LeBron James may be dominating the conversation around the Sixers right now, but Philadelphia still has real roster business to handle if that dream never gets off the ground. One name that suddenly looks a lot more attainable is Wizards wing Justin Champagnie.
The fit is easy to see. The Sixers have plenty of offseason shine, but they still need help on the wing, especially at small forward. If the team decides the remaining free-agent options aren’t the answer, Washington could be a logical place to shop, especially after the Wizards created a jam at the three.
Champagnie has spent the last three seasons in Washington and has settled into a useful role there. The 6-foot-6 wing played in 69 games this season, averaging 8.7 points on 50.2% shooting from the field and 5.6 rebounds per game.
What makes him appealing in Philadelphia is the stuff that usually plays well with this fan base: effort, defense and toughness. Champagnie can defend positions one through three, help on the weak side and clean the glass in a way that cuts down on second-chance chances. Per Basketball Reference, he averaged 10 rebounds per 36 minutes, including 2.2 offensive boards.
Offensively, he’s more of a finisher than a creator. Champagnie moves hard without the ball and finds scoring chances around the rim.
The concern is his shooting. He hit just 31.9% from 3-point range this season, a noticeable drop from 2024-25.
The source material points to the tanking environment in Washington as a possible reason, and says that efficiency could improve alongside Joel Embiid, Tyrese Maxey and Jaylen Brown.
The problem for Champagnie in Washington is opportunity. His minutes are about to get squeezed even more after the Wizards added Khris Middleton from the Dallas Mavericks in a six-team sign-and-trade on Tuesday evening. He’d now be competing with AJ Dybantsa, Bilal Coulibaly, Will Riley and Cam Whitmore for time on the wing.
That’s where Philadelphia could step in. One possible framework would send Jabari Walker, who is on a $2.58 million salary, plus a 2027 second-round pick via the Phoenix Suns and a 2028 second-rounder via the Golden State Warriors to Washington for Champagnie, whose salary is $2.67 million. If the Wizards wanted more, the Sixers could include Washington’s 2030 second-rounder, which they picked up in the Reggie Jackson trade in February 2025.
There’s also another route. Philadelphia could use the $4.2 million trade exception created by the Jared McCain trade to absorb Champagnie’s contract without sending out any players.
The catch is that doing so would reduce the team’s flexibility if LeBron James chooses Philadelphia. The Sixers could also waive Dalen Terry’s non-guaranteed contract to open another roster spot.
From a basketball standpoint, the appeal is obvious. Champagnie would deepen the wing rotation behind Brown and give the Sixers another scrappy defender without forcing them to give up their last open roster spot. His contract also has some built-in flexibility, with a non-guaranteed $2.67 million salary for 2026-27 and a $3 million team option for 2027-28.
He’s not LeBron. Nobody is pretending otherwise. But if Philadelphia wants to come out of this offseason with a useful wing who plays hard and fits the grime of the game, Champagnie looks like a very workable answer.
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The move reflects how sharply the Celtics have re-evaluated their future, with the organization clearly choosing to build around Jayson Tatum and treating him as the centerpiece going forward. However the rest of the roster settles, the ripple effect is obvious: a rivalry that once lived inside one locker room now carries into the conference race itself. [Read more 🡒]