Julian Champagnie gets brutally honest about his current role for the Spurs

· Yahoo Sports

Julian Champagnie gets brutally honest about his current role for the Spurs originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

Visit mchezo.life for more information.

After losing in the 2026 NBA Finals, the San Antonio Spurs knew they needed to retool the squad. While only lesser-known players left the team, they did make a major change by signing Tobias Harris in free agency from the Detroit Pistons.

It looks like he will be the starting power forward when he is healthy, which will leave out Julian Champagnie, who was the Spurs' starter for the 2025-26 season. Now, it seems that he might have to play off the bench, which is something that he is okay with.

Julian Champagnie wants to help the Spurs in any way he can

Over the past few seasons, Champagnie has been an awesome success story for the Spurs. He went from being an undrafted player who was struggling to get minutes with the Philadelphia 76ers to becoming one of the most important players on a team that played in the NBA Finals a couple of years later.

Of course, the NBA is always in flux, so anybody's role can get smaller day by day. That is what Champagnie is facing right now because he is set to lose his spot as a starter to Harris, who was superb for the Pistons last season, where he served as a secondary scorer to Cade Cunningham.

MORE: Dylan Harper reveals that his comments about being a starter were mostly tongue-in-cheek

Now, Champagnie will probably start to start the season because of Harris' injury. However, in the long run, Harris might usurp him from the starting lineup, and thankfully for the Spurs and the coaching staff, it seems Champagnie has no problem stepping back.

"I  don’t care. Starting or not starting. I just like being here. I trust in the Coach, whatever he needs me to do is what I’m going to do, whatever the teams needs me to do is where I will be at," Champagnie said about possibly missing out on the starting lineup.

That kind of mentality is what makes Champagnie such an endearing player for the fans. He is also a coach's dream because he would do anything to help the team, and that even includes stepping back from a starting role one of the best teams in the league.

Despite losing the starter spot, Champagnie will still be a crucial player for this team. He knows that, which is why he is not too bothered about losing his spot because he knows he will still play a major role for the team even if he's coming off the bench.

More NBA news:

Read full story at source