Julian Champagnie's extension reminds the Spurs an even bigger bill is coming

The San Antonio Spurs made arguably their biggest move of the summer by re-signing forward Julian Champagnie. Despite that, his contract could be an ominous sign of things to come.

It was initially expected Champagnie would have his team option declined and work out a long-term deal with the Spurs.

That, of course, happened with him agreeing to a 3-year, $45 million extension. Yet, San Antonio opted against giving him a 5-year deal, knowing that there is a looming salary cap crunch.

Even with Victor Wembanyama taking less than the supermax. Stephon Castle, and Dylan Harper seem likely to earn max contracts, while De'Aaron Fox will start his max deal next season.

That means San Antonio will soon become astronomically expensive and will have to make tough financial decisions to keep their core together.

The Spurs are being extra cautious about the contracts they give out

Keldon Johnson could be the first casualty of the Spurs' new salary reality. They simply can't afford to extend him, knowing that they are already up against the luxury tax.

Thus, he may be traded in season or leave in free agency, as could Harrison Barnes. Meanwhile, Tobias Harris was signed to a two-year deal that will expire in the summer of 2028.

The same could happen to Devin Vassell and even Champagnie in the summer of 2029. Both players' contracts are set to expire after the 2028-29 season, just in time for Harper's possible max deal to begin.

The Spurs are staggering their contracts to avoid the second apron

Unlike the Oklahoma City Thunder, who didn't have the luxury of being able to stagger their contracts, the Spurs have done so masterfully. Rembember, the Thunder selected both Chet Holmgren and Jalen Williams in the same draft.

That resulted in them becoming eligible for a max extension in the same year. Now, we're seeing them having to shed salary to compensate. Fortunately, San Antonio was incredibly lucky. Wembanyama got drafted first, followed by Castle, and then followed by Harper.

Even their existing contracts end at just the right time. Vassell signed a five-year extension before Wembanyama debuted and his deal ends before the Spurs are truly in the danger zone of the second apron.

The Spurs' salary cap gymnastics is with one goal in mind

They still have to figure out what to do with Fox, though they have time before they have to make a decision. The best-case scenario is that he has a big bounce-back season, helps the team win a championship, rehabs his value in the process, and is later traded.

Worst-case, he plays around the same level he did when healthy—good but not great. In that case, the Spurs leave him unprotected in a looming NBA expansion draft, possibly after the 2027-28 season.

Either way, Wembanyama, Castle, and Harper should be their core going forward, and San Antonio is clearly operating with that in mind. Wemby taking less makes that increasingly possible.

Overall, the Spurs re-signing Champagnie to just a three-year deal signals their reluctance to sign longer-term contracts. Hopefully, that will allow them to keep their core of Wembanyama, Castle, and Harper intact for the foreseeable future.

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