Nuggets' Christian Braun makes it known: He's ready to fill Bruce Brown's shoes

Following some initial hope from fans following the championship victory that Bruce Brown could return in free agency, the rumors, interest and overall buzz around the 26-year-old forward all-but-ended those hopes and dreams quickly. While Brown did opt to leave, signing a two-year, $45 million deal with the Indiana Pacers, the next key topic of discussion was about the plan for his replacement.

Fortunately, second-year guard Christian Braun appears primed and ready to step up and he made that known during a recent interview with The Denver Post's Sean Keeler.

“I think there’s always a couple of people that don’t think you can step into that role,” Christian Braun, the Nuggets’ second-year swingman, offered up earlier this week. “But I always end up rising to that occasion.”

Braun's comments on stepping up were off to a good start, but the former first-round pick had no problem going far beyond just looking at what he's done thus far in his young NBA career while logging limited minutes. Braun proceeded to state that he wants "that challenge" of filling Brown's shoes and then praised the Nuggets for showing confidence in him — while confirming that he'll prove their decision to be the correct one.

“But the fact that the Nuggets show confidence in me and (in) our young guys to come in and take over that role and make that next step means a lot to me. And obviously, I’m going to prove them right.” Braun stated.

There's no shortage of confidence from the former Kansas Jayhawk, but he showed glimpses of living up to those words and created a fair share of buzz around himself in the process as well.