Projecting Upcoming Contract Situations: Current Extension-Eligible Players - Part 2
In the second part of this series, we preview 11 players from the Spurs, Bulls, Timberwolves, Jazz, and Trail Blazers who could avoid free agency by signing an extension by June 30, 2026.
The 2025-26 regular season is now roughly 75 percent complete, which means it’s time to start projecting players with upcoming contractual situations. Third Apron will be analyzing the most significant upcoming player negotiations over the next few months. We’ll also be touching on players whose contract situations may not matter in the grand scheme of things. Over 100 players will be previewed.
There is still much basketball to be played, and some players could still impact their value in a deep playoff run. But not everyone makes the playoffs, and the competitive portion of the season is over for many teams. So there’s probably a big enough sample size to start his project now.
The first few posts will be dedicated to players who are currently extension-eligible since they can extend at any moment. Players become extension-eligible on the second anniversary of a contract spanning three or four years, or the third anniversary of a contract spanning five or six years.
Such players are extension-eligible through June 30 because they are in the final year of their contract, or have an option that can be declined for free agency. Players with pending options must decline their options if they want to extend their contracts between now and June 30.
Part 1 of this series can be found here.
Julian Champagnie | Harrison Barnes | Kelly Olynyk | Anfernee Simons | Collin Sexton | Zach Collins | Nick Richards | Leonard Miller | Jusuf Nurkic | Robert Williams | Matisse Thybulle
Julian Champagnie (San Antonio Spurs)
The Spurs’ surge to the top of the West has been an ensemble effort. Victor Wembanyama will be an MVP finalist, Mitch Johnson will be a Coach of the Year finalist, and the team has gotten a major push from its three main guards. But perhaps the most under-the-radar contributor all season has been Julian Champagnie.
Champagnie has always been a reliable shooter, and he has maintained a strong percentage while slowly increasing his volume each season. He has had nine games this season with at least five three-pointers made, including a game against the Knicks in which he connected on 11. He is also a strong rebounder for his size, a hard-nosed defender, and carries the second-best on/off rating on the roster.
He has been an invaluable role player. The Spurs elevated Champagnie into the starting lineup in place of an injured Devin Vassell, and he has since made the spot his own over Harrison Barnes. He will be up for a significant raise on his next contract.
Champagnie is in the third year of a four-year, $12 million contract. He is earning $3 million annually and has a team option worth the same amount for 2026-27. He will be an unrestricted free agent whenever his contract ends, so the Spurs have reason to get ahead of that with an extension.
Champagnie has been extension-eligible since last offseason, provided the Spurs decline his $3 million option for next season. He could add up to four years and $87 million, which is the maximum extension available to veterans earning below the $13.9 million estimated average salary. The Spurs could look to lock him up at a team-friendly rate now before he continues to improve his standing.
Cameron Johnson ($23.6 million annually) and Klay Thompson ($16.7 million) are just two contractual comparisons Champagnie could point to in arguing he is flat-out better than both. He has a strong case for the maximum extension amount. However, he will probably need to concede a little to give the Spurs sufficient incentive to significantly increase his $3 million salary for next season.
For example, Toumani Camara’s extension with the Blazers last offseason for four years, $81 million, is instructive here. It was roughly $6 million less than the $87 million maximum he could have received over four years, a discount he accepted in exchange for bumping his $2.4 million salary up to $18.1 million immediately.
The Spurs will have plenty of flexibility below next season’s luxury tax. Perhaps they could offer Champagnie a four-year extension in the $75-76 million range, bumping his $3 million salary to around $19.4 million, roughly 11 percent of the salary cap annually, and keeping it relatively flat over the life of the deal. That structure works in the long run, whether he remains a starter or returns to the bench.
In exchange for subsidizing a $16 million raise in year one, the Spurs save roughly $10 million over the life of the deal. It makes sense to pay him up front before Wembanyama’s eventual maximum extension kicks in for 2027-28.
