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By sending Dort to Atlanta, the Thunder opened up more playing time for rising young guards Ajay Mitchell and Cason Wallace, including a starting spot. Wallace, an All-Defensive Team selection, is extension eligible. Comparable guards to Wallace who’ve signed recent contract extensions include Dyson Daniels and Christian Braun, who both signed for $25 million per season, and Jalen Suggs, who signed for $30 million annually. Should Wallace enter restricted free agency next year, he’d be a highly coveted player. Various teams have called the Thunder through Wallace’s tenure to gauge what it would take to pry him from the franchise, as previously mentioned on HoopsHype.
Harrison Wind: Christian Braun on his offseason focus: "Sometimes it's good to get punched in the mouth a little bit." "It's good to have that little setback. Definitely motivated. Definitely excited for the summer. Just got to attack the ankle and make sure the ankle's in a good spot. I know I'll bounce back and I know who I am as a player so I'm really excited.
Harrison Wind: Christian Braun asked about his health: "I'm going to be OK. I'm always going to be OK. It's in the past. It is what it is at this point." "This team is resilient. This team is really good. It's a championship built roster. We're excited for next year. We're excited to compete. We're excited to be healthy."
Watson, meanwhile, is said to be seeking a deal north of the $25 million in average annual value that Christian Braun secured from Denver in October. How feasible that is in this marketplace remains to be seen.
With the Nuggets determined to retain upcoming restricted free agent Peyton Watson and several teams set to hunt for dynamic forwards and small-ball centers, Gordon is a name to monitor that might become available on the table, according to NBA insider Jake Fischer. "Whether that's Cam Johnson, that's Christian Braun, or Aaron Gordon, it really sounds like that pretty much everyone outside of Jamal Murray and Nikola Jokic is going to be discussable for the Nuggets front-office leadership group," Fischer said on Bleacher Report. "I don’t know. Whether or not, the price point would end up be enough for Denver to actually move on from Aaron Gordon but he’s someone that could fit all across the league, in any situations."
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The Nuggets have never been big spenders, which is why the belief around the league is that Cameron Johnson (on an expiring $23 million deal) or Christian Braun (on a five-year, $125 million extension signed in the fall) is likely to be moved to create enough room to give Watson something in the per-year range of those players. One point of potential concern is Watson's recurring hamstring injuries, which cost him a large chunk of the second half. Unfortunately, the injury came right after the best stretch of his career in January and early February.
David Adelman addressed Christian Braun's comments about being Nuggets' vocal leader today. "CB's a leader. ... I love what CB said. That's what a human being should say: 'I'm frustrated. I want to be better. I want the team to be better. And I want to win.'" https://t.co/tuei0mbyCh pic.twitter.com/6vWo7NTz0m
— Bennett Durando (@BennettDurando) May 8, 2026
“It’s just unacceptable. Especially with the talent we have on this roster,” Braun said. “I think when we come here every single year, we talk about championships. That’s our mindset and our goal. And obviously, we fell short. A first-round exit’s not acceptable. We’ve gotta bounce back. We’ve gotta get to work. … You can kind of put it on my shoulders. I think this team wasn’t resilient enough in the playoffs.” When asked to elaborate, he said the lack of resilience was a reflection of him. “I just think I’m the leader of this team,” Braun said. “I’m the vocal leader of this team. And when we don’t play well as a whole, you can blame whatever you want … You can blame anything. But I didn’t play well enough as an individual, and I didn’t have this team ready enough to play in a tough series. So we’ll be better. I’ll be better. I’m looking forward to next year, when we can respond.”
Braun missed 38 games during the regular season after suffering a severe left ankle sprain on Nov. 12. He initially tried to return on Jan. 4, but after struggling for three games, it was clear he wasn’t ready. He was able to run. He wasn’t able to jump. He went back on the shelf for another three weeks, then spent the rest of the season growing accustomed to a routine of postgame treatment on the ankle. He had torn the ligaments on the inside and outside of it. It was the first serious injury of his basketball career. It continued to swell up during the playoffs. Meanwhile, he also sustained an injury and developed swelling in his left calf in Game 1 against the Timberwolves, according to two sources with knowledge of the situation. It exacerbated Braun’s inability to explode off the ground — his left leg is the one he usually pushes off of when he jumps.
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Christian Braun will be entering the first season of a five-year, $125 million deal that, if Denver is honest, likely carries some buyer’s remorse. Braun hasn’t been the same since a November sprain to his left ankle, and right now, it’s not hard to imagine the Nuggets’ brass kicking themselves for offering an extension to Braun, and not Watson, last summer.
Bennett Durando: Christian Braun: "Just an embarrassing first four games of the series." "We've just gotta show up in Game 5 and play well in front of our crowd. We owe that to them. We owe that to them to show up and play well."
Brendan Vogt: I’ll say this for Christian Braun. He stood up and spoke for the team when he probably shouldn’t have had to more than once. Everyone has to wear this. But he was left out there to do a leader’s job.
Anthony Slater: Christian Braun on the Jaden McDaniels comments roasting the Nuggets defenders by name: “It’s part of the rivalry…He’s kinda speaking his truth and what he believes. We’ll allow them to do that. We kinda want to take care of our own.”
