Grizzlies coach Taylor Jenkins said Jay Huff earned his promotion by delivering when called upon, Jenkins said in the pregame press conference on Monday. Huff had his two-way deal converted into a standard four-year contract on Monday.
“He took full advantage of his opportunity. Once he signed here, he was a participant [in the] offseason workouts with his teammates, and then at the start of the season, we learned a lot,” Jenkins said. “Obviously, we had studied him in college and his first couple of years in the NBA, but he’s more dynamic than I remember. The way he can run the floor [and] obviously his shooting has been a great addition to this group, especially at the four or five position. Some versatility there offensively, the principles that we’re talking about, how he moves without the ball. I think he’s picked up on that great.
“… And then defensively, he’s still learning our system, things that we need to do to deploy him. But I think he was Defensive Player of the Year in the G League last year. … This guy has said multiple times that he’ll accept any role, and it’s great to see that he got rewarded for that, because that just adds to the depth that we need for the season.”
We have more on the Grizzlies:
- Huff’s contract includes two guaranteed years with partial guarantees for the third season and a fourth-year team option, The Athletic’s John Hollinger tweets. That option would be partially guaranteed if it’s exercised.
- Ja Morant missed Monday’s game due to right thigh soreness, the team’s PR department tweets. Morant averaged 20.7 points and 7.3 assists in the first three games after playing just nine times last season due to a suspension and shoulder surgery.
- Zach Edey was touted as a potential Rookie of the Year but he’s off to a slow start. Edey is still adjusting to the NBA pace, he told Kelly Iko of The Athletic. “We didn’t really get up and down too much at Purdue,” Edey said. “We were more in the half court, slow the pace down. But it’s just basketball. You just have to adjust.”
Zach Edey lol. “Yeah we didn’t run in college, that’s why I can’t run.”
In the meantime some other guy has taken his spot. Someone who can run and shoot and block shots. A little weak on rebounding but that’s usually a team thing anyway. I’m sure Jay Huff will get better on the boards if they ask him to.
I’m sure Memphis realizes their horrible draft pick now, or they’ve always known it since day 1 and were hoping for the best anyway.., but after three games are throwing in the towel already.
I proclaimed last summer that Zach Edey would not play a single minute in the NBA ever, and I was wrong by three games lol.
Best to sell your stack of Zach rookie cards now before they goes down in value faster than a Bitcoin sell off in 2026.
Same thing I said after watching him play. Yes he is big and can be a problem but he is not fast enough for the NBA. He is going to need to get in great shape to be a good center in the NBA. You could tell he was too slow to get up and down the court. He still could become a better player but he will need to get in real good shape.
Yes great points arc, but you know what.., I watched last night and compared to how we looked in college he has really slimmed down.
He’s put in a lot of work to try and become an NBA player. He’s thinner and a lot more agile. He actually can run a little bit now. He’s not Yao Ming out there or Big Country anymore.
Kudos to him as a person and those training him and advising him. His body is different today than it was 6 months ago.
The only thing is on defense he’s still too slow to get out to the wing when his positioning requires that he’s the guy to sprint out there and challenge the three. But I’m sure he’ll continue to work hard try and be that guy. Again kudos to him as a person for all this hard work he’s put in.
“It’s just basketball, you have to adjust?”
What did he do all of training camp?
You can’t tell me they’re springing it on him day one of the regular season?
“Oh by the way Zach, the season starts today.., and we’re going to run” LOL.
No he should have known this a month ago or more, and he’s probably in the best shape he’s ever going to be in right now.
I heard he lost weight, tried to get faster, quicker, and work on his outside shot and all of that. I tip my cap to him for the hard work and realizing what he needs to do.
But if you don’t have it, you don’t have it, and Mr Stonehands doesn’t have it. He worked on his shooting all summer and his free throw percentage is 25%?
Yup, you’re so right. His career is done after three games.
See !!! I’m not the only one.
I can’t wait to read all of the other posts in the affirmative. Just like last summer LOL
Your takes are godawful
At least I have takes. And when you set up opinions you have to be ready for the criticisms. Bring them on, I’m here.
Here’s a summary of the content of 83% of alphatron’s contributions: “Your comments suck.”
A better offering, if I may suggest, would be to give reasons why you disagree.
The sarcasm font doesn’t work in the Hoopsrumors. The kid has played three games, far to soon to say if the kid has it or not. You don’t have to be able to shoot to be find a role in the NBA, especially if 7’3″ and built like a horse. The guy he replaced and one of the guys he’s said he admires Steven Adams has had a very successful career out out of setting bone shaking screens and crashing the offensive glass.
There is absolutely no comparison between Zach Edey and Steven Adams.
Steven Adams is/was a freak of nature. A man at his size could Sprint down the floor and faster than guards at times. If you think the two are similar our conversation ends right here.
Chill with the Davey takes, Gary. You sound like him on Podz.
Sometimes when you’re the only voice you have to speak a little louder and more often to be heard. Especially when making a point that zero lay people agree with.
Low blow on the “Davey takes.” But your opinions are always desired because I respect them.
Instead of criticizing my opinion how about giving me yours? How about telling me and others why you think Zach Edey will be a decent NBA player?
And whenever that may be, and however long that will take. It took Jermaine O’Neil 5 years before he showed us who he is and that was after a lot of work.
Why is Zach going to be a better player in the NBA then what he showed me in college or the preseason?
I’m saying he’s going to be a bust and a big time bust. Why do you disagree?
And of course, I’m prepared to read more drive-bys. One sentence shots that break glass and damage the vehicle yet don’t accomplish a darn thing.
Oh well all I can do is ask. Have a basketball conversation. Who wants to bet that we get crickets instead of comments?
the problem comes from some sport writers went all in because he played well during preseason. No different than the lakers rookie. Its preseason so you can’t get too excited about it. Unfortunately Edey’s bar is set way too high for him to obtain in his first year. Also it takes a few years for a center to be a top 10 center. They take a lot longer to be good.
Yes true and the way he’s working and the way his body looks today he may actually do it, but it’s going to take 5 or 7 seasons.
Remember Kwame Brown? He sucked for 5 years, but then became a valuable role-playing defensive Center who actually became pretty decent.
Any rookie is going to have a tough road his first year just learning the game and adjusting to the size, speed, and strength of men your own size.
I’m not saying I agree or disagree but three games is too early to tell. You mentioned his college career in an earlier comment. He had a hell of a college career. He won AP player of the year twice. There’s only five other players in history that have done that. Ralph Sampson, Kareem Abdul Jabbar, David Thompson, Bill Walton and Jerry Lucas. You know what else all five of those guys have in common? They’re all in the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame. I’m not comparing him to any of those guys because that’s just not fair.
As far as his game goes? I used Adams as a comparison because they’re both strong as an ox. If he gets to his spot you aren’t moving him. He draws a lot of fouls and unlike the three whole games he’s played in the NBA he shot .706 from the line. That’s not great but it’s pretty damn good for a big man. He’s got a soft touch around the rim and if he develops as a roll man all Morant has to do is throw it up there. As far as his ceiling? Imagine a stronger, more athletic Valančiūnas or Ivica Zubac or he could very well end up like Marjanović. I’m just saying it’s too soon to tell.
Taco, all of your points are excellent. You are seeing him the way most do. Not just talking about the Casual fan around us, but the Grizzlies picked him in the top 10 LOL !!
Yes he had a heck of a college career and all you can ask of someone is to excel at the task in front of them. He did that in college. No doubt. Heck he was the player of the year for crying out loud.
But in the NBA his lack of speed, quickness, and shooting ability will hurt him in a huge way.
Sure I like to stir the pot but that’s because it creates conversation. Otherwise on some of these articles we have zero dialogue. Crickets.
Thank you for engaging. I always enjoy reading your comments and I think they show you are a seasoned fan with a lot of knowledge.
Lol the way you’re talking, I just know you’re fat
You’re correct, 5-9 about 310. I’m trying to slim down but my inside game is thriving right now. Nobody can guard me down low lol. Plus my wife says I’m very handsome, when viewed from across the street.
But the last time I stepped on a scale the guy came out from the back and said, “hey, one at a time.”
Then when I was in the locker room and I was struggling to take my shirt off over my head, security walked in and yelled, “guys, break it up!!”
I won’t take it back dude. Zach Edey has clear warts, to be sure. He doesn’t look ready for the NBA right now, and that’s pretty obvious. But to act like he’ll never be more than a bad roleplayer after *four games* and taking his statements about making adjustments out of context to call him lazy is the kind of thing Davey would do. You’re better than that.
Remember that this was a weak-as-hell draft, and even the best players were expected to have issues or take time to develop. Edey was *always* thought of as a guy who would have to take time to adjust to the faster pace of play, not just physically but mentally and in terms of playstyle. Edey is absolutely correct that Purdue ran old-school half-court sets most of the time, as the College game is more like that of the 90’s than the modern NBA. And the Grizz are the third fastest team in the NBA this season. Of course he’s struggling to adapt. He’s never had to think that quickly on the floor, even if his body is right (which we now know it’s not, since he’s day-to-day with a calf injury that’s been bothering him since camp). Doesn’t matter that he’s an older rookie; you’re always going to be inconsistent and worse doing something you’ve *never done before*, even if you’ve put in the work to prepare.
The Grizzlies are about the same in terms of defense whether he’s on the court or not, and they’re better offensively (116 O-Rating vs. 112). He also has very solid contest numbers, especially in drop coverage (opponents shoot up to eight percentage points worse against him in drop than the league average so far). Is he good? Not yet! But he has shown bits and pieces that could make him valuable in the right contexts. Maybe Memphis isn’t even the right team for him, as they’re trying to win now and play a style he’s not best suited for. A team like the Knicks or Heat, who play a more deliberate half-court offense, might be better suited for his skills.
I think you’re being fair with your mockery of Memphis taking him that high. Missi and Ware were probably better options. But really, any of them would have been a reach at 9 and off the board by 39, so they would have been better off trading back, which tends to get messy.
Also, while they could have drafted, say, Williams or Buzelis and tried to leverage them in a trade for a veteran Center, I don’t think their draft position or the draft in general were strong enough for that. They did what they thought was best at the time to get the only position they had any need for.
But it’s not after four games. It’s after four games plus the preseason plus summer league plus 4 years in college, or make it 5 years in college lol.
It’s idiotic to assess a player after four games. Who’s doing that? We’ve seen the guy for 6 years play against top level competition.
I’m not asking you to take anything back. Your points are valid and as good or probably better than mine !! I think you know more about Hoops than I do.
It’s all our opinions here and I just like talking basketball. I’ll throw stuff out there and voice my strong opinions and wait for reactions. It’s just basketball.
Yes you make great points in your longer comment right above this. But I say he’s a bust because you have to decide within 3 years or 4 years whether you’re going to keep the guy or not.
Zach is going to take five or seven years just to be productive. Sort of like Kwame Brown or Jermain O’Neil or a gazillion other guys. So to me for Memphis that’s a bust pick.
It’s up to him what type of player he is 7 years from today. Right now he’s not an NBA player and I don’t think he’ll be an NBA player 3 years from now either. Mr Stonehands just doesn’t have it.
Essentially we’re in agreement. You’re saying he’s not ready to be a rotation guy right now. I’m phrasing it differently by saying he’s a bust. We both agree that seven years from now maybe he’s a decent backup center?
You also make great points about his ability to have good contest numbers. That’s due to his hard work in slimming down, losing weight, and doing everything he can to become quicker in that body.
Lazy? I have never ever called him lazy. I would never disparage a man’s character or even his work ethic unless it was painfully obvious.