The Philadelphia 76ers didn’t make a draft selection this year as they traded their 23rd pick and veteran Danny Green for De’Anthony Melton. That was the club’s big move during the draft and it was a solid one.
However, that didn’t stop the Sixers from adding a young talent after the draft. According to Kyle Neubeck of PhillyVoice, the 76ers signed an undrafted rookie Julian Champagnie out of St. Johns University to a two-way contract.
This move appears to close the door on Myles Powell returning on a two-way contract as Champagnie and Charlie Brown Jr. are the two players on two-way contracts for Philly, per Noah Levick of NBCSPhilly.com. The question is now why did the Sixers go after Champagnie and what type of player is he?
Sixers sign undrafted rookie Champagnie to a two-way contract.
Champagnie makes sense on paper for Philly as he has the potential to be a two-way wing. He’s a solid 6-foot-8 and just played his junior year of college while just 20 years old. He has an NBA-ready body, but his college production is very underrated.
Last season, he averaged 19.2 points, 6.6 rebounds, 2.0 assists, 2.0 steals, and 1.1 blocks. While he only shot 34.8 percent from the 3-point line for his college career, he’s a willing shooter who attempted 4.9 3-pointers during his college playing days. He even shot 38.0 percent on 6.3 3-point attempts per game.
He’s one of the underrated defenders who entered the draft this year and he’s very good with his off-ball movement on offense. He has the potential to be a very good rotational player in the NBA and if you don’t believe the stats, check out his highlight reel.
It’s honestly surprising that he didn’t go drafted, but his brother Justin Champagnie who played for the Toronto Raptors on a two-way contract this past season was undrafted as well. In limited NBA minutes, Justin Champagnie looked like he can be a rotation player in the future, so that does help Julian Champagnie’s case to stick in the NBA as well.
The Sixers’ front office might come away with one of the best undrafted rookies from this draft with Champagnie. Who knows, he might develop in a similar way that Robert Covington did.