Christian Braun is eligible for a contract extension this offseason and it's going to cost the Denver Nuggets a pretty penny, according to ESPN's NBA insider Bobby Marks.
Braun, who the Nuggets drafted in the first round of the 2022 NBA draft, is entering the fourth year of his current deal, which is a team option for just over $3 million. If the Nuggets wanted to wait and save a lot of money for the next two years, he would become a restricted free agent two years from now. Or they could give him an extension worth upwards of $30 million a year and lock down an integral part of a team that just came within one game of going back to the Western Conference finals.
— Ralph Mason (@Ralph_MasonJr) May 19, 2025
"Extension candidate to watch, Christian Braun certainly has helped himself," said Marks. "You can check the boxes off. He should get paid. What does getting paid mean? Jalen Suggs was five [years] for 150 [million]. I would think it would be higher than that based on where the cap is going. But career high in minutes. Started 77 of 79 games. Third year in a row playing 75-plus. Durability, played all 82. Joined Dyson Daniels as the only player in the past two year to increase their scoring average by more than eight points. Christian Braun will get paid. He is a terrific player and he fits what you're trying to do. I think the number is at least 30 million per year."
Braun has only missed nine games in three seasons and appeared in all 19 postseason games during his rookie season when the Nuggets won the title. Every single number improved from last season to this and he played a career-high 33.9 minutes per game.
Suggs, who got that reasonably big contract extension from Orlando last year, played 35 games this season for a team that was eliminated in the first round.
More NBA on Sports Illustrated
This article was originally published on www.si.com as NBA Insider Lays Out Key, Expensive Nuggets Offseason Decision.
