Calvin Booth tells which Nugget he expects to replace Bruce Brown

DENVER—With the Denver Nuggets hitting the court again after a short summer we’re finally going to answer one of the team’s biggest questions, who replaces versatile sixth man Bruce Brown’s role?

The Nuggets signed veteran forward Justin Holiday and brought back veteran guard Reggie Jackson seemingly to chip in for parts of what Brown did. But it’s Brown’s not only defensive and three-point shooting activities but his skills as a point guard that made him so beneficial to Michael Malone. In 20 playoff games, Brown played just under 27 minutes a night, scoring 12 points a game, adding four boards and two helpers. All the while he yo-yo’ed back and forth with lineups and had some of the toughest defensive assignments big and small.

It’s the last part of being a versatile defender that sticks out to Nuggets general manager Calvin Booth, in losing Brown for over $20 million a season to play for the Pacers—a deal Denver could not match.

“When you’re talking about apples-to-apples replacement you’re talking about Christian Braun. He’s improved his ball handling a ton but he’s not going to be playing backup point guard,” Booth says. “Reggie has had a fantastic summer, he reminds me a lot of Rickey Rubio—every time it seemed he was down he had a terrific stretch and Reggie has done the same. I would anticipate a big year. But Christian is going to bring a lot that Bruce brought just not on the ball.”

Braun flourished as a rookie coming out of Kansas where he won a national title. The 6-foot-7 forward is bigger than Brown and found a way into the Nuggets playoff rotation—making key plays during the Finals. Braun played 13 minutes a night across 19 of the 20 playoff games and while he struggled to shoot his activity changed games. He had a 15-point night, a four-rebound game and three steal game in the Finals, during the regular season shooting was no issue—cashing 35% from deep.

“I grew a beard, that was mandatory,” the patchy-faced 22-year-old said. “I worked on my jump shot a little bit and trying to become a secondary ballhandler. There’s a lot of opportunity and a role change for me. But I want to sharpen the tools I already have and what got me playing in the first place.”

“It was cool to have Bruce last year and learn from him,” Braun said. “I think the things he does well, I can do those things too. being a scrappy defender and complementary guy, he taught me a lot.”

Braun will be the Nuggets sixth man and get 10-plus minutes a night, with Jackson taking some of Brown’s old job at the backup point. The 33-year-old from Colorado has been in the league for quite a while and was picked up as a free agent after the trade deadline last season. He admitted on Monday that he struggled to adjust to the Nuggets system at first and feels much better now. Jackson got a touch of action in the playoffs and played in the regular season’s dying days. Booth hopes Jackson can get back to where he was just two seasons ago when he scored 17 points a game as the Clippers starting point, dishing five helpers to boot.

Booth gave Malone some options, maybe none as appealing as Brown—but at this time last year, who knew Brucey B would mean this much to the Nuggets—so who knows who will be the next person that becomes that valued player. Braun will get the first crack at the role with Jackson vying to be a key bench player as well.

“We have the best staring lineup in the league, the rest of us are just trying to do our part,” Jackson said.

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