Christian Braun Says He's 'Vocal Leader' of Nuggets, Calls Out 'Unacceptable' Loss to T-Wolves

The Denver Nuggets are trying to regroup after their disappointing loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves in the first round of the playoffs, and a surprising player is taking the blame for the team's early exit.

While speaking to Bennett Durando of the Denver Post, Nuggets forward Christian Braun declared himself the "vocal leader" of the team and said he's the reason why Denver fell short of expectations.

"It's just unacceptable. Especially with the talent we have on this roster," Braun said. "I think when we come here every single year, we talk about championships. That's our mindset and our goal. And obviously, we fell short. A first-round exit's not acceptable. We've gotta bounce back. We've gotta get to work. … You can kind of put it on my shoulders. I think this team wasn't resilient enough in the playoffs."

Braun started all six games against the Timberwolves and averaged just 8.3 points, 3.5 rebounds and 1.7 assists in 31.2 minutes of action. He shot an impressive 42.9 percent from beyond the arc, up from the 30.1 percent he shot from three-point range during the regular season.

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After his minimal impact on the stat sheet, Braun asserted that he's the player who deserves the most blame for Denver's disappointing end to the season.

"I just think I'm the leader of this team," Braun said. "I'm the vocal leader of this team. And when we don't play well as a whole, you can blame whatever you want … You can blame anything. But I didn't play well enough as an individual, and I didn't have this team ready enough to play in a tough series. So we'll be better. I'll be better. I'm looking forward to next year, when we can respond."

ESPN's Shams Charania reported on Sunday that there will be "real roster changes coming to Denver," so Braun's future with the franchise could be uncertain.

For now, it's clear that Braun is motivated to bounce back in a big way for the Nuggets next season as they try to return to title contention.