Christian Braun has reportedly agreed to a five-year contract extension with the Denver Nuggets.
Brown has developed into a key player for the Nuggets recently, and it would have been a huge loss if he left.
Denver currently has all five starters (Brown, Jamal Murray, Cameron Johnson, Aaron Gordon and Nikola Jokic) on contracts for at least two years.
This is another winning move for one of the NBA’s top prospects, but fans are skeptical of the deal for the same reasons.
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Shams Charania reported that Brown’s new five-year contract is worth $125 million ($25 million per season).
The consensus among NBA fans is that the Nuggets overpaid the shooting guard because he’s only a role player.
One person tweeted, “$125 million for Brown? That’s a generous paycheck for a championship contributor, but tying that cash to a role player screams ‘I’m scared of the tax apron.'” The Nuggets’ window slams shut sooner than expected.
Another added, “Wondering why the Nuggets don’t have any salary cap room.”
“I love him on the team, but that’s a lot of money,” the Nuggets fan admitted.
Questions were then asked about whether the money should have been used to keep Michael Porter Jr.
“They could have gotten MPJ for that kind of money, but no, they went with Brown, a bricklayer who thinks every 3-point shot is a wish. Huge overpay,” he wrote.
Meanwhile, NBA accounts suggested that this contract, like Porter Jr.’s previous contract, appeared to be a mistake years later.
They posted: “We’ll find out if this contract is worth it in about two years, but I feel like this could be a do-over for Denver to extend MPJ’s contract.”
Finally, some NBA fans believe that a huge contract like Brown’s raises concerns about players’ motivation to continue working hard.
He explained: “Congratulations to Christian Braun, but does anyone else see a problem with this?”
“We know there’s nothing we can do about it, but like I said before, these players are getting paid too much.
“I don’t know how much is guaranteed, but 125 million just for Christian Braun is crazy.”
Christian Braun isn’t the type of player whose stats jump off the page, as he’s only the Nuggets’ fourth or fifth scoring option.
His main attributes are solid perimeter defense, shooting efficiency, and rebounding at the shooting guard position.
But Brown was actually the NBA’s best in transition scoring, a random statistic, in the 2024-25 season.
Brown is not the fastest player in the league, but he is incredibly effective at scoring on fast breaks.
With Nikola Jokic’s outlet pass, Brown’s speed and ability to finish to the rim added another string to the Nuggets’ bow.