Whether it’s fair or not, the fact that the Nuggets essentially chose Christian Braun over Peyton Watson is going to stick with CB for a long time. They gave him the five-year, $125 million extension while choosing to let P-Wat ride it out to restricted free agency, and we all saw how that played out.
Now, Watson is in Cleveland, and Braun is coming off a disappointing, injury-plagued season that has placed a massive target on his back. His play cratered last year as he struggled to stay on the court, and it all ended with an ugly first-round playoff loss to the Timberwolves.
The dust has finally settled from the long, drawn-out Watson saga, and all of the focus is back on Braun. The latest example was an article from Bleacher Report, building the All-Overpaid team across the NBA, and sure enough, they listed Braun as the squad’s starting shooting guard.
Braun fell off a cliff last season
The article pointed to Braun’s low three-point shooting volume, how his shooting dipped badly last season, and how his production is almost completely dependent on him playing with Nikola Jokic. They also pointed out how Denver’s lack of depth and shooting makes the amount of salary designated to the offensively challenged Braun even more damaging.
And the reality of the situation is that it’s hard to argue with any of this. The Nuggets have mismanaged the roster to the point that they’re now completely dependent on the starting lineup, and to have any real chance at contending, that unit has to be elite. And unless Braun bounces back in a major way this season, that appears to be nearly impossible.
This narrative is going to follow Braun until he makes it go away, and at this point, the only way he can do that is by proving himself on the court.
Plenty of reason to think Braun can bounce back
Luckily, there’s no reason he can’t do that. CB is still just 25 years old. It’s not like there’s any good reason to think his athleticism is gone. Hopefully, most of his dip in play last season was related to the ugly ankle injury he suffered and tried to play through, and he can get back to form, or even improve on that.
As bad as the contract looks now, the Nuggets gave it out for a reason. It may be a little high, but Braun proved himself to be a two-way force for the first three seasons of his career. With better health and a chip on his shoulder, he should be able to come out motivated this season and ready to stick it to his doubters.
Nuggets fans better pray that’s the case, because if not, they are going to be seeing Braun’s name on a lot of lists like this for years to come. And if Watson keeps getting better in Cleveland, that’s only going to make it worse. As painful as it feels now, this may be far from rock bottom.
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