The One Player the Wizards Shouldn't Trade

If other teams around the association are smart, they'll dig a little bit deeper in going poking for another rotational Wizard. Justin Champagnie has been one of the best rebounding and defending wings all season long, but it's of great importance that Washington's decision-makers treat him like a member of their young core in preventing one of the squad's best players from escaping their grasp.

Following Champagnie's Example

Champagnie's travels around the league led him to multiple NBA teams before ending up in Washington two seasons ago, making it easy to forget that he's only 24 years old.

That's still old enough to register as one of this Wizards team's elder statesmen, with the vast majority of their players still on the rookie deals. Champagnie, for his part, only signed his first long-term contract last season, a four-year, $10 million deal as a reward for the hard work he'd displayed in working his way into the league the hard way and setting a good example along the way.

He didn't get bogged down by the restrictive deep-bench role he was thrust into to start this season, eventually defending and rebounding his way into the regular rotation. He's regularly picking up top opposing wings before they reach midcourt, and he's averaging 11 boards per game by per-36 metrics.

Despite seeing an average of 18.5 minutes per game halfway through the 2025-26 season, Champagnie's recorded at least six rebounds in all but six games since the start of December. Those instincts, combined with his rejuvenated 3-ball, have made his contract look like one of the best in the sport.

A durable young player with two-way intrigue should be enough to pique the interest of just about any executive with eyes and the Wizards' landline phone number, but this is where the team's executives should stand pat. He's continuing to do a lot of good in showing the rest of the young core how to slide into a specific niche and play it to the best of one's abilities, and they'd sink fast without the hustle he provides to the second unit.

If the Wizards and their fans are lucky, he'll still be around whenever Trae Young comes back fully-healthy in the following season, where he'll have the chance to broadcast his necessary skillset for more to see. They'll be more competitive than ever before long, and he should remain a part of that vision.