Although fans would surely appreciate a few more wins, a competitive basketball product was never an attainable goal for the Washington Wizards (11-48). The organization's focus is on developing young core players like Jordan Poole, Bilal Coulibaly, Alex Sarr and Bub Carrington, to name a few. Undrafted forward Justin Champagnie was not necessarily supposed to factor in to the franchise's long-term plans. He does now, though.
Formerly on a two-way contract– split time between NBA and G League– the fourth-year talent is finalizing a four-year, $10 million extension with the Wizards, according to ESPN NBA insider Shams Charania. He will earn $1.8 million for the rest of this season.
Champagnie signed a 10-day contract with Washington last February after serving stints with the Toronto Raptors and Boston Celtics. Following some time with the G League's Capital City Go-Go, he developed into a rotation guy for the squad and will be compensated as such going forward.
The 23-year-old out of Pittsburgh, who is the twin brother of San Antonio Spurs' Julian Champagnie, is averaging 7.5 points and 4.6 rebounds in 18.3 minutes per game while shooting 50.4 percent from the field and 37.6 percent from behind the 3-point line. His breakout season could compel Wizards head coach Brian Keefe to give him more minutes moving forward.
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A new era of D.C. hoops is set to commence with Kyle Kuzma no longer on the squad. It might not be much different than the one fans have been suffering through for the last several years, but other players like Champagnie have an opportunity to step up. Management must determine who is capable of helping the organization eventually escape the Eastern Conference basement and gradually rise toward relevance.
Apparently, the Wizards believe Justin Champagnie is a key part of that plan. It remains to be seen if that is true, but it will not cost them much to find out.
