After Indiana lost Myles Turner to the Bucks, the Pacers committed to the idea of handling the center position “by committee,” Pacers general manager Chad Buchanan told Alex Golden of “Setting the Pace” podcast.

By the time the news of Turner’s departure broke late morning on July 1, most of the players the Pacers could have had for the non-taxpayer mid-level exception had already signed elsewhere and the Pacers decided they didn’t want to part with other key players to find a replacement for Turner.

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For now they’re due to have four centers in training camp, having acquired Jay Huff from the Memphis Grizzlies in a trade with a 2029 second-round draft pick and a 2031 swap of second round picks and having re-signed Isaiah Jackson and James Wiseman. They also picked up the club option on Tony Bradley’s deal and that works as sort of a backup plan.

Buchanan said the Pacers had kept their eyes on Huff for years going back to his time at Virginia, Rick Carlisle’s alma mater. The front office viewed him as a “borderline” NBA player but the team’s analytics department liked his ability to step out and hit 3s and also block shots. They were more interested when he had an excellent performance in a G League playoff game for the Capital City Go-Go against the Mad Ants in 2022-23. They liked him even more after he shot 40.5% from 3-point range for the Grizzlies this season in his first year as an NBA rotation player.

“Watching him in Memphis this year when he got this opportunity, he really shined,” Buchanan said. “He had moments of running the floor, finishing lobs, shooting 3s, protecting the rim. … We felt like what we were losing in Myles was what Jay provided.”

They were also excited about Jackson and Wiseman, who tore Achilles tendons in the first 10 days of last season and missed the rest of it. Jackson put needed upper body weight on while he was off his feet and the Pacers are hopeful that adds to his game.

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“We wanted him to add strength to that without losing some of that fast-twitch athleticism that was his greatest gift,” Buchanan said. “He was starting to gain weight before the injury and then once you have a lower-body injury like that, you’re very limited in what you can do cardio wise, lower-body wise, but there’s not a lot of limitations in what you can do with your upper body and your core and he spent a lot of time focusing on that. He was probably up 25 pounds from what he was maybe a year prior. Now that he’s gotten back on the court and doing a little more, it’s started to come off a little bit, but I think his body is in a very good place right now as far as being able to withstand the physicality of playing more minutes.”

Buchanan said the Pacers were also impressed with Wiseman, who tore his Achilles in the season opener. The Pacers traded him to the Raptors in February to clear out a roster spot, which they eventually used to sign Bradley. The Raptors waived him, however, so he got to finish his rehab in Indiana, and the Pacers liked enough of what they saw to sign him to a new contract. Buchanan said his rehab is going so well that he could have played in NBA Summer League if the Pacers needed him to.

“He’s in a great spot physically,” Buchanan said. “He still has to go through the hurdles of playing in a 5-on-5 game and things like that, but we’re very encouraged with where his recovery is going.”

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This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Why Pacers think Jay Huff, Isaiah Jackson, James Wiseman can replace Myles Turner