If the Denver Nuggets are serious about a pursuit of Jaylen Brown, they may have just been given a shot to get the Celtics star for a lower value than it would have been just yesterday. One of the teams that might have been pursuing Brown, the Portland Trail Blazers, traded for Ja Morant and is now likely out of the race altogether. At least, that's the report from ESPN's Shams Charania.
There hasn't been any floated rumor of who would be exchanged from the Nuggets for Brown, but the speculation that's been running rampant has pointed to Jamal Murray and Cameron Johnson as two likely candidates from the Nuggets in exchange for Brown and Sam Hauser. But there was another rumor that had said the Celtics wanted what the Nuggets didn't have at their disposal for Brown: four future first-round draft picks.
The Trail Blazers had the draft picks available to trade if they needed to. Instead, they went out and took a risk on Morant without giving up any picks at all. The Nuggets still don't have the draft capital available, but if the asking price were lower, could they use this chance to trade Christian Braun instead of Johnson?
Braun would be the preferred trade option
The Nuggets are facing the first year of Braun's five-year, $125 million extension next season, at a starting contract price of $21.5 million, $1.5 million less than Cam. That small chunk of savings is large for the Nuggets' tax bill if they continue to operate near the NBA's second apron penalty threshold. Plus, trading Braun is the preferred option for next season, as Cam out-played Braun by a large margin against the Minnesota Timberwolves in the first round of the playoffs.
The hope would be for the Celtics to view Braun as a good, young wing replacement who they could help to develop further alongside Jayson Tatum and Derrick White. That would be the biggest stumbling block, of course.
The Nuggets still shouldn't do it without a point guard plan
The Nuggets still shouldn't make the trade for former NBA Finals MVP Brown without a plan or a third team in place to acquire a point guard. The Nuggets just declined the team option on Jalen Pickett, leaving them without a backup point guard on the roster. Pickett was never going to be the answer for Murray anyway, but the Nuggets would be left with a total hole if Murray was dealt.
The market for free agent point guards who would be available for the minimum contract is pretty sparse. The upgrade in Brown at the wing may not be worth the overall downgrade at point guard.
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