The Nuggets are counting the days until they can dump Howard.

IS IT SUMMER YET?
Write off this season -- the new Nuggets front office has. Kiki Vanderweghe & Co. are already locked in on next summer, when Juwan Howard's contract expires and frees up big bucks for team-building. For now, the Nuggets sneak a peek at the future: Nikoloz Tskitishvili, a 7-footer who can score inside and out, and Brazilian Nene Hilario, who has Barkley-like qualities. That's a foundation. But major construction won't get underway until next June.

STARTING FIVE
Howard's playing for a new contract -- a significantly smaller one. Ex-Wizard Chris Whitney starts at PG when he learns the system.

Midwest Division

1. Mavericks

2. Spurs

3. T-Wolves

4. Jazz

5. Rockets

6. Grizzlies

7. Nuggets

Scouting Report Index

Juwan Howard, PF: Nuggets can't wait to see what $18M will buy
Ryan Bowen, SF: 21 career starts, and we've missed them all
Mark Blount, C: All 50 career starts came with Celtics in 2000-01
James Posey, SG: A career-low 37.6 FG% in a career with few highs
Kenny Satterfield, PG: A shot in the dark, in more ways than one

BENCH
Given Marcus Camby's medical history, Tskitishvili ('Skita to teammates), Hilario and Rodney White will get as much work as they can handle.

GLOBAL VIEW
Tskitishvili (Slovenia) played in Italy
for ex-coach Mike D'Antoni.

FREEWHEELIN' WITH WALTON
Kiki's making great progress, but disasters take a while to clean up.

This article will appear in the November 11 issue of ESPN The Magazine.