Why Nuggets Prefer to Trade Christian Braun This Offseason

Christian Braun was supposed to be part of Denver's long-term core.

The Nuggets handed him a five-year, $125 million extension last October, locking him in alongside Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray through the 2030-31 season.

But after a frustrating 2025-26 campaign that ended with a first-round playoff exit against Minnesota, the front office is now eyeing Braun as the preferred path toward a roster shakeup.

According to NBA insider Marc Stein, league sources have confirmed as much.

"League sources say that the Nuggets preferred course for a roster shakeup is finding a trade market for Christian Braun rather than entertaining deals that involve Gordon or Jamal Murray after Murray's first All-Star season, but those efforts are rife with challenges."

The reasoning behind protecting Murray and Gordon is pretty simple.

Murray just turned in the best season of his career, averaging 25.4 points, 4.4 rebounds and 7.1 assists per game while picking up his first All-Star selection and an All-NBA Third Team nod.

Nobody in the league is moving a player coming off a season like that unless there is no other option.

Gordon remains one of the most versatile forwards in basketball and a natural complement to Jokic, even though injuries limited him to just 36 regular season games.

Denver is not going to break up what works around its three-time MVP if there is any way to avoid it.

That puts Braun at the front of the line, and that is where things get messy.

After a breakout 2024-25 season where he averaged 15.4 points on 39.7 percent from three and led the NBA in fast-break points, Braun took a real step backward this year.

A left ankle sprain cost him over a month and he finished with averages of 12.0 points, 4.8 rebounds and 2.7 assists across 44 games while his three-point shooting cratered to 30.1 percent.

He then went quiet in Denver's first-round series loss to the Timberwolves, and now his extension is about to kick in at $21.5 million for next season.

A poison pill restriction also blocks any trade before July 1, which shrinks the window Denver has to make moves.

The Nuggets finished 54-28 and grabbed the third seed in the West, but the team currently sits about $8 million over the second apron and needs room to re-sign restricted free agent Peyton Watson while also filling out the rest of the roster.

Very few teams across the league want to take on a five-year, $125 million commitment for a player whose production dipped the way Braun's did.

Denver's championship window remains open, but the front office knows standing pat is not going to cut it after three straight seasons without a Conference Finals appearance.

Trading Braun would free up the financial room they need to retool.

The question is whether anyone is willing to take on that risk.