Woj: Julian Champagnie Agrees to Four-Year, $12 Million Contract with Fourth Season a Team Option

[BatManu20]

4-years*/$12M deal.

1674941032738304000

[slick'81]

Thats what im talking about

[SpursFan86]

Showed a lot of promise down the stretch last year. Time will tell whether it was legitimate or just a fluke, but I trust the FO’s judgment if they’re wanting to keep him here.

[timvp]

Nice :tu

Yeah, AFAIK, if he agreed to sign his two-way contract, that would increase San Antonio's cap space.

But, then again, Champagnie played well enough last season that the Spurs could justify giving him something like a three-year deal at the minimum with it mostly guaranteed.

[ace3g]

https://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/1509990164415893517/qIuzsMq6_normal.jpg
Adrian Wojnarowski @wojespn
(https://twitter.com/wojespn)18s (https://twitter.com/wojespn/status/1674943244617097224)Champagnie agrees to a 4-year, $12M deal, agents Nick Blatchford and Derek Jackson of @UNLTD_sports (https://twitter.com/UNLTD_sports/) tell ESPN. Final year is a team option. He averaged 11 points ins final 15 games for Spurs.

[Chinook]

Definitely makes wing the most "set" unit on the team. He had talent and may yet beat Branham out for minutes. Very good deep-bench player.

[spurraider21]

4/12 with last year being team option? good, bassey-esque deal for us

[Chinook]

https://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/1509990164415893517/qIuzsMq6_normal.jpg
Adrian Wojnarowski @wojespn
(https://twitter.com/wojespn)18s (https://twitter.com/wojespn/status/1674943244617097224)Champagnie agrees to a 4-year, $12M deal, agents Nick Blatchford and Derek Jackson of @UNLTD_sports (https://twitter.com/UNLTD_sports/) tell ESPN. Final year is a team option. He averaged 11 points ins final 15 games for Spurs.

Hmm... Hope he means a real TO while the third year is non-guaranteed. I like Champ, but not enough for three guaranteed years.

[Dejounte]

Change title to four years please. Wow. Thats a long deal. They really liked him.

[rankingtear]

Yeah you don't let go of this kind of wing.

[timvp]

https://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/1509990164415893517/qIuzsMq6_normal.jpg
Adrian Wojnarowski @wojespn
(https://twitter.com/wojespn)18s (https://twitter.com/wojespn/status/1674943244617097224)Champagnie agrees to a 4-year, $12M deal, agents Nick Blatchford and Derek Jackson of @UNLTD_sports (https://twitter.com/UNLTD_sports/) tell ESPN. Final year is a team option. He averaged 11 points ins final 15 games for Spurs.

Damn, well, yeah, that's one way to reach the salary floor. :lol Bruno and I think Chinook brought up a possibility like this.

$12 million over four years descending with the fourth year a team option? I'm pretty happy with that. You lock him in at a low price for quite a while.

Champagnie at worst looked like a capable 10th man. At best, you can't close the door on him being a fifth starter at some point down the road.

[BatManu20]

40% 3-Pt shooter who just turned 22 yesterday. I actually like locking him up on a long-term deal. Exactly what we need around Wemby tbh.

[Ariel]

Hmm... Hope he means a real TO while the third year is non-guaranteed. I like Champ, but not enough for three guaranteed years.
Best case scenario you get a bargain at years 3 and 4 (3M will be the price for pizza it seems). Worst case scenario, you can dump him (and then some) with a crappy 2nd. Carries some risk, but they evidently liked him enough to make that gamble.

[slick'81]

Keep shooting julian

[spurraider21]

40% 3-Pt shooter who just turned 22 yesterday. I actually like locking him up on a long-term deal. Exactly what we need around Wemby tbh.
ehh. 35% in college (88 games). then 33% in gleague (26 games), then 40% in a 15 game sample with the spurs... im not sold on the shooting just yet

[Mr. Body]

Probably not the shooter like Max Strus and some of the other guys getting barrels of cash, but those guys are getting barrels of cash.

And JC has some skills beyond shooting from deep.

[timvp]

Wow. Thats a long deal. They really liked him.

Yeah, that's my main takeaway too. It's difficult to tell what's what at the end of a tanking season but the Spurs obviously loved what they saw behind closed doors in addition to what he was doing on the basketball court in games.

[Ariel]

Also, I think this explains why we moved #33... they preferred to commit long term to their own prospects.

[Obstructed_View]

Also, I think this explains why we moved #33... they preferred to commit long term to their own prospects.
Agree. I'm not certain there isn't a plan to sneak Mamu back once some dust has settled.

[timvp]

I wouldn't give Mamu the same contract -- sounds a little bit too rich for him. But something similar would be fine. Shave a couple million off and Mamu at that level is a good get.

[CGD]

Also, I think this explains why we moved #33... they preferred to commit long term to their own prospects.

Makes sense.

Maybe this ends up looking like “the Bassey” in structure (but more money). Not bad, especially now that they’ve cycled through the KBD.

[slick'81]

Hopefully hes not another bryn but im looking forward to studying him more

[Mr. Body]

I wouldn't give Mamu the same contract -- sounds a little bit too rich for him. But something similar would be fine. Shave a couple million off and Mamu at that level is a good get.

Agreed. I'd be totally puzzled if they let Mamu go. Not picking up the QO but then doing so for Champ and immediately giving him a contract... doesn't bode well for Sandro.

[poopbox]

Salary floor reaching move and nothing more TBH.

If this dude has to play important minutes for us then this team won't be having a very good season.

Not mad at it though. Somebody had to get that money.

[Mr. Body]

Salary floor reaching move and nothing more TBH.

If this dude has to play important minutes for us then this team won't be having a very good season.

Not mad at it though. Somebody had to get that money.

They'll use his shooting.

[Dejounte]

Makes sense. Two way contracts that lead to this where they can see how the player fits within the organization > second round picks where the team is forced to sometimes give a guaranteed contract (rare cases where they accept a two way)

[poopbox]

They'll use his shooting.

When they start the 4th quarter down 17

[Dejounte]

A salary floor reaching move would be a 2 year or less contract than a 4 year one. This one was strategic.

[spurraider21]

hope its a frontloaded deal

[Mr. Body]

When they start the 4th quarter down 17

Nah. He's the only player on the roster with his role, other than McDermott, and he's a better defender. This isn't a salary floor move. It's a 'we like this player' move.

[onechance87]

Hopefully hes not another bryn but im looking forward to studying him more

Better rebounding,Better defender,And is not undersized

[spurraider21]

the new neal/bryn is Rice, not Champagnie

[timtonymanu]

Hopefully hes not another bryn but im looking forward to studying him more

He's not making us title contenders tomorrow, but he sure as hell looked better than Forbes last year.

[cjw]

Best case scenario you get a bargain at years 3 and 4 (3M will be the price for pizza it seems). Worst case scenario, you can dump him (and then some) with a crappy 2nd. Carries some risk, but they evidently liked him enough to make that gamble.

Or you can dump him after one year and literally have $6mm in dead cap. Or $3mm after year two.

Wouldn't surprise me if they frontloaded as well.

[DPG21920]

hope its a frontloaded deal

Yup! Give him 4/5M year 1 and this deal is no risk. League min is 2.5M and will go up next few years as cap rises. Front loaded deal would be amazing

[TDMVPDPOY]

locking up players to peanut contracts, nothing to see here move along chimps.....beats the other teams shelling out stupid money this year FA...VF rockets 130m/3yr wtf this scrub has ever done to receive franchise player type money

[cutewizard]

This is a good plaed for us

[jesterbobman]

Sensible. If you think a guy is decent, even as just a guy / near replacement level player and can lock him up relatively cheap, there's not too much downside (and, with the Spurs seeing him over the last 2 1/2 months since the end of the season, I bet they're confident).

The other thing is the player type is basically always useful (if the shot holds up). If he keeps going, I could see a contender trading a decent pick (late first / early second) at some point to get him and his bird rights. Basically, can't have enough wing shooters.

[Russ]

This will look like such a bargain down the line.

:flag:i

[DrSteffo]

Happy to see this. We need shooting and he might even get better.

[wildbill2u]

Let's think about this in terms of the effect on the rotation at SF. He Didn't have much of a run in the number of games at the end of the season, but if he continues to shoot 3s that well as well as doing some dirty work on boards and defense, he might prove to be a real competitor for KJ's job at SF. At three inches taller and perhaps a faster better defender, this could be a swing for the fences move to free the FO to move KJ at the highest point of his career so far. Maybe better than a draft pick for a better SF because they know a lot more about his skills as a NBA proven player than they would with a low draft pick. At worst, he should be a good player behind Johnson without much drop-off when he comes into the game. The length of the contract ceases to be a head-scratcher if you assume they really liked what they saw in his abbreviated season and felt he fills the need for a decent sized SF on the roster.

[BackHome]

Yeah, it was a very nice contract for the Spurs the kid is a legit 6'8 and is a very good defender and a lights out spot up shooter. The things he got dinged for was creating for himself he doesn't have that first step to beat anyone and his handles need work. Also, he needs to work on his passing, but he has a good foundation to work with.

The Spurs now got Keldon, Cissko, Jualian, and Sochan playing the SF position

[D-Robinson 50 fan]

Good deal for a dude who could get some real minutes as a 3&D prospect.

[slick'81]

Julian never appeared to be a good defender. Has that changed ?!

[Obstructed_View]

Julian never appeared to be a good defender. Has that changed ?!

Everyone on the Spurs was abysmal on defense last year. I guess we will have to wait to find out if it was an act or not.

[Mr. Body]

JC's steal % his last year in college was 3.1, which generally relates to a strong feel for basketball and potential, although it doesn't always translate.

[mo7888]

Everyone on the Spurs were abysmal on defense last year. I guess we will have to wait to find out if it was an act or not.

Yep, I don't you can judge any of our players defensive prowess based on last year..

[BackHome]

Yeah, I would say he is probably the second best defender we have at SF if you don't include Sochan - he has real quick feet and quick hands so he can stay in front of fast guards and gets a lot of steals/deflections. He is a good man on man defender and a decent team defender though he won't get a lot of blocks I think his wing span is only 6'10. It's kind of weird that he has the foot speed to stay in front of quick guards but on the offense side he has not shown the ability to use it to get to the rim and like a lot of other rookies we have has a hard time finishing at the rim unless he is dunking - he is good at slashing to the rim and dunking. I really really like this singing

It will be interesting to see him and Sidy play in Vegas - both are good defenders though Sidy is probably better at team defense. On the offense it's night and day between the two.

[BatManu20]

Like I said the other day, I’m glad we locked this guy up long-term tbh.

1676061231243984897

[lefty20]

Wright got us that champagne for the price of beer, tbh.

[Spurs9]

Wright got us that champagne for the price of beer, tbh.

Wright turning out to be one of the best gm's, stacking picks, getting bargain contracts and not overpaying for people.

[BG_Spurs_Fan]

Wright turning out to be one of the best gm's, stacking picks, getting bargain contracts and not overpaying for people.

That’s Brian Right.

However, his evil twin Brian Wrong can’t sign anyone, nor manage cap space, he only cares about SRPs.

[Seventyniner]

Wright got us that champagne for the price of beer, tbh.

Champagnie sure outplayed Miller High Life last night.

[spurraider21]

official

1677039131031994369

[Ed Helicopter Jones]

If Champagnie can translate any of this summer league performance into his play in the grown-up league then this deal looks pretty amazing.

[exstatic]

If Champagnie can translate any of this summer league performance into his play in the grown-up league then this deal looks pretty amazing.

He actually played really well when given minutes during that stint at the end of last season. One of the reasons he was in SL was to verify that his 40% 3 pt shooting was legit. He's 10-22 in two games, so I'd say yes to that.

[DPG21920]

1678537744534872065

[timvp]

1678537744534872065

Year 2 non-guaranteed but year 3 guaranteed? Never seen a deal like that, tbh. Year 4 ... there's a difference between team option and non-guaranteed. I wonder which one it is.

[Chinook]

Year 2 non-guaranteed but year 3 guaranteed? Never seen a deal like that, tbh. Year 4 ... there's a difference between team option and non-guaranteed. I wonder which one it is.

You can have a non-guaranteed team option, but I'm pretty sure you can't guarantee more in a subsequent year than in a prior year. I think he either mixed up years two and three or that both are non-guaranteed.

[tonight...you]

Year 2 non-guaranteed but year 3 guaranteed? Never seen a deal like that, tbh. Year 4 ... there's a difference between team option and non-guaranteed. I wonder which one it is.
Teams are getting increasingly creative with contracts and signings lately.
The Jazz/76'ers match deal is also a new wrinkle.
I'm assuming the new CBA is responsible.

Might need a deep dive into why these novel changes are happening in new deals and transactions going forward.

[tonight...you]

You can have a non-guaranteed team option, but I'm pretty sure you can't guarantee more in a subsequent year than in a prior year. I think he either mixed up years two and three or that both are non-guaranteed.
Maybe they flipped Years 2 and 3 accidentally?
If they didn't and it was league approved though...

[Mugen]

Deserves a shot at the rotation and can hopefully make McD redundant to the point that we can afford to trade Doug's expiring for assets at the deadline.

[CGD]

1678537744534872065

This is what Spotrac actually reports:

2023-24: guaranteed in full
2024-25: non-guaranteed, guarantees 8/1/24
2025-26: non-guaranteed, guarantees 8/1/25
2026-27: Club Option/non-guaranteed, guarantees 8/1/26 (option deadline 6/29/26)

[CGD]

Teams are getting increasingly creative with contracts and signings lately.
The Jazz/76'ers match deal is also a new wrinkle.
I'm assuming the new CBA is responsible.

Might need a deep dive into why these novel changes are happening in new deals and transactions going forward.

Nah, I think Garcia just misfired on this one. It happens

[tonight...you]

Nah, I think Garcia just misfired on this one. It happens
Gotcha. Appreciated.

[DPG21920]

Incredible deal for spurs. There’s zero risk.

[timvp]

This is what Spotrac actually reports:

2023-24: guaranteed in full
2024-25: non-guaranteed, guarantees 8/1/24
2025-26: non-guaranteed, guarantees 8/1/25
2026-27: Club Option/non-guaranteed, guarantees 8/1/26 (option deadline 6/29/26)

Damn, that is a good deal for the Spurs. Only $3 million guaranteed? August guarantee dates so that they can carry him into free agency on a non-guaranteed deal?

That's one of the safest contracts you'll ever see. In exchange for $3 million guaranteed this season, the Spurs got three extra years of control that they don't even need to guarantee until after free agency runs its course. Woah.

[DPG21920]

Ya they’re literally zero risk. All the money that’s guaranteed is this year when they needed to hit floor anyways. If he’s a legit shooter it’s an incredible deal.

[Kurik]

The future is Bwright!

[RC_Drunkford]

Spurs killing it with these Bassey and Champagnie deals. Barlow is next up

[spurraider21]

Wow that’s a hell of a deal. Other than frontloading it i don’t really see anything else the spurs could have done to make this better

[emanueldavidginobili]

Deserves a shot at the rotation and can hopefully make McD redundant to the point that we can afford to trade Doug's expiring for assets at the deadline.
For sure. There shouldn’t be any reason Doug gets minutes over him. But it is Pop so I’m sure he will make him work for it. Even last year towards the end of the season Julian was playing good against NBA players.

[MultiTroll]

You Bud Light sniffers are whack.

[onechance87]

Spurs killing it with these Bassey and Champagnie deals. Barlow is next up

wonder whats taking long with barlow

[RC_Drunkford]

wonder whats taking long with barlow

we have 17 players under contract

[FuzzyLumpkins]

Damn, that is a good deal for the Spurs. Only $3 million guaranteed? August guarantee dates so that they can carry him into free agency on a non-guaranteed deal?

That's one of the safest contracts you'll ever see. In exchange for $3 million guaranteed this season, the Spurs got three extra years of control that they don't even need to guarantee until after free agency runs its course. Woah.

That is like an NFL contract.

[onechance87]

we have 17 players under contract

dang....hope we can make room for him....would hate to lose him for nothing.

[Chinook]

Wow that’s a hell of a deal. Other than frontloading it i don’t really see anything else the spurs could have done to make this better

Front-loading it might've been useless. Those back years would've likely been under the minimum, meaning they'd get adjusted upwards. I haven't seen if the min is being adjusted with the new CBA. I don't think his contract will have to be adjusted as is, but we'll see.

The non-guaranteed years makes this a really good deal. Definitely smells of a Hinkie special now.

[TD 21]

He not only looks the part of a rotation player, but a possible starter in time. More well rounded than conventional wisdom.

He's got a chance to eventually make Johnson expendable.

[illusioNtEk]

KJ due for a huge contract soon.... will spurs let him walk? only time will tell....

[RC_Drunkford]

KJ due for a huge contract soon.... will spurs let him walk? only time will tell....

:lmao he's under contract for 4 more years. That's like saying Wemby is due for a huge contract extension soon

[lefty20]

KJ due for a huge contract soon.... will spurs let him walk? only time will tell....

His current contract runs through the 26/27 season. Is that really considered soon?

[illusioNtEk]

Ugh my bad guys lol

[K...]

Ugh my bad guys lol

you meant trade KJ for three 2 second round picks and we knew what you meant