Nobody was hailing Christian Braun’s contract as some kind of massive bargain when it was signed just over a year ago, but it’s hard to believe how quickly it has gone into the tank. It was on display during the season as Braun struggled badly and battled injury. And it has come under a microscope in the offseason as the team desperately tries to fix its disastrous financial situation.
Things have become even worse, as it has become a bit of a benchmark for Peyton Watson, as he feels he should make at least as much as Braun. That’s obviously not going to happen at this point, at least not in Denver, but P-Wat is certainly justified in believing he deserves more than Braun.
And on Monday, we got yet another reminder of just how brutal the Braun contract is as Sam Quinn released his top 15 worst contracts in the NBA, and placed CB at number nine on the list.
The only players ahead of Braun on the list were Patrick Williams of the Bulls, Gary Trent Jr. of the Bucks (who’s deal is so obviously bad it’s being investigated by the NBA), Devin Booker of the Suns(supermax), De’Aaron Fox of the Spurs(four-year max), Jakob Poeltl of the Raptors, Ja Morant of the Trail Blazers (constantly hurt and/or suspended), Trae Young of the Wizards (four year max), and Joel Embiid of the 76ers (supermax plus always injured).
Braun is basically the only young role player on the list who was recently signed. The rest of the list is made up of washed-up and overpaid stars, role players who completely fell off a cliff, or contracts so bad they reek of front office shenanigans.
Braun may have worst contract of any role player in the NBA
That’s not great company for a 25-year-old who’s supposed to be a young part of the Nuggets’ core and has a five-year, $125 million contract that doesn’t even start until this coming season. It’s a devastating development after Christian was making a key impact in the NBA Finals as a rookie, but that’s where things stand.
It’s safe to say if Braun had any trade value whatsoever, he likely would have already been dealt this summer. At this point, the only real hope for Denver is that Braun’s rough season was mostly a result of injury and he’s able to bounce back in a big way. He’s young enough and has shown enough promise that there’s certainly plenty of time for him to play his way back into being a key part of the team, or at least a viable trade chip.
And honestly, all the Nuggets can really do is pray that things start trending back in that direction, or this deal is going to weigh them down like an anchor for the rest of Nikola Jokic’s prime.
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