Malone won’t name Braun the Nuggets starter at shooting guard yet

The Denver Nuggets’ big task this season of replacing two-time champion shooting guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope will be a competition, even though there’s an obvious pick for the job.

Michael Malone shared from the Las Vegas Summer League on Friday night that Christian Braun will have to compete and earn KCP’s old role. The approach is very in line with the way that the coach thinks and it comes as no surprise. But it would be a shock if Braun isn’t the day one starter, joining Nikola Jokic, Jamal Murray, Aaron Gordon and Michael Porter. Jr.

As of now, there’s only one other real option on the roster for the Nuggets to deploy most of their shooting guard minutes to and that’s Julian Strawther. The 2022 first-round pick Braun doesn’t just have experience on his side over the 2023 first-round pick Strawther. There’s also reliability, defensive prowess and the need for some pop off the bench which better suits Strawther.

“KCP is a hell of a player, a big part of us winning the championship, a big part of our culture. He’ll be missed and I love KCP and now with him leaving we have an open spot,” Malone told the ESPN broadcast on Friday. “We have Christian Braun—who as you mentioned helped us win a championship his rookie season and he has won at every level he’s been at—his energy, his toughness, all the intangibles are things that I love with Christian.”

“And then I tell you what, I’m not giving that spot to anybody. There is going to be a competition. I told Julian Strawther they need to push each other. Let’s see who’s gonna win that spot.”

The Nuggets best defensive rating last season came when Braun was on the floor at 109.3 points for the other team scored per 100 possessions. Braun has a similar defensive profile to KCP, albeit not as solid as a screen navigator but is a bit more physically stronger in general. The drop-off from Caldwell-Pope to Braun really comes in shooting. The departed veteran made 125 or more threes in each of his two Nuggets seasons whereas Braun is yet to make 100 triples as a pro. Braun actually went 20-straight playoff games without hitting from deep whereas KCP only didn’t hit a three in five of his 32 playoff games for the Nuggets.

Still, Braun’s shooting numbers and offensive abilities are probably pooh-poohed too much. In 20 minutes a game over the full 82 last season, CB tallied 7.3 points per game on 46% shooting and 38% from deep. He also adds an offensive rebound per night and is a more athletic finisher. But Braun’s decent three-point shooting in the regular season comes with the caveat of being on a rather low volume and his 67% career free throw percentage spells out another Denver issue.

The Nuggets shot the second-fewest free throws in the league last season and were bottom-third in percentage. KCP was one of their better foul-line shooters and Braun just isn’t that, not that either player often gets to the line. But there is a drop-off and there is too on threes, where the Nuggets already shot the third-fewest threes in the NBA last season. KCP tossed up four-a-game last year and Braun only shot two. And that’s where Strawther comes back into the picture.

“Hulian offensively, his ability to put the ball in the basket and put pressure on the defense is something that we really value as well,” Malone said. “But CB has done everything we’ve asked him to do. And I can’t say enough great things about him because he’s in the gym, he’s a worker, and I never have to worry when I put him in the game if he is going to play hard, we know exactly what we’re getting with Christian bound every single night.”

Strawther didn’t light it up his rookie season but he did earn a constant rotation spot before injuring his knee. There are obvious shot-creation skills packed into his oversized 6-7 body and he’s a sweet shooter too, despite that not playing out his rookie season. He shot a tick under 30% from deep but in college, he was 37% then 41% in his final seasons at Gonzaga. So the shooting numbers from his rookie season being poor can be overlooked, what can’t be is the lack of experience in comparison to Braun, who won a rotation spot his rookie year and excelled enough to make an impact on the NBA Finals. There’s also a hint that Braun’s shooting might be a bit better than what we’ve seen, his three-point make rate raises to 42% on above-the-break threes and a more defined role with him being a starter may keep him out of the corner more.

Aside from the two younger players mentioned here, there’s also the possibility the Nuggets add a veteran point guard which could move Jamal Murray to the shooting guard spot at times. It’s something Malone mentioned as one of the looks he likes. No matter the Nuggets are replacing KCP in the aggregate for now and they definitely are shallow at both guard spots without getting crazy and playing a Peyton Watson or Porter Jr. down at the two.

In replacing KCP primarily with Braun and Strawther the Nuggets will have to ask if they value offense or defense more out of the fifth starter. Another question that seems to have an obvious answer given the skills of Jokic and Murray and the need for a point-of-attack defender—but for now, Malone and Denver are willing to consider the idea of the more offensive-focused Strawther over the proven hustling defender Braun.

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