3 fringe Raptors roster players who deserve to return in 2022-23
By Mike Luciano
2. SF Justin Champagnie
Champagnie signed a two-way deal with Toronto after going undrafted this past year. While he’s found rotation time hard to come by, he’s proven himself as a solid back-end NBA player in the minutes he has received thanks to his superb rebounding skills and hustle.
Per 36 minutes, Champagnie is averaging nearly five offensive rebounds and 10.6 points on 46% shooting. His 3-point shot is still not amazing, and he doesn’t take a ton of them, but he is still much more skilled in this area than he was coming out of Pitt. He needs a proper NBA deal.
Justin Champagnie may be a high-energy backup for the Toronto Raptors.
Even though the Raptors used a draft pick on David Johnson, he can count his NBA minutes on one end. Considering how Dalano Banton has started to fall off in the second half, it can be argued that Champagnie is the second-most impressive rookie on the Raptors this season.
Champagnie offers the Raptors some premium athleticism, non-stop effort, and quality rebounding instincts. If Toronto is willing to put in yet another season of intensive offensive development to turn Champagnie into a starter, he’ll be worth the substantial investment.