Julian Champagnie, Spurs Reportedly Agree to New $45M Contract After NBA Finals Run

Julian Champagnie is now cashing in after playing a key supporting role for the San Antonio Spurs during their NBA Finals run.

ESPN's Shams Charania reported Monday that the Spurs are declining their $3 million club option for the veteran forward and will instead sign him to a three-year, $45 million extension.

This reflects how important Champagnie has become for San Antonio.

Appearing in all 82 games for the second straight campaign, he averaged 11.1 points and 5.8 rebounds while shooting 38.1 percent from the floor. Beyond that, Champagnie showed the Spurs could lean on him in the postseason. Over the final three games of the Western Conference Finals, he combined to score 52 points.

There's no question Victor Wembanyama is the single biggest reason the Spurs are poised to contend for a long time. The 22-year-old might be even better than advertised when he was coming into the league, and he's only improving.

But San Antonio arrived well ahead of schedule because it has Wembanyama in addition to a strong supporting cast.

De'Aaron Fox has adjusted well to a slightly lower-usage role than he had with the Sacramento Kings. Stephon Castle is an ace defender who hounds opposing guards and wings before they ever have to handle Wembanyama around the basket. Like Fox, Devin Vassell has tailored his game to fit with the current roster construction. Dylan Harper probably exceeded expectations as a rookie.

And then there's Champagnie.

Spurs coach Mitch Johnson called him the team's "unsung hero."

"Julian's been an integral part of our team defense, team rebounding, and all of that leads to us playing fast, which is our best version of our offense," the coach said, per David Lynch of KENS 5. "He's been absolutely phenomenal."

No matter how much success a franchise enjoys, a general manager's job is never finished. As nicely as San Antonio is set up from a roster standpoint, CEO R.C. Buford and general manager Brian Wright know what lies ahead.

Fox is starting his four-year, $221.8 million extension. Keldon Johnson is a free agent in 2027, which is the same offseason Wembanyama can hit restricted free agency. Castle and Harper will be RFAs over each of the next two summers after that.

Keeping the core together will be expensive and potentially bring headaches in the form of luxury tax penalties.

There may come a time when the Spurs have to consolidate contracts or let somebody walk for purely financial reasons.

For now, those are considerations for another day. Re-signing Champagnie was a no-brainer, and extending him now could save money in the long term. His price tag could've climbed even higher by next summer.