With the 2024-25 campaign approaching, we're diving deep into some of the players we're most interested in watching. Next up: a third-year guard with some big shoes to fill in Denver.
Previous entries: Damian Lillard, Darius Garland
The Denver Nuggets enter the 2024-25 season once again trying to recapture the magic of their 2023 championship run, but with one less member of that squad around.
Losing Bruce Brown and Jeff Green during the 2023 offseason was a blow, but they were merely key reserves. Losing Kentavious Caldwell-Pope to the Orlando Magic this summer could be far more consequential. Caldwell-Pope, a two-time champion with the Nuggets and Lakers, was a stalwart of Denver's starting five - an elite 3-and-D guard who shot 41.5% from deep over the last two seasons.
Two-way starters of KCP's ilk aren't easily replaceable, and if the Nuggets hope to reach the summit again, third-year guard Christian Braun will have to fill Caldwell-Pope's shoes. But there's reason to believe the 23-year-old can do that, and then some.
For one, Braun is bigger than Caldwell-Pope, allowing him to guard up a size defensively. His defense may not be as consistent yet, but he arguably offers more upside, as evidenced by some of his work on Anthony Edwards in the Western Conference semifinals.
Braun's liable to drive the ball and is also better suited to create for himself than KCP at this stage of their careers. His insertion into the starting lineup could further juice an offense that ranked in the top five the last two seasons, providing a tad more self-creation and unpredictability.
Of course, the bulk of Denver's attack will continue to flow through three-time MVP Nikola Jokic and point guard Jamal Murray, with Braun expected to knock down the shots engineered by that two-man game. Though he's yet to show he's a dead-eye shooter of Caldwell-Pope's caliber, Braun increased his 3-point percentage from 35.4% on 1.3 attempts per game as a rookie to 38.4% on 2.0 attempts per game as a sophomore. The question is whether those numbers and efficiency can continue to scale up with increased minutes, usage, and overall demand.
Playing with Jokic (and Murray) more often should help, as evidenced by Braun's 2023-24 numbers:
An increased role beside the game's best player - and playmaker - means Braun will get more shots and consistently cleaner looks. If he can knock those down while using his size (6-foot-6, 200 pounds) on the defensive end, the Nuggets may not miss Caldwell-Pope as much as some fear.
But KCP is an accomplished veteran - a consistent starter and more reliable perimeter defender who averaged more than 31 minutes per game the last two seasons. He navigates screens on the defensive end with the instincts and skills of a battle-tested vet who has seen all there is to see in this league. Braun has started 10 games in his career, has yet to average 21 minutes per game in a season, and is coming off a campaign in which he shot a putrid 30.4% from the corners. His ability to replace Caldwell-Pope's production and value is merely a hopeful projection tied greatly to Jokic's floor-raising brilliance.
However, Braun has the skills, the size, and the supporting cast to emerge as one of the NBA's most improved players - an integral component of a surefire contender. He's only 23, and the difference between Braun sinking or swimming could be the difference between another title run in Denver or another year of fading further from past glory.
Not to mention, fellow youngsters like Julian Strawther and Peyton Watson - plus whatever's left of Russell Westbrook - will be champing at the bit to eat into Braun's minutes.
How Denver's guard and wing rotation shakes out without Caldwell-Pope will be an interesting story to monitor this season with Christian Braun as the featured player.
Joseph Casciaro is theScore's lead Raptors and NBA reporter.
