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Tom Orsborn: Keldon Johnson, Luke Kornet and Julian Champagnie have been ruled out for tonight for #Spurs vs. Suns, Mitch Johnson said. De'Aaron Fox and Carter Bryant are available.
Jovan Buha: The funny thing is the Lakers are going to be trying to trade Jaden Hardy. So I don't know if Washington wants to take him back and what that price would… I mean are the Lakers just going to end up sending back the Wizards picks and get Coulibaly or Champagnie instead of Hardy, like that would kind of be funny, but I think those are a couple names that could make some sense.
Jared Weiss: De’Aaron Fox is a late scratch for tonight’s Spurs preseason opener due to general soreness from practice, so the three point guard lineup will have to wait. Julian Champagnie will start. The training staff determined after his pregame warmup that he reached his work load limit and they decided to rest him tonight.
What’s your expectations on what the Jamaican national team can do going forward? Norman Powell: “It’s about retooling and seeing what we need to do. We have a lot of interest from NBA guys – Devin Vassell, the Thompson twins, the Champagnie brothers, Isaiah Stewart and a couple of other guys that want to play. So it’s about figuring out how we can get as many NBA guys and top-talented guys that are a part of the team. Jamaica is in a tough spot because they have that rule with FIBA where you have to have your Jamaican citizenship or passport the time you’re 16 to 18 years old. We’re trying to get FIBA to get the rules changed. A lot of the guys that have Jamaican descent or heritage are being penalized for something that their parents didn’t do or their grandparents moved away from Jamaica. They didn’t know the national team was a thing since it’s been 15 years since we first played a game. So we’re trying to work with FIBA to get it changed or altered. It’s putting a damper on what Jamaica is able to do with being able to compete at a very high level because a lot of these guys’ parents didn’t get their dual citizenship. That’s tough.”
I want to throw a little curveball at you, and I don’t know if you think I’m crazy by saying this, but I’ve thrown out the idea of the Spurs — if he takes the veteran’s minimum — being a great landing spot for LeBron, because they already have all the pieces. They just kind of need that veteran to stabilize everything, and he would be the guy that would help him get over the hump, and it would help him get closer to Jordan, if not match Jordan by the time his career is over. What are your overall thoughts on that possibility? Mario Chalmers: I thought that too, until they signed Tobias Harris. Tobias Harris was a great pickup for the Spurs, just because him and (Julian) Champagne, they’re kind of the same player, and they kind of bring the same thing to the floor, so you really don’t lose anything with either one. I’ll never pick Champagne or Tobias Harris over LeBron James, so I won’t say that. But ‘Bron with the Spurs, I don’t necessarily like it because they’re a young fast team, and they’re still learning. When Bron’s IQ is sometimes more than the coach’s, it will tend those young players to listen more to ‘Bron than the coach, and not on purpose, but just the IQ would be kind of different.
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Shams Charania: Just in: San Antonio Spurs forward Julian Champagnie intends to sign a new three-year, $45 million contract with the franchise through 2028-29, sources tell ESPN. The Spurs declined Champagnie’s $3 million team option to give him a new deal. Waived three years ago, Champagnie has become a vital part of the Spurs core.
Sirius XM NBA Radio: "At the end of the day, it's just a basketball game. I don't think anyone should be getting eggs tossed at them." @JulianChampagn2 on the Spurs dealing with Knicks fans outside their hotel
During the Spurs media availability on Tuesday afternoon, he was asked, “After Game 7 in OKC, you were asked about returning back to New York. Now in the Finals, now that you’ve experienced that, could you share what it was like for you to play last night?” “Yeah, it was pretty cool. Obviously we had a game to win, and that was the most important thing, especially being down 0-2. The initial reaction of just running out there, seeing all the celebrities, the fans, how loud it was, the music, it was definitely a surreal feeling that I’ll carry for life. But it was pretty cool,” Chapagnie responded.
"The game is built off of respect and passion," Knicks center Karl-Anthony Towns said. "We want everyone to respect each other. We want everyone to enjoy basketball at its purest state. It's the NBA Finals. There's no better place to watch basketball. Leave the physicality to everyone on the court" A Brooklyn native, Spurs forward Julian Champagnie pointed out that he doesn't "feel any threat" walking around Midtown Manhattan during San Antonio's time off the court.
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Tom Orsborn: NYC native Julian Champagnie on the vibe in the city: “The vibes have been great. They've been crazy. Get off the bus, fans are there. We get some hoorays, we get some boos, some middle fingers, stuff like that. But that's just New York.”
Defensively, should the Knicks put OG Anunoby on Wemby? Coach 1: “Yes, I like that a lot. But one thing interesting with that is where do you put Towns? And I think the simple thing would be to put him on [Julian] Champagnie. But the Knicks don’t like to crossmatch that much. Good, bad or indifferent, they like to let Towns play through normal pick-and-roll coverages. I don’t know if he’s in shape enough to expend himself like what [Isaiah] Hartenstein was just doing with the Thunder — where he was bodying up Victor and also having to guard the pick-and-rolls and navigate screens and stuff like that. Karl has to be really disciplined if he’s guarding Champagnie. If you watch him to start these games, Champagnie gets crossmatched in transition quite a bit and gets wide-open 3s. And he’s a plus-40 percent 3-point shooter. You got to make sure you’re disciplined. I think they would probably put Brunson on [Devin] Vassell, and then [Mikal] Bridges and Hart on [De’Aaron] Fox and [Stephon] Castle.”
Ian Begley: Brooklyn native Julian Champagnie says he has a bunch of friends who are Knicks fans. He was asked if he’s prepared to be the villain in his hometown: “Sure…I would love to spoil their (plans),” Champagnie said with a laugh today at NBA Finals media day
