Julian Champagnie signing $45 million contract to remain with Spurs after breakout season

Spurs forward Julian Champagnie agreed to a three-year, $45 million contract to stay in San Antonio, according to ESPN’s Shams Charania on Monday.In doing so, they locked down a critical piece of their young core through the 2028-29 season.The Spurs declined Champagnie’s $3 million team option to construct a new deal.Champagnie, who turned 25 Monday, gets a new contract with a unique structure that gets him paid early, with $42 million in new money, and gives his team flexibility as it look for a title.Champagnie has come a long way since being waived by the 76ers in 2023.

In the Spurs’ run to the NBA Finals, Champagnie averaged career highs in minutes (27.6), points (11.1), and rebounds (5.8).He played in all 82 games and set a franchise single-season record with 195 3-pointers.Champagnie moved to the starting lineup in February and the Spurs went on a tear as the best team in the NBA in the second half of the season.Spurs head coach Mitch Johnson has called Champagnie an “unsung hero” for the team this past season, where they made it all the way to the NBA Finals before falling to the Knicks in five games.

In the Western Conference Finals against the Thunder, Champagnie averaged 17.3 points per game over Games 5-7.Champagnie went undrafted out of St.John’s in 2022 before entering a two-way deal with Philadelphia, which waived him the following year to make room to sign Mac McClung.

The Spurs claimed Champagnie two days later, and he’s there to stay for the next three years....