A Lowkey 3-Team Trade Idea That Could Shift the NBA Championship Landscape

Potentially best of all, Justin Champagnie is so darn cheap moving forward. He’s under team control for the next three seasons at a total of $8 million—around 1.6 percent of the salary cap on average. That is hugely valuable to a Knicks squad speeding toward a second-apron reckoning as early as 2026-27.

Exchanging Pacome Dadiet’s 2025-26 salary for Champagnie’s also saves New York around $500,000. That doesn’t create enough room to fit both Landry Shamet and Malcolm Brogdon on the payroll, but it’s pretty darn close. The Knicks need about $4.6 million beneath the second apron to make it work. This deal gets them to $4.2 million.

Another marginal move could get them there. Offloading Tyler Kolek would give them juuust enough space to sign Shamet, Brogdon and rookie Mohamed Diawara to complete the roster. They wouldn’t have flexibility to do much else thereafter.

New York could also consider signing just one of Brogdon or Shamet with Champagnie in the fold. Or it could see if Deuce McBride-plus-seconds gets them someone like Keon Ellis.

Regardless of whatever (tiny) hoops the Knicks would need to jump through, bagging a rotation wing on a team-friendly deal is worth it—not just for what it does now, but the flexibility it gives them to look at moving others as they get more expensive in the future.

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