Nuggets Notes: Braun, Watson, Brown, Defense

After hearing his superstar teammate Nikola Jokic say on media day that his plan is to “be with the Nuggets forever,” Christian Braun suggested in a conversation with Mark Medina of Sportskeeda that he has a similar mindset.

“That has been my whole career. I have wanted to win in one spot,” Braun said. “I played with the same AAU team for seven years. I never switched up my AAU team. I was with my same high school coach my whole career and never switched high schools. I was at Kansas. I thought about leaving Kansas, but I couldn’t do it. I just wanted to be in the same spot.

“You gain a relationship with those people and trust with those people. So that’s who I am as a person. We’ve won here [in 2023]. I know what it takes to win. I know what it takes to win with this group and with this organization. I became really close with a lot of the guys around here. So being a Nugget means a lot to me. That’s part of who I am. I want to be in one spot. … I want to win as a Nugget. I don’t want to win anywhere else. Me winning as a Nugget means more than something somewhere else. Being grateful for the people here drives me to want to win in a Nuggets uniform.”

Braun is currently eligible for a rookie scale extension. The deadline to sign a new deal is October 20, and if he doesn’t have an agreement in place by that point, he’ll be headed for restricted free agency next summer.  The fourth-year guard said it’s not his job to worry about those contract negotiations, which he’ll leave up to his representatives.

“My main priority is to get better as an individual and get better as a team and win,” Braun told Medina. “Ultimately if we win, I know that I got to be taken care of.”

Here’s more out of Denver:

• In addition to Braun, fellow 2022 first-rounder Peyton Watson is also eligible for a rookie scale extension this month. He said on media day earlier this week that he’s not stressed about what his next deal will look like, per Bennett Durando of The Denver Post. “We’re just taking it day by day,” Watson said. “… I was telling (Nuggets VP of player personnel) Jon (Wallace) not too long ago, I’ve got everything that I’ve ever needed and wanted. I’ve got more money than I ever thought that I would ever make. So I’m not one of those guys who’s only playing basketball for the money. I’ve always played it for the enjoyment and the love of the game. And it’s put me in a position where I’m gonna have the opportunity to make some money here in this league. But I’m young. I’ve got a lot of time. I know that I’ll make a lot of money in this game.”
• After playing for three teams over the past two seasons, Bruce Brown is thrilled to be back with the Nuggets, and that feeling is mutual, according to Medina, who notes that teammate Aaron Gordon referred to Brown as the “ultimate glue guy.” Speaking to Medina in a Sportskeeda interview, Brown explained what goes into playing that role: “Whatever the team needs me to do, I’ll do. If they need me to play backup (point guard) or if they need me to play at the three, whatever they need me to do, I’ll do it. My pride is put aside. I’ve played every position in the league. So whatever it takes to win, I’ll do it.”
• Defensive intensity has been a point of emphasis for the Nuggets during training camp, as Durando writes for The Denver Post. New permanent head coach David Adelman even said he wouldn’t mind if the offense “takes a little step back” if it means the defense improves. Last season, Denver had the NBA’s fourth-best offensive rating but ranked just 21st on the defensive end. “If we get to around top-10 defensively,” Gordon said, “it’s going to put us in a position to win it all.”