Braun is yet another player who had to dig his way out of being buried into the coach’s bench. Malone, sources say, had even pushed to trade Braun leading up to last season’s trade deadline, during last season’s title defense that would end with a second-round exit to Minnesota in a seven-game classic, in exchange for a more established player.
Source: marcstein.substack.com
Source: marcstein.substack.com
More on this storyline
In Malone’s defense, at the time the Nikoka Jokic-Russell Westbrook duo had a plus-11.4 net rating on the floor together, fifth among all two-man duos. Jokic-Christian Braun, at 11.3, ranked sixth. “What else does CB have to do?” a team source said. “Malone even said he’s done everything he was asked to do, and now he’s being relegated for Russ?” Nikola Jokic may not have sounded off publicly at any of this dysfunction. But he bore witness to it all season and wasn’t happy about it, sources said. “Joker is really good at letting you know how he feels,” a team source said, “without saying anything.” -via ESPN / April 11, 2025
Vinny Benedetto: Nuggets win it 124-116. Got a little dicey late, but the Nuggets win a massive one. Christian Braun leads Denver with 25 points. Michael Porter and Aaron Gordon score 21 apiece. Nikola Jokic with 20-12-11 and 4 steals. Jalen Pickett with 18 points on 5-7 3PT. Zach LaVine 27 and 11 assists for the Kings. -via Bluesky / April 10, 2025
When the Nuggets entered this season, sources told ESPN that there was growing tension between Malone and Booth that grew into a “cold war.” Since the team won the championship, the Nuggets have gone with younger role players such as Christian Braun and Peyton Watson around the team’s core of Jokic, Murray and Aaron Gordon. Veterans such as Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Bruce Brown left in previous summers during free agency to sign bigger deals elsewhere. -via ESPN / April 8, 2025