Denver Nuggets make no-brainer contract decision on key wing

The Denver Nuggets will be keeping Christian Braun around for at least one more season. On Tuesday evening, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported that the Nuggets had elected to pick up the third-year option on Braun’s contract.

“As expected, the Denver Nuggets are picking up the third-year option on guard Christian Braun, sources tell ESPN,” Woj said in a tweet. “Braun — the fifth player to win back-to-back NCAA and NBA titles — is expected to assume a sixth man role this season.”

Braun is entering the second-year of his rookie contract, which the Nuggets can ride out through his fourth season as a pro.

Christian Braun is primed for a big season with the Denver Nuggets

Like Wojnarowski mentioned, Braun has a large chunk of minutes waiting for him this year.

Over the summer, Denver saw a pair of key bench players — Bruce Brown and Jeff Green — depart in free agency in favor of new homes. On top of that, Vlatko Cancar tore his ACL while playing for Slovenia in a FIBA World Cup qualifying game.

The holes left by the aforementioned trio are going to be — at least — partly filled by the former Kansas standout. With the opportunity for a larger role, Braun could make a nice leap after a solid rookie season. He suited up in 76 games for the Nuggets last year, playing about 15.5 minutes each time. In the short minutes, he scored 4.7 points per game while shooting 49.5% overall and 35.4% from distance. If he’s able to hold his own defensively, then Braun is going to be an X-Factor type of guy for the Nuggets.

Should he thrive in the increased role, then this rookie contract could prove to be even more valuable for Denver as they look to battle the new CBA, which punishes teams who overspend.