Christian Braun was a guest on the most recent episode of The Old Man and the Three podcast with Cam Johnson and Tommy Alter. He discussed a little bit of everything — from rooting for Tom Brady even though he's from Kansas to not remembering the little details from the Jayhawks' NCAA title win over the Tar Heels. Oh, and he also spoke about his former Denver Nuggets teammate Collin Gillespie.
Braun talked about how Kansas didn't run plays for him, but he still found ways to score and contributed to winning, a trait that has served him well with the Nuggets. Alter then asked the guard whether he could tell when a younger, undervalued player knows what role he's meant to play with an NBA team, understands his fit, and can do whatever is asked (like himself).
"I think if you watch certain people, you can see the intangibles, the little things... Like, some of those guys, I think, get overlooked; maybe you overthink it... Collin Gillespie is a perfect example of overthinking. That kid, when he was playing with us, was really good. He was really good in college. He plays well at every level. He shoots it well at every level. You just overthink it, maybe he's too small."
You can argue that the Nuggets didn't put enough thought into Gillespie's future when they let him walk in 2024 free agency to the Suns. Or maybe, as Braun said, they overthought it because they thought he was too small or doubted that he was ready to contribute to a championship-caliber team.
Christian Braun shouts out former teammate Collin Gillespie
It's fitting that the podcast episode was released on Tuesday, one day after Denver signed point guard Tyus Jones to a deal for the end of the season. To think that they could've had Gillespie on a steal of a deal (he's making only $2.3 million), helping facilitate for the Nuggets with Jamal Murray out of the game.
Jones probably won't see a whole lot of playing time, but having him on the bench gives Denver at least a little peace of mind. That's just about all you can reasonably expect from someone off the buyout market.
Having Gillespie around would give the Nuggets far more than Jones can, though, as he's averaging a career-high 13.5 points, 4.1 rebounds, 4.7 assists, and 1.3 steals in 28.7 minutes per game, shooting 43.3% from the field and 42.3% from three (on 7.3 attempts per game!).
Jones has struggled immensely this season, averaging just 3.0 points and 2.4 rebounds per game on 34.2% shooting from the field and 29.4% from deep for the Magic. They parted with him before the deadline, sending him to the Mavericks, who waived him after eight games to make room for Ryan Nembhard.
So, now Jones, who was once regarded as the best backup point guard in the league, is in Denver, while Gillespie is one of the best backups. He's ready for a role larger than that one, too. He's headed toward that and a payday this summer.
It sure would be nice to have him help the Nuggets make another push for a title, but alas. What can you do now?