Christian Braun has been pulled into the Peyton Watson mess whether he wanted to be or not, and that could leave the Nuggets wing with plenty to answer for once the season begins.
Braun signed a five-year, $125 million extension with Denver last October, a deal that seemed perfectly reasonable at the time. After a rough season, though, the conversation around that contract has changed, and some around the league are now wondering whether the Nuggets paid too much to keep him.
That pressure only grows if Watson is eventually pushed out the door. If Watson winds up elsewhere this summer or by next year because of his bloated contract, Braun would be carrying a heavier burden and facing a brighter spotlight for the foreseeable future.
It is an awkward place for Braun to be, especially since none of this was his doing. He took the money after helping Denver win the 2023 NBA championship and after establishing himself as an efficient 3-and-D starter in the 2024-25 season. If Watson feels he deserves a bigger payday, that is not Braun’s problem.
Still, the criticism is unlikely to disappear anytime soon. Braun’s extension carries an annual average salary of $25 million, and he now has to show he can live up to it.
Not long ago, the University of Kansas product looked like a rising piece of Denver’s core. Two regular seasons ago, he averaged 15.6 points and 5.2 rebounds per game while shooting 58.0 percent from the field and 39.7 percent from deep. After the extension, those numbers fell off sharply, and his outside shot in particular seemed to desert him.
Injuries may have had something to do with that slide. Even so, the version of Christian Braun who appeared in 44 regular-season games and six playoff appearances in the 2025-26 campaign looked a lot different from the player fans had grown used to seeing before.
That leaves Braun with a clear challenge: rediscover the form that made him look like the ideal complementary wing next to Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray.
And he may not have much choice but to respond. The signs around Watson are pointing toward an ugly split with Denver, with reports that the Nuggets lowballed him in negotiations and have since changed their asking price in sign-and-trade talks.
There is still a path for Watson to stay on a one-year deal if he accepts the $6.5 million qualifying offer. But that would set him up to become an unrestricted free agent next summer, when multiple teams could have the cap space to go after him.
In Other News...
Peyton Watsons Future Just Put Denvers Cap Crunch In Focus
Peyton Watsons next contract has become one of the more revealing tests of where the Nuggets stand financially. Denver has already put a number on the table for the restricted free agent forward, but Watsons camp has been aiming much higher, a gap that puts his place in the teams long-term plans right alongside the clubs broader cap stress.
The Nuggets are open to sign-and-trade possibilities, but the mechanics are anything but simple, especially with rival teams needing to thread their own cap rules to get involved. For Denver, the bigger question is no longer just whether Watson stays, but whether a deal can be structured at all without forcing the front office into an even tighter corner. [Read more 🡒]
Nuggets May Face A Brutal Choice On One Promising Young Wing
The market for Jonathan Kuminga is already complicated enough, with the Cavaliers and Lakers both in the mix and Cleveland scheduled to meet with the restricted free agent about a possible sign-and-trade. Kuminga is reportedly chasing a deal north of $20 million per year, which has made the entire process feel more like a domino setup than a simple free-agent chase.
For Denver, the more relevant ripple is the one tied to Peyton Watson, whose name has surfaced in speculation around Clevelands broader plans. Watson is expected to command an $80 million contract, and the Nuggets are now being pulled into the kind of multi-team maneuvering that can force a front office to weigh long-term upside against immediate roster flexibility, especially when a promising young wing starts drawing real outside interest. [Read more 🡒]
Nuggets Suddenly Face A Real Peyton Watson Decision This Summer
Peyton Watson has become one of the more interesting summer decisions on Denvers board, and not just because the Nuggets still need to sort out their own depth chart. The restricted free agents value has grown enough that a sign-and-trade is at least part of the conversation, especially with Denver trying to balance present contention against the cost of keeping a young wing whose role has expanded.
Chicago is one of the teams to keep in the background here. The Bulls have kept roster flexibility intact and still have a full-time spot open, which leaves room for a player with Watsons age, length and defensive profile to fit their longer-term timeline under Tiago Splitter. Nothing has been publicly tied together yet, but the overlap is obvious enough to make this one worth watching if Denver keeps exploring the market. [Read more 🡒]