Ten games, two coaches, two surgeries, one major trade and a million questions later, it was over -- before it had even started and long after it had ended for a lot of other people in Denver.

Dan Issel was gone, and so were Raef LaFrentz and Nick Van Exel, not to mention the TV that Tim Hardaway had used to begin practicing for the Olympic shot put. The season, of course, was history as well. What remained was Antonio McDyess, or at least what remained of Antonio McDyess.

He returned to the lineup just in time to get the last three numbers on the license plate of the truck that had just run over his Nuggets. He was activated on March 1, made 10 appearances, had some encouraging moments and then went back on the injured list last Thursday, although that was just the official wording. In reality, everyone acknowledged that was it for the season because the decision had already been made that McDyess would not play on the second night of back-to-backs and there was no need to take a chance on someone falling awkwardly on the leg or some other freak occurrence during the garbage time of spring. This is the franchise player and the franchise is done for this time.

	Antonio McDyess, right, played only 10 games in his comeback from knee surgery.

So ended his season. The one that just seemed like three seasons.

"He was expecting a big year," interim coach Mike Evans said. "He was expecting this team to make a run to the playoffs. When he went down, everything sort of went out the door with him. You could see the frustration in his face, like he was powerless."

An All-Star in 2000-01. Star crossed in 2001-02.

McDyess averaged 11.3 points and 5.5 rebounds in 23.6 minutes, reached double digits in scoring in six of the 10 appearances and showed the knee was recovering nicely -- "He's doing things on the court without thinking about (the injury)," Evans said -- but mostly improved his sitting skills. He had never missed more than 12 games in a season before, and in one stretch of three seasons that included the lockout campaign, he played in 212 of a possible 214 outings. Now all of a sudden he's missing 72 of 82. Oh, and everything has been crumbling around him in the meantime.

Issel walked out the door, after first putting one foot in his mouth.

Van Exel went public with a trade request.

LaFrentz was a regular in the trade-rumor mill.

They got dealt, together, to Dallas.

A coaching search was about to start.

Distraction after distraction after distraction. That it may have taken some people's minds off the season isn't the point.

"It seems like I've sat through two seasons already," McDyess said. "I've never had a problem with injuries, and then it all comes down at once. Then you have all that other stuff. A coaching change. Good friends leaving the team. There's been so much."

For all the talk about how his future in Denver was supposedly linked to what happened with Van Exel, it was the LaFrentz trade that stung more. McDyess knew Nick wanted to be quicked out. "But then when Raef went, that was a killer," Dice said. That it would have to come to that, not that it happened. McDyess knew about the Dallas talks well in advance because Nuggets management had kept him posted on the possibility, a sign of his continued standing as the franchise player. Being kept in the loop by the bosses was a comfort, in general because it showed him something about how they regard him but also especially because he needed something to latch on to this season. Anything.

He still talks in positive terms about his future in Denver, despite earlier indiciations that someone might want to send the moving vans as soon as Van Exel had unloaded his baggage at the next destination. McDyess is still the power forward in Denver, after all. Juwan Howard might have come in return from Dallas, and been putting up good numbers, but that was largely general manager Kiki Vandeweghe working the salary cap. Howard is a big hit for now but comes off after next season, at which point the Nuggets get flexibility they wouldn't have had if heavy salaries like Van Exel, Avery Johnson and Tariq Abdul-Wahad were still around and LaFrentz had been re-signed this summer.

	“	I've never had a problem with injuries, and then it all comes down at once. Then you have all that other stuff. A coaching change. Good friends leaving the team. There's been so much. ”
		— Antonio McDyess

Whether they can take advantage of it when the time comes remains to be seen -- McDyess would have to do some heavy recruiting to get a star to come into that situation, although the Nuggets could take care of that by using the cap space to make a major trade. But give Vandeweghe this much for now: He has a plan. The big picture is a big bite since he's asking people to be patient for another entire season, as if there hasn't been enough of that with Denver basketball already. But the rookie GM who has already had a turbulent debut is putting his team in position to do something special when the time comes. That's the best that can be asked for now.

Getting rid of some bad contracts (Abdul-Wahad, Johnson) was a start. Helping Issel, popular in town for so many years, exit with some amount of dignity was everything anyone needed to know about how Vandeweghe deals in professionalism and understated class. The next step is to hire a coach, a major test. The Nuggets want someone with NBA experience, so Cincinnati's Bob Huggins, long rumored to be a top choice because of a business relationship and friendship with owner Stan Kroenke, won't be on the radar screen barring a change of thinking. Young and innovative is good, too, so Dallas assistant Donnie Nelson will be considered even though he doesn't have the résumé as a head coach. Mike Dunleavy, Scott Skiles and Eddie Jordan are also on the list, in no particular order, now that Larry Brown is saying if he coaches anywhere next season it will be in Philadelphia.

McDyess will probably be in on those management discussions as well. That's his standing there. It's still pretty solid everywhere else, too, because some people have memories that reach back before New Year's. USA Basketball, for example, is keeping an eye on his rehabilitation in case it needs another big body for the world championships in Indianapolis this summer. Well, it needs a big body for sure. Just maybe not his, which is fine with Dice, since he's pointing toward the start of training camp and not for that showdown with Angola.

For the moment, Kevin Garnett, after initially indicating he would join the likes of Shaquille O'Neal and Tim Duncan and take a pass, is sending signals he might play, so the selection committee will hold a spot open as long as he needs to make a final decision, if not border up Indiana to delay the start of the tournament and ensure his presence. And, Chris Webber, after originally citing potential schedule conflicts for delaying his response, said he will contact officials to say he has a strong level of interest in playing, after such a lack of communication that he was risking turning off the governing body to where they might not have asked him again for the 2004 Olympics.

As an indication of how anxious the United States had been about its depth up front, with an absence of big men around the league anyway and some of the best either begging off or playing for other countries, LaFrentz has been added and McDyess is among the candidates being considered for the openings even though he's done for the season. Clipper Elton Brand is also on the list of possibilities, and Ben Wallace of the Pistons has been mentioned. It's also why the second college player named as an alternate, along with Duke's Jason Williams, will probably be Kansas 6-foot-10 forward Drew Gooden.

McDyess said he hasn't given that competition much thought because fall in Denver is his priority, not summer in Indianapolis. He wants to be ready for next season since there there was no this season. Even if it seemed like he sat through two of them.

Scott Howard-Cooper, who covers the NBA for the Sacramento Bee, is a regular contributor to ESPN.com.