Milwaukee Bucks. That has left the Pacers scrambling to fill their hole in the middle, and first move is to bring in a little-used center, Jay Huff, in a trade with the Memphis Grizzlies.

Update: The Indiana Pacers are trading a 2029 Portland Trail Blazers second-round pick and a 2031 second-round pick swap to the Memphis Grizzlies for center Jay Huff, league sources told @hoopshype. pic.twitter.com/avmwxWdRZv
— Michael Scotto (@MikeAScotto) July 5, 2025

Indiana sends a 2029 second-round pick and a pick swap to Memphis in return.

Huff, 26, isn't, nor has ever been, a starting center in the NBA, and he won't be expected to fill the large shoes of Turner by himself. Obviously, the Pacers are going for depth right now at the 'five', and will see how things unfold.

Last year, the 7'1" Huff averaged 6.9 points and 2.0 rebounds plus one block per game in 11.7 minutes average off the bench, while shooting 40.5% from long distance. As Shams Charania notes, "Huff has a similar skill set as Turner with his ability to stretch the court as a shooter and protect the rim."

His Per-36 Minutes stats look very impressive, with 21.1 points, 6.2 boards and 2.7 blocks. He'll get a chance to play more this season in Indiana, and prove if he can do it in a larger role.

Huff was the 2023 G League Defensive Player of the Year when he totaled 2.9 blocks per game, 7.8 rebounds and 15 points.