Report: Raptors to sign Pitt’s Justin Champagnie to two-way contract

The Toronto Raptors are signing forward Justin Champagnie to a two contract, according to a report from The Athletic’s Blake Murphy.

As usual following the NBA draft, teams were signing undrafted players well into the wee hours of the morning. The Raptors, of course, have some recent history with turning undrafted free agents into success stories, most notably Fred VanVleet.

Champagnie, a 6’6” forward out of Pitt, averaged a double-double for the Panthers last year, scoring 18 points and pulling down 11 rebounds per game.

Champagnie is a blue-collar energy wing that should be an interesting project for the Raptors 905. He’s an active body around the glass, with good size, frame, energy, and a nose for the ball. He’ll need to transition to be a full-fledged wing for him to stick to the NBA, and while he’s improved his three-point shooting from his freshman season, he’ll need to keep improving for him to become an NBA-level 3+D wing.

Under the NBA’s two-way contract rules, players can shuttle between the team’s G-League affiliate and the main club throughout the season, and do not count towards the team’s 15-person roster limit. Last season, the NBA removed the previous stipulation that said a player could spend no more than 45 days with the main club before being converted to a full contract; in addition, there’s no longer a deadline to convert contracts. Two-way players must be converted to full contract status to be eligible for the playoffs, however.

Hopefully we’ll get a chance to see Champagnie in Summer League action next month!