The Denver Nuggets offseason is now done, as they filled up their entire roster with a signing over the weekend.
The reigning NBA champs added their third and final two-way contact player in seven-foot-tall 25-year-old Jay Huff. The former undrafted big man from the University of Virginia was the G League’s Defensive Player of the Year last season and has gotten into 11 NBA games across two seasons between the Los Angeles Lakers and Washington Wizards.
In an extremely small sample size, he’s shooting a hot 54% from the field, over 43% from the three-point line, and over 94% from the free-throw line in his young NBA career. The center could splash from deep in college too, hitting on 39% of his deep attempts his senior season where he scored 13 points a game and snagged seven rebounds. This was two years after Huff was a rotational piece on the Cavaliers championship-winning team.
As of last week, when the Nuggets signed forward Braxton Key, Huffs will play alongside him in Denver.
Huff and Key are Denver’s other two-way players, joining guard Collin Gillespie, a previous champion for Villanova. Every team is allowed to have three of these players under the new CBA, which went into effect at the beginning of the month. Due to a devastating leg break last summer, Gillespie has yet to play in the NBA, but players of this sort will alternate between the NBA and G League throughout the season, spending just a small amount of time with the NBA Nuggets.
It’s obvious who Clavin Booth continually going after: a little older demographic of guys than the average prospect who lack winning experience. Huff is another large body and a modest shooter for Booth. Huff gives the front line of the Nuggets, which is a bit weak, some depth.
The Nuggets have had excellent success in the past using two-way players, receiving outstanding contributions from guys like Monte Morris and Torrey Craig who ultimately turned into full-time players. Along with Gillespie, the Nuggets rostered Jack White last year. White then agreed to a full-time contract with the Thunder this offseason. Davon Reed, a former dual-purpose player, spent the majority of the season on the Nuggets’ roster as well.