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Former Wahoo Jay Huff Joins Denver Nuggets on Two-Way Deal

Jay Huff is the third former Cavalier to sign with the Denver Nuggets this summer, joining Armaan Franklin and Braxton Key

Matt Newton

Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports

The reigning NBA Champions are loading up on former Virginia Cavaliers this summer. Seven-footer and former UVA star big man Jay Huff signed a two-way contract to join the Denver Nuggets, as reported by ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski on Sunday afternoon. The Nuggets also signed former Cavalier forward Braxton Key to a two-way deal on Thursday night and they added former Virginia shooting guard Armaan Franklin to an Exhibit 10 contract back on June 23rd. 

It's been a frenetic year of professional basketball for Jay Huff, who started the 2022-2023 season on the roster of the South Bay Lakers, the G League affiliate of the Los Angeles Lakers. After putting up some remarkable numbers on both ends of the floor, Huff signed a two-way contract with the Washington Wizards on March 1st. Huff appeared in seven games for the Wizards in the NBA, averaging 7.3 points and 3.0 rebounds per game in 13.6 minutes per contest. That run included Huff's best NBA game yet, recording 17 points, nine rebounds, two assists and a steal against Bucks. 

Huff also played nine games with the Wizards' G League affiliate, the Capital City Go-Go and continued to play at a high level in those G League games. In 28 total G League games in the 2022-2023 season - including 19 with the South Bay Lakers and nine with the Capital City Go-Go - Huff averaged 15.0 points and 7.8 rebounds per game and shot north of 40% from three-point range. His 3.1 blocks per game led the entire G League and Huff was second in block percentage at 65.9%. At the end of the year, Huff was named the 2022-2023 G League Defensive Player of the Year and was also selected to the All-NBA G League First Team. 

A few weeks ago, Huff was added to the Summer League roster of the Houston Rockets. Huff appeared in just two Summer League games, recording a total of seven points, seven rebounds, and five blocks in those two appearances. 

Now, Huff will represent a fourth different NBA franchise in the last 12 months as he joins the roster of the defending NBA Champion Denver Nuggets on a two-way contract. Of course, the Nuggets are set at the starting center position with two-time NBA MVP and the 2023 Finals MVP Nikola Jokic, but Huff will battle with DeAndre Jordan and Zeke Nnaji for reserve minutes as Denver's backup center. 

The Nuggets could have as many as three former Virginia men's basketball players on their roster next season depending on how things shake out through the rest of the offseason as they currently have Jay Huff and Braxton Key signed on two-way deals and Armaan Franklin signed on an Exhibit 10 contract. NBA teams are permitted to carry 15 players on standard contracts and two players on two-way deals during the season. Huff, Key, and Franklin will look to earn one of those 17 spots on Denver's roster by the start of the season in October. 

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Matt Newton
MATT NEWTON

Matt launched Virginia Cavaliers On SI in August of 2021 and has since served as the site's publisher and managing editor, covering all 23 NCAA Division I sports teams at the University of Virginia. He is from Downingtown, Pennsylvania and graduated from UVA in May of 2021.

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