This will be a practice season in Denver as Hanzlik experiments with a cast of characters unfamiliar to him and, for the most part, to each other. The Nuggets, who won 21 games last year and were painfully dull in doing so, said goodbye to much of the front office and the coaching staff. As many as 10 players from the final '96-97 roster will also be gone. That means new, fresh faces will get plenty of minutes—and make plenty of mistakes. "I know we'll take some lumps early," says Hanzlik, "but we've built a foundation."

Overseeing the construction is new vice president of basketball operations Allan Bristow. In August, Bristow swiped small forward Eric Williams from the Celtics, after having orchestrated other deals that netted Denver three first-round picks: forward Danny Fortson, who's 6'7" and 260 pounds, is as strong as a bull and has a soft touch around the bucket; gritty point guard Bobby Jackson; and forward-center Tony Battie—who doesn't lack confidence. When told his first preseason game would come on Oct. 9 against Shaquille O'Neal and the Lakers, Battie said, "Bring him on. I fear no man on the basketball court. Shaquille may be the best center in the world right now, but I'm Tony Battie, and I'm coming at him." Whoa, Tony, key down. You're closer to 6'9" than your listed height of 6'11", and you're more power forward than center.

Bristow's most welcome move may have come in early September when he signed Dean Garrett, Minnesota's former starting center, to a five-year contract. Garrett, a 30-year-old who spent eight seasons in Europe before reaching the NBA, may not be the second coming of Dan Issel, but he will spare Nuggets fans the pain of watching Joe Wolf start at center on opening night. Bristow calls Garrett "our premier free-agent acquisition," which tells you how far Denver has to go.

Over the summer, the biggest issue facing the Nuggets was what to do with their best player, power forward Antonio McDyess, who would become a free agent after this season. (McDyess had turned down a six-year, $85 million contract extension.) Denver remedied its problem by shipping McDyess to the Phoenix Suns in a three-team trade that netted the Nuggets three first-round and two second-round draft picks. Denver's second-best player, oft-injured small forward LaPhonso Ellis, is rehabbing a ruptured Achilles tendon. He won't play until at least late November and might not be ready until February.

With all the youth he has on hand, Hanzlik will stress pressure defense and lots of trapping. He also wants the Nuggets to return to the Doug Moe-style offense of the 1980s, an attack built on running and passing. The '96-97 squad set franchise lows in 10 offensive categories, including fewest points in one game, 63. (Moe's '81-82 Nuggets averaged 126.5 points per game.)

Hanzlik's system will put pressure on point guard Anthony Goldwire, who'll be getting his first chance at a full-time starter's job. After coming over last February in a trade with Charlotte, the former CBA player started 21 games for Denver; he averaged 4.6 assists in 22.7 minutes as a Nugget, and he had a respectable assist-to-turnover ratio of 2.88.

Only Garrett, shooting guard Bryant Stith and the three first-round picks are signed past this season. With tons of room under the cap (perhaps as much as $18 million), Bristow plans to raid the 1998 free-agent market for big-time talent. He envisions having a playoff-caliber team by the time the Nuggets move into the new Pepsi Center in Denver in the fall of '99.

For now, this team will lose—but unlike last year, it will do so with young, hungry, developing players. Hanzlik will start Goldwire and Stith in the backcourt, Williams—who might thrive in the running game—and Battie (until Ellis returns) at forward, and Garrett at center, with veteran swingman Johnny Newman providing scoring off the bench. The Nuggets will scare no one, but they'll be better than Dallas or Vancouver. And if dress rehearsal goes according to Bristow's plan, better than a lot of other NBA acts a few years from now.

—Tim Kurkjian