Tag: jay huff

The Lakers should bring back Jay Huff to shore up the center position

Former Laker Jay Huff could help the Lakers beef up the center position, which is currently their only roster weakness.

The Los Angeles Lakers’ roster for the 2023-24 season looks mostly set, and it is an impressive one, at least on paper.

D’Angelo Russell and Austin Reaves look to be the starters in the backcourt once again, backed up by Gabe Vincent and Max Christie, who has looked magnificent in summer league play. Rui Hachimura, Jarred Vanderbilt, Taurean Prince and Cam Reddish will give LeBron James support at forward, and, of course, Anthony Davis can play the 4 and 5 spots.

But the center position is the one blemish. Jaxson Hayes was signed to provide depth, and while he can block shots, run the floor, throw down dunks and even rebound a little bit, he isn’t enough of an answer.

Even if Davis exclusively plays the 5 again this season, the Lakers will need one more serviceable center that can defend, rebound and ideally hit open 3-pointers to space the floor. Christian Wood has been rumored to be a candidate, but he is a weak defender.

With available free agents that are true centers limited to the bottom-of-the-barrel variety, perhaps L.A. should bring back Jay Huff and take a flyer on him.

Grizzlies’ Kenneth Lofton Jr. headlines All-NBA G League first team

Lofton headlined the list of players named to the 2023 All-NBA G League first team as voted on by general managers and head coaches.

Memphis Grizzlies rookie Kenneth Lofton Jr. headlined the list of players on Thursday named to the 2023 All-NBA G League first team as voted on by general managers and head coaches.

Lofton was named the G League Rookie of the Year after averaging 22.4 points, 10.1 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 1.2 steals on 54.4% shooting from the field with the Memphis Hustle. He finished eighth in scoring and 10th in rebounding among players with at least 15 appearances.

The Grizzlies rewarded Lofton with a four-year contract last week after he spent the season on a two-way contract. The deal is reportedly worth $7 million and will allow the undrafted standout from Louisiana Tech the opportunity to play with the Grizzlies in the playoffs.

Joining Lofton on the first team were Carlik Jones (Windy City), David Duke Jr. (Long Island), Neemias Queta (Stockton) and Jay Huff (Capital City). Jones and Duke are signed to standard contracts, while Queta and Huff are on two-way contracts.

The league also announced the second and third teams on Thursday.

The Lakers made a big mistake by letting Jay Huff go

The Lakers have let yet another diamond in the rough leave, only to see him do well with another team.

Without a bunch of draft picks and a salary cap crunch, the Los Angeles Lakers are in need of inexpensive young players who can contribute.

D’Angelo Russell, Austin Reaves, Rui Hachimura and Dennis Schroder will be free agents this summer, and guard Malik Beasley has a team option for next season, which means some tough financial decisions are ahead.

It has a lack of true centers. Mo Bamba is the team’s only such player. He is due $10.3 million next season, which will become fully guaranteed this summer.

The bad news is, the Lakers had a viable and inexpensive rotation-caliber center under contract, Jay Huff. Huff had mostly played for the G League’s South Bay Lakers last season, but inexplicably, the organization waived him in October.

About a month ago, he signed a two-way contract with the Washington Wizards, and he has done well with them since.

It looks like the Lakers messed up on this one.

Lakers to waive Shaquille Harrison, Nate Pierre-Louis and Jay Huff

In preparation for the regular season, the Lakers have asked for waivers on three players.

With the Los Angeles Lakers’ preseason schedule complete, they now get down to the business of preparing for their regular-season opener, which is Tuesday versus the Golden State Warriors.

One task for every NBA team at this point of the year is making final cuts and trimming the roster.

The Lakers had several men they brought in to compete for one roster spot. While some played hard, only one — forward Matt Ryan — really stood out in a positive way.

Therefore, the Lakers are waiving guards Shaquille Harrison and Nate Pierre-Louis and center Jay Huff.

Harrison has five years of NBA experience and had the ability to bring some defensive toughness and hustle. Pierre-Louis went undrafted after three years of college ball at Temple University and spent last season with the South Bay Lakers.

Lakers fans may not like the fact the team has let go of Huff. He showed the ability to protect the rim and hit 3-pointers, especially during summer league play a few months ago.

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Lakers sign center Jay Huff to Exhibit 10 contract

Jay Huff, a center who showed promise during NBA Summer League play, will be in training camp for the Lakers.

The Los Angeles Lakers are in great need of young, emergent talent that won’t require any capital to acquire, especially given that the team has a lack of first-round draft picks moving forward.

They stocked up on prospects for the NBA Summer League that took place earlier this month, and a few of those prospects proved to be intriguing and even promising.

One of them was Jay Huff, a 7-foot-1 center who spent this past season with the South Bay Lakers of the G League. He even got very limited playing time with the big league Lakers in four contests.

Huff will be in training camp with the big league Lakers, as they signed him to an Exhibit 10 contract.

During summer league play, Huff showed the ability to block shots and protect the rim while stretching the floor by hitting 3-pointers.

There are some questions about whether he has enough quickness to hold his own while rotating defensively, as well as his ability to guard the pick-and-roll, but he could have a real shot at making the back-end of the Lakers’ roster.

If Huff pans out, he could provide insurance in case of an injury to Thomas Bryant, Damian Jones or Anthony Davis.

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Summer League player grades: Jay Huff

Our analysis of Jay Huff’s performance in this year’s NBA Summer League for the Lakers.

The 2022 NBA Summer League is now in the books for the Los Angeles Lakers, and they had a few players who showed at least some potential to make it to the big league and spend significant time there.

One of those players is Jay Huff, a 7-foot-1 center who spent time with the South Bay Lakers of the G League this past season. He went undrafted in the 2021 NBA draft after playing four seasons of college ball at the University of Virginia.

Here is a summary of what Huff showed in the summer league over the past couple of weeks.

Jay Huff makes good impression at California Classic

Jay Huff has had a very good two days of Summer League so far, scoring 10 points, six boards and three blocks on Sunday.

Day two of the NBA Summer league ended up like day one with two big blowouts. The scores aside, both games showcased a lot of good basketball for the Los Angeles Lakers. Jay Huff has had a very good two days of Summer League so far, scoring 10 points, six boards and three blocks in the L.A.’ 100-77 win over the Golden State Warriors on Sunday.

Huff is looking to take the next step forward and secure his second year in the NBA. He definitely has a chance to make the roster, especially with what he showed in both days of Summer League so far. The 7-foot-1 center has a solid skill set, including a decent-looking three-point shot.

What stood out most, though, was his activity. He only scored 10 points in 15-plus minutes, but he shot 5-of-5 from the free throw line as well as 1-of-3 from 3. He was active on the boards and really made an impact blocking and contesting shots, and his overall defense was very solid.

The big issue is Huff’s foot speed. He needs to be quicker, especially when working in the pick and roll defensively, as well as switching out on smaller guards and forwards. His size works against him, but he still makes an impact by setting good screens.

This is Huff’s big chance to prove himself, and if he continues to work, good things will happen.

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Lakers re-sign Sekou Doumbouya to two-way contract; Jay Huff waived

The Los Angeles Lakers made two roster moves Wednesday regarding the two-way spots.

The Los Angeles Lakers announced Wednesday Sekou Doumbouya has been re-signed to a two-way contract.

In order to make room for Doumbouya’s arrival, the Lakers are waiving Jay Huff.

Doumbouya was with L.A. on a two-way contract earlier in the season, but he was waived after dealing with an injury. The former No. 15 overall pick in 2019 now has another opportunity with the Lakers. He made two appearances during his first stint and had a 10-point game on 4-of-4 shooting against the Portland Trail Blazers.

Huff, a 7-foot-1 floor-spacing center, made four appearances during his run, which last came on Dec. 23. He averaged 1.0 rebounds, 0.2 assists and 0.2 steals in 5.0 minutes per game.

The other Laker currently on a two-way deal is Mason Jones, who has appeared in two games since starting with the franchise on Dec. 21.

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Full South Bay Lakers G League 2021-22 roster tracker

The South Bay Lakers of the G League announced its 2021-22 training camp roster. See who is on the team.

The start of the 2021-22 NBA season also signals the G League is beginning soon.

The Los Angeles Lakers‘ G League affiliate is the South Bay Lakers, which plays its home games at the UCLA Health Training Center in El Segundo, California.

South Bay’s schedule doesn’t start until Nov. 5, but the team, head coached by recently promoted Miles Simon, announced the training camp roster for the new season.

South Bay is where the two-way players on the Lakers’ full 17-man roster spend the majority of their time, so Sekou Doumbouya and Jay Huff are two of the prominent names.

Here’s the full roster tracker for the 14 players:

Lakers sign center Jay Huff on two-way deal

The Los Angeles Lakers signed a 7-foot, 3-point shooting center to a two-way spot.

The Los Angeles Lakers announced Monday Jay Huff has been signed to a two-way deal.

Huff, a 7-foot-1 center, was previously on an Exhibit 10 deal with the Washington Wizards but was waived after the preseason concluded.

Huff played college basketball at Virginia for all four seasons and had a larger role every year. As a senior, he averaged 13.0 points, 7.1 rebounds and 2.6 blocks on 58.5% shooting overall on 8.7 attempts and 38.7% from deep on 3.0 attempts.

This move bolsters the Lakers’ frontcourt depth as only Anthony Davis, DeAndre Jordan and Dwight Howard are the true big men on the roster.

Huff replaces Joel Ayayi’s two-way spot as the Lakers also released Ayayi since he didn’t impress in his tenure. The Wizards claimed Ayayi Sunday, so this move is essentially a swap between the two teams.

Sekou Doumbouya, a 6-foot-8 forward and former first-round pick, is on the other two-way deal for the Lakers.

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