Ever since signing his five-year, $125 million rookie extension in late October, it’s been a pretty rough go of it for Christian Braun. He stumbled out of the gates, getting off to a very slow start to the season, then suffered an ankle sprain before he could get into a rhythm, in just his 11th game.
After missing nearly two full months, CB was finally cleared to return, but in his first three games back, he’s scored just 8 total points on 3-14 shooting, despite starting and playing over 26 minutes per game.
His usually stellar defense hasn’t been there either, and Braun almost looks lost on both ends, struggling to get up to game speed. To make matters worse, Braun was scratched before Sunday’s game after warming up with the intention of playing. David Adelman said that Braun just didn’t feel comfortable, explaining, "We had an honest conversation about it. It just didn’t make sense."
This comes on the heels of Braun revealing that his injury recovery took so long because the ligaments in his ankle were ripped. Now, he has already been ruled out for Tuesday night’s game against the Pelicans, and there’s some serious cause for concern around the whole situation.
Season slipping away from Braun
Hopefully, this is just a blip for CB, and he’ll be back soon at full strength. But we’re almost halfway into the season, and he has played in just 14 games total. Even when he was healthy at the beginning of the season, he didn’t look good out there, regressing significantly on both ends, with some hideous shooting numbers.
What has made things palatable for the Nuggets, but even tougher for Braun, is that other guys have stepped up in his place, with Peyton Watson, Spencer Jones, and Tim Hardaway Jr. giving Denver excellent minutes at the wing positions.
We’ll see if it develops into a Wally Pipp situation, but if these other guys continue playing this well, it’s going to be awfully hard to take them out of the lineup to try and get a struggling Braun back up to speed.
It’s also a tough look when Braun is the young player that Denver decided to invest big money into. Watson was notably not extended in the offseason and is heading for restricted free agency, where it will be difficult for the Nuggets to retain him. Tim Haraway Jr. is signed on just a one-year minimum deal, and Spencer Jones is currently not even signed to the active roster.
And right now, all of those guys are giving the Nuggets a lot more than Braun. In some ways, it’s a blessing, and Denver is lucky to have so many capable players ready to fill in. But, in other ways, this is a disaster for a team and a young player who are about to start a long-term extension.