Insider makes massive claim on Nuggets’ $13,769,157 star after impressive season

Even though the Denver Nuggets’ season is over, Christian Braun should be a happy man right now.

The former NCAA champion took a big step for his team this season, stepping up after Kentavious Caldwell-Pope left to join the Orlando Magic.

He was one of the most improved players in the league, taking his averages from 7.3 points, 3.7 rebounds, and 1.6 assists per game last season to 15.4 points, 5.2 rebounds and 2.6 assists per game in his first season as a starter.

With that in mind, ESPN analyst Bobby Marks predicted that he will be in for a big raise in his contract extension:

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"Christian Braun certainly has helped himself," Marks said. "He's a terrific player, (and) he fits what you're trying to do. I think the number is at least $30 million per year."

Per Spotrac, Braun signed a four-year contract worth $13,769,157 as a rookie, so he had one of the best values in the league this season.

Braun averaged 12.6 points, 6.4 rebounds, 2.4 assists, and 1.2 steals per game on 45.3% shooting in the playoffs.

Christian Braun says Nuggets had no excuse after second-round exit

On top of his strong production, Braun also showed plenty of character during the postseason.

He had 19 points on 7-of-14 from the floor in the season-ending loss, and he was far from satisfied with that:

“We lost in Game 7 in the second round. So that’s not close enough,” said Braun. “I think the same thing happened last year.”

Braun also doesn't think that Aaron Gordon's injury gave the team a free pass to lose that game, especially in the way it happened. At the end of the day, they failed to get the job done, and that's all that matters.

“Everybody has stuff (this time of year). There’s no excuses. We can’t sit here and say we had injuries or people were sick. It doesn’t really matter,” Braun said. “You’re not going to look at it as that. We’re not going to make excuses about anything. We didn’t get the job done.”

The Nuggets will be a team to watch in the offseason, as they will be in the mix to get a new coach, and players like Michael Porter Jr. could be on the move after a rumor-filled trade deadline. Whatever the case, one thing seems to be for sure: Braun will get paid.

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About the author

Ernesto Cova

Ernesto Cova is a journalist at Sportskeeda with a PhD in Sports Psychology. His education helped him develop a clearer understanding of the sports world as a whole, including basketball. Ernesto has over eight years of experience in the field, working for Fadeaway World, The Inquisitr, NBA Blast, The Cold Wire and Bolavip, among others.

His favorite team is the Chicago Bulls because of the Michael Jordan era. Jordan is Ernesto's all-time favorite, as he changed the game forever. Ernesto's second favorite was Kobe Bryant because he embodied that same competitive fire and Ernesto watched him play throughout his entire career. Nowadays, Ernesto really likes Stephen Curry, who he believes to be the most influential player of the past 15 years or so.

Ernesto's favorite basketball moment was when Venezuela -- his country -- took down Canada to take home the 2015 FIBA Americas Cup.

When not watching or writing about basketball, Ernesto likes to read and is interested in photography.

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