Wizards sign former UVA star Jay Huff to two-way contract originally appeared on NBC Sports Washington
The Washington Wizards have had an active week.
After signing guard Jordan Goodwin to a multi-year NBA deal, the squad continued making moves on Wednesday by signing center Jay Huff to a two-way contract. Huff comes to Washington from the L.A. Lakers’ G-League affiliate in South Bay, California.
Washington also waived fellow center Vernon Carey Jr., they announced Wednesday. Carey appeared in 11 games for the Wizards this season. Huff is not taking Carey’s roster spot on the Wizards (rather, he’ll be more active for the Capital City Go-Go), so the team still has one spot open.
It’s somewhat of a homecoming for the 7-foot-1 Huff. He spent four seasons playing college ball at the University of Virginia, where he was a key piece of Tony Bennett’s rotation as the Cavaliers won the National Championship in 2019.
Washington has maintained interest in the 25-year-old center since his college days. They hosted Huff for a pre-draft workout in July of 2021 leading up to that year’s draft, where they ultimately selected Corey Kispert with the 15th overall pick.
Huff went undrafted that year but joined the Wizards’ summer league team and Washington eventually signed him to an Exhibit 10 contract in September, along with Jordan Goodwin. The Wizards waived him a month later but he quickly signed a two-way deal with the Lakers, and has been in the L.A.-South Bay pipeline ever since.
Huff has only appeared in four NBA games but has made a serious impact in the G-League. He is averaging 14.3 points, 7.9 rebounds and 3.6 blocks (the league lead) off 64% shooting from the field this season for South Bay. He can also hold his own from the outside – he knocks down three-pointers at a 40% clip.
Huff could follow in the footsteps of fellow center Thomas Bryant, who the Wizards also acquired from the South Bay Lakers in 2018 and would go on to be an impactful rotation player in Washington for four seasons.
