According to Blake Murphy of Sportsnet.ca, the Raptors have released small forward Justin Champagnie as of December 29th, 2022 at 11:00 p.m. CST.
The Raptors have waived Justin Champagnie.
Unfortunate end to his Raptors tenure. Post-camp injury seemed to kill his chance to crack the rotation.
He'll surely catch on somewhere on a two-way deal as those churn the next few weeks.
— Blake Murphy (@BlakeMurphyODC) December 30, 2022
Murphy recalls that he finally was unable to join the club’s rotation due to an injury sustained following training camp. Only three of Toronto’s games this season saw him play.
Only a portion of Champagnie’s contract was guaranteed. If the 6’6″ swingman from Pitt had remained on the roster beyond January 1, Toronto would have been obligated to pay him the full $1,637,966 remaining on his 2022–23 contract, tweets Bobby Marks of ESPN.
Toronto will take on a $825K cap hit on the Justin Champagnie.
The remaining balance of $813K was set to be guaranteed if he was on the roster past Jan. 1.
Toronto has an open roster spot and $4.68M below the tax.
— Bobby Marks (@BobbyMarks42) December 30, 2022
Champagnie, in Murphy’s opinion, stands a decent chance of signing a two-way contract with another team this year. In 39 games with Toronto throughout the course of his career, Champagnie has made an appearance, averaging 2.2 PPG and 1.9 RPG over just 7.5 MPG.
The Raptors’ 15-man standard roster space is currently open as a result of Champagnie’s removal from their books. If the team chooses to pursue 10-day signings, Murphy says Toronto will be better prepared to do so because of this opportunity. The Raptors will also have additional trading options as a result of the opening.
