Justin Champagnie has won the training camp battle for the Raptors‘ 15th and final standard roster spot, sources tell Michael Grange of Sportsnet (Twitter link).
Toronto has waived the three other contenders for the last spot on the 15-man roster, tweets Josh Lewenberg of TSN.ca. Those players are Josh Jackson, D.J. Wilson and Gabe Brown, and they’ll clear waivers on Monday, assuming they go unclaimed.
Champagnie, 21, went undrafted last year after starring in two college seasons at Pitt. He signed a two-way deal with the Raptors as a rookie, averaging 2.3 points and 2.0 rebounds in 7.8 minutes per night in 36 games last season.
Though his role with the NBA club was modest, Champagnie averaged 21.1 points, 8.3 boards, 1.2 steals and 1.1 blocks on .489/.409/.778 shooting in 14 regular season games (35.9 minutes) for the Raptors 905, Toronto’s G League affiliate, and clearly made a strong impression on the organization. His contract was previously partially guaranteed for $325K, but now he’s set to have his $1,637,966 deal for 2022/23 fully guaranteed.
Wilson had a $250K partial guarantee on his deal, and the Raptors will be on the hook for that amount. Jackson’s deal was non-guaranteed, as was Brown’s, but unlike Jackson, Brown signed an Exhibit 10 contract, so he will earn a $50K bonus if he spends at least 60 days with the Raptors 905.
Woo-hoo!! Congrats Justin! :)
I thought Josh Jackson was doing really well…
As expected, for me at least, partially b/c of his youth and control over him, while I still think Josh Jackson could be a very useful rotation piece on several teams that need help at the 4, or even the 2. I also liked the small amount I saw from Gabe Brown in summer league last year, on the wing, although he probably will end up in the G-league
I’m really curious to see where Jackson ends up. Brooklyn, Charlotte, Dallas, Heat, and even Phoenix if they lose Crowder all make sense
My money is on the Suns. With Cam now starting, that bench is pretty barren and could use someone able to get a bucket.