Christian Braun Rumors

Bennett Durando: Christian Braun on David Adelman as a potential full-time hire: “He was great. I’m so grateful for him. … He was amazing.”

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Booth be told? Calvin’s kids were all right. “There’s no time to play like a young guy,” Christian Braun told me after his third postseason double-double of the spring helped force a Nuggets-Thunder Game 7 on Sunday in Oklahoma City. “There’s no time for that. “It’s not about how old you are. It’s not about any of that. It’s about who’s going to show up. And who’s going to play the best.”

Denver Post

Aaron Gordon will always answer a teammate’s phone call. So when Christian Braun woke him up with a FaceTime notification last year, he rolled out of bed and accepted. Gordon was in China. Braun was in Missouri, seeing his mom’s sister one last time. She had been a quadriplegic for years and had only a few hours to live. Braun wanted to see her smile. She long had a fondness for one of the Nuggets. Call it a crush. So Braun tried to surprise his aunt, not knowing Gordon was on the other side of the world. “He was literally sleeping in China,” he told The Denver Post. “He didn’t have to answer the phone. But he picked up in the middle of the night. … He turned on his lights, got out of bed, showed her his new tattoo.”

Denver Post

Gordon stayed on the phone with Braun’s family for about 10 minutes, chatting with his biggest admirer. “I love you,” she said to Braun, setting herself up for a punchline that made the whole room laugh, “but Aaron’s my favorite player.” It was a difficult day. Braun’s aunt died about four hours later. But for a few minutes, she beamed. “She was kind of coming in and out of (consciousness) a little bit,” Braun remembered. “And I showed her Aaron so she could see, and her eyes lit up, man.”

Denver Post

Law Murray: Christian Braun says that he got scouting help on guarding James Harden from Russell Westbrook

bsky.app

Jamal Murray dropped his highest scoring game of this year's playoffs. Russell Westbrook returned with a bang. Even Aaron Gordon, Michael Porter Jr., and Christian Braun delivered big-time. Back at home, Denver’s other players not named Nikola Jokic finally raised their level of play in a critical stretch of the series. Murray uncorked 43 points built on eight threes, taking command of a strong 131-115 Nuggets showing over the Clippers in Game 5 to seize a 3-2 lead, Wednesday (PH time), April 30.

NBA.ph

Law Murray: Zach Zarba announces: - tech on James Harden - tech on Norman Powell - tech on Kris Dunn - tech on Nikola Jokic - tech on Aaron Gordon - tech on Christian Braun. No closed fists. Personal foul on Braun. No free throws lol PLAY ON!!!!

bsky.app

Justin Russo: Here you go: the entire incident between James Harden, Christian Braun, Aaron Gordon, Ivica Zubac, and, well, everyone.

Twitter

But if you really want to hear people rhapsodize about Nikola Jokic, ask them about his brain. It’s an imaginative mainframe capable of processing information at a rate that makes knee-jerk reactions seem like carefully laid plans. “He watches a lot of basketball. People don’t realize that,” Nuggets guard Christian Braun tells me. “He’ll text me about games that are on at night. He’s just, I mean, probably the smartest player that’s ever played.”

The Ringer

On defense, Jokic’s foresight often compensates for some of the physical shortcomings that would otherwise keep him at a monumental disadvantage. He isn’t the fastest and can’t jump the highest, but there are so many different situations in every game when his ability to diagnose the offense’s intentions will lead to a Denver stop. “Sometimes he’ll put you in your spot,” Braun says. “He’ll grab your body, move you into your spot. He’s moved me a couple times.”

The Ringer

Van Gundy, 63, joined Ty Lue’s staff in Los Angeles this season after being laid off by ESPN, where he was the network’s lead NBA color commentator for more than a decade. He has been a head coach for the Knicks, Rockets and Team USA. “He looked pretty good. I mean, he held his ground,” Nuggets guard Christian Braun said. “Held onto the ball pretty well. It’s pretty embarrassing for Jok. But he was in the weight room afterward, so that’s good.”

Denver Post

Ramona Shelburne: The Nuggets got all kinds of jokes about the Joker-Jeff Van Gundy exchange. Christian Braun was like, “(JVG) looked pretty good. He held his own. He held onto the ball. It was pretty embarrassing for Jok. He’s in the weight room now.”

x.com

Morris began lifting with Jokić after each game and churned out the best basketball of his career while doing it. He left the Nuggets in 2022, but to this day, he still keeps the same routine after every game, just because of Jokić. Braun has done the same. When Jokić lifts after games today, the ambitious guard is alongside him each time. Jokić might appear out of shape by NBA standards, but he’s one of the best-conditioned players in existence. He has never in his decade-long career missed more than 13 games in a single season and is consistently around the top in minutes played among big men.

New York Times

Braun is yet another player who had to dig his way out of being buried into the coach's bench. Malone, sources say, had even pushed to trade Braun leading up to last season's trade deadline, during last season's title defense that would end with a second-round exit to Minnesota in a seven-game classic, in exchange for a more established player.

marcstein.substack.com