San Antonio Spurs wing Julian Champagnie has agreed to a new contract that will spread $45 million over the next three seasons, a league source confirmed to The Athletic.
The Spurs wing broke the franchise’s record for 3s made in the regular season with 195, surpassing Danny Green’s mark of 191. When coach Mitch Johnson moved him into the starting lineup in February, replacing veteran Harrison Barnes, the Spurs went on a tear and were the best team in the NBA in the second half of the season. Champagnie averaged 11.1 points and 5.8 rebounds on 38.1 percent 3-point shooting this past season, as the Spurs made it all the way to the NBA Finals.
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San Antonio’s salary-cap situation is manageable today, even as De’Aaron Fox’s max extension kicks in this season. But with Victor Wembanyama, Stephon Castle and Dylan Harper all likely to get max extensions over the next three seasons, the Spurs needed to lock in Champagnie to a mid-sized deal now. He would have played on a $3 million team option and become a free agent after next season. Now, the Spurs will have him locked up on his new deal.
With Keldon Johnson entering the final year of his deal at $18 million, Barnes hitting free agency and Vassell having three years remaining at roughly $80 million, the Spurs have a well-priced shooter who fits their long-term plans while still providing flexibility. Carter Bryant showed flashes of becoming that guy with more development and could be the solution eventually. But this team needs as much shooting as it can get.
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Champagnie’s ability to launch 3s quickly off the catch, crash the glass and attack closeouts to keep the ball moving made him a vital cog. He was one of two core rotation players to shoot above their regular-season 3-point average in the postseason at 39.6 percent (Devin Vassell shot 37.8 percent).
However, Champagnie became the primary cross-match target on defense in the playoffs, as Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Jalen Brunson spent much of crunch time hunting isolation matchups on Champagnie. He also shot just 1 of 6 in clutch situations, defined by the NBA as the final five minutes of the fourth quarter or overtime with a point differential of five or fewer. But everyone on the Spurs shot terribly from deep in the clutch. The Spurs played 11 postseason games with clutch situations, and Vassell was the only Spurs player to hit two clutch 3s over the entire postseason, indicating that reliable shooting with the game on the line is the team’s biggest need next season. The Spurs have made a clear bet that Champagnie can become the guy they can count on.
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The 25-year-old Champagnie is one of the Spurs’ best development stories of this era, a similar story to Green, who filled a similar role on the Spurs’ title teams over a decade ago. Champagnie made his way to the Spurs after getting cut from his two-way deal by the Philadelphia 76ers, who opened a spot on their roster that allowed Mac McClung to participate in the All-Star dunk contest. Before the Spurs signed him a few days later, Champagnie went through a moment of serious doubt that his career would last.
“I don’t do well with just not knowing what’s about to happen. It’s so hard not controlling things in life, man,” Champagnie told The Athletic in January. “My agent was like, ‘You will get an opportunity. We don’t know where it’ll be, but it’ll happen.’ But I had no clue. I was just scared.”
The Spurs signed him over his twin brother, Justin, and he earned himself a four-year deal, culminating in the team option this summer. He became a spot starter as the team continued to live in the draft lottery, then proved to be the second shooter they needed in the starting lineup alongside Vassell this past season. Most importantly, he proved willing to shoot with full confidence at any moment, something the Spurs will need more of across the board to reach a championship level.